#i am probably a mix of annabeth and hazel

[percabethluv]

headcanons of the 7’s music taste:

-jason tries to tone it down but he REALLY likes taylor swift, but also movie soundtracks

-annabeth listens to either chill lofi for studying, dramatic classical music, or angry girl pop rock. she loves olivia rodrigo

-piper is a paramore girly, but any kind of indie girly pop/rock

-frank doesn’t really listen to much music, he’s kind of all over the places with his tastes. but he’ll listen to a few songs here and there, whatever’s on and has a catchy tune

-hazel doesn’t know much modern music but she ends up liking a few songs by “that taylor girl” and some country music. she really likes classic jazz because it reminds her of new orleans

-leo is super into feel-good diva pop that he can blast and sing along to until everyone is sick of it, like dua lipa, p!nk, mariah carey, rihanna, etc

-percy is very 2000s indie centric, but he also likes classic rock, whatever reminds him of what his mom would put on

[cr4zy-cycl0n3]

Yo! I'm doing a Heroes of Olympus rewrite!

I'm not a huge fan of how some scenes go in canon and how the characters esp the gods are handled in Hoo, and after reading one too many rewrite/AU fics, I've decided fuck it, imma make my own.

I'm changing quite a few things, like:

- making Piper's memories not be tampered with and as a result be way closer to Leo (credit to Heroes of Juno by @queenjunothegreat for this idea!)

- MOTHERLY HERA/JUNO WHO PSEUDO-ADOPTS JASON FTW also parental Lupa but that'll be more apparent in a Jason prequel/sequel(depends on how I wanna format it) I’ll write after TLH is done

- slowburn valgrace instead of comphet jiper

- Leo and Piper QPR(+Jason when Piper stops being his #1 opp). Jasipereo ftw babyyy

- the whole series is just gonna have a good deal of focus on the Lost Trio. I'm not gonna shaft anyone ofc but my favorite punching bags characters are just gonna get extra love :3

- Jason's gonna be considerably more feral cuz CMON MAN WAS RAISED BY WOLVES(this is more prominent in the later books cuz in TLH he was alr feral, going at 2 giants with his BARE ASS HANDS)

- Jason has more bite cuz DAMMIT HE DESERVES TO BE ANGRY/BITTER AND CLAP BACK. HIS LIFE IS SHIT, LET MY BRO BE MAD

- more exploration into Jason's character cuz man was shafted so hard :(

- exploration of characters' powers in general, def buffing the Big Three kids to be as strong as Percy cuz holy cow he's OP. I love Percy and his OP-ness, but the other Big Three kids should be just as OP

- Zeus is the God of Justice, which we don't see much of in PJO's characterization of him, but Jupiter is Roman and hence is much more strict in the RRverse, so consequently I think his domain of law and order is more central to Jupiter than his greek counterpart, so I'd like to explore Jason having powers related to that and being an absolute powerhouse when it comes to debates and politics despite hating them

- characterizing the Gods differently from canon as I'm a Hellenist and writing them as they are in canon makes me like. Kinda uncomfortable. I will be using mythic literalism as that is what PJO/HoO's based on and I'm not rewriting the very foundations of the series, so they will still have committed the things they did in mythology, though I'm keeping them largely unaltered from the Og greek mythos and unsanitized as this isn't intended for a young audience like PJO is. Their behavior won't be exactly like their depictions in myths nor how they actually are irl, it's a mix of both(Ex: Zeus has still done heinous shit so he won't be as great as he is irl, but he isn't supremely petty and bitchy like he is in PJO.). This uhh. Will probably mean that PJO events would go differently which would influence HOO but if I think about that too much I'm gonna wanna do a PJO rewrite too and akbhdhd so just imagine that everything that goes on in PJO goes as canon (for now at least) for some reason or another.

- Octavian and Jason are were best friends cuz I said so. This change is inspired by To Storm and Fire(a Heroes of Olympus rewrite) which I am in LOVE with. The antagonistic side characters(like Drew and Octavian) got very little development or character exploration so l'm definitely giving them that in my rewrite!

- The Seven feel and are much closer together

- delving more into the sevens' trauma pre-camp, might also do a one/two shot for each of them. Jason’s a given cuz I’m writing a whole ass fic or even series dedicated to his past, Leo and Piper definitely, probably also Hazel and Annabeth, not sure on Percy and Frank cuz for Frank I’m def going into the trauma that comes with growing up in an Asian household but don’t have too many ideas on how to execute that, and for Percy I don’t have all that many ideas in general outside of the little we know in PJO(I used to think we knew a lot but honestly, we really don’t? Like we know Poseidon left, Sally had to work a lot, Gabe sucks, and he got kicked out of 6 six schools in 6 years and the reasons, but we don’t have any concrete details. There might be more in HoH, I haven’t read it yet so lmk if there is). Open to any ideas for this!

- camp is. Tense. It's been only a few months since the war, grief is still fresh, and Jason being tall, blonde, and blue-eyed with a scar ain't helping 💀 some people think Silena was a hero, others think she was a villain, some people sympathized with Luke, others despised him, there's a lotta differing views.

I have loads more ideas that I won't get into here cuz the post'll get way too long, but l'd love to hear what you guys think! What scenes/characterizations should I change? What topics would you like to see handled differently? What should I add? I'm open to any and all suggestions!

Currently outlining TLH, will start posting it on my ao3 once I have the first chapter and 4-5 buffer ones written so I'll prolly start posting it in a month or two? Idk, depends on my workload irl and if I get hit by writer’s block. Maybe less, maybe more, who knows. I'll be writing a bunch of shorter stories for specific moments, time between books, and namely a prequel/tih sequel focusing on Jason's past and who he was before Hera wiped his memory. Open to any suggestions for additional works too. Feel free to drop any questions and suggestions bout the rewrite here or in my ask box!

[freddie-77-ao3]

Percy Jackson-esque Chapter Titles for a fic i'm writing:

We have friends in holy places (and unholy- Hello Lady Hera!)

What’s Up, Random Person, We’re Kidnapping and Adopting You

Yeah, The Beach Is Nice- Thank You For Not Drowning Us

Hazel Was Dead and Still Knows More Than You

Thank Fuck For The Egyptian- How the Hell Did We End Up In Great Britain

Annabeth Is Obsessed and Bianca Is Possessed- There Goes Christmas

Question Of Our Lives and Today Especially: What The Hell Is Going On?!

Now Would Be A Good Time To Be Anyone Else

Call The Police Because We May Have Just Murdered A Mortal

Ask And You Shall Receive… Sometime In The Next Twenty Years Probably

A Guinea Pig, A Dandelion, A Pine Tree, An Olive Tree and Two Embarrassed Girls Walk Into A Bar  

Satan Or Santa? Neither Should Exist And Yet Somehow They’re Both Knocking On Our Tent Door

A Slight Reprieve From The Last Chapter: Connor Comes For You With The Question ‘Do Tents Have Doors?’

And We’re Back, Why Did You Guys Think Our R&R Would Last Long?

Sugar, Spice, Almost Dying Twice (Today)

Would You Put ‘Cheating Death Almost Daily’ Under Experience Or Special Skills?

An Inspirational Trip Through Hell- Persephone Makes Good Brownies

Those Commercials Where People Screw Up The Most Basic Of Tasks In The Most Idiotic Fashion Ever Describes The Current Situation

As The Prophecy Foretold (We Made It Up, But It Came True)

Living Normally? In This Economy?

And Then The Wolves Came… Sike (Thank Fuck)

The Snails Paced Chocolate Bunny Gives Mixed Messages But Good Cereal

What The Hades Is Going On, Someone Explain

Apparently Exploding A Volcano Makes Us 'Irresponsible’

Why Are Cats So Vengeful 

Oh Look! An Unhelpful Old Person!

The Adults Are More Annoying Than Leo Valdez and Nico Di Angelo Put Together

They Scream For Ice Cream, I Scream For Sanity

McDonald’s And Raising The Dead- Tuesday Never Looked So Good

Unfortunately, I’m Still Not Dead Or A Dolphin (Not For Lack Of Effort)

Eggs Apparently Don’t Like Being Lost At Sea

I’m Packing Up My Crayons And Leaving

Viva La Pluto, Fuck You Guys

A Guide To Giving Up

Hopefully We Can Do This Without Dying This Time

Lady Dirt Face Fucks Us Over- Apparently Today CAN Get Worse

Apparently The Horse Is A God, And Honestly, Fuck The World- But Not You Potty Sludge

If Love Is In The Air Then We’re Wearing Gas Masks- How We Almost Started A War On Accident

If Love Is An Open Door We Should Close It- Aphrodite And Cupid Both Suck

Vegan Ice Cream Sandwiches For One

I Call Shotgun (Said The Invisible Girl  and The Literal Ghost)

I Fucked My Way Into This Mess, I’ll Fuck My Way Out Of It

Things Go Horribly Wrong (Or Horribly Right? It’s Hard To Tell At This Point)

The Fine Art Of Bullshit

We Are Being Hunted And Killed (Why Is This Normal And How Can We Stop It?)

Previously On ‘The Chaos Chronicles”

Cool, Cool, Cool, Cool. Actually It’s Not- Who Lit Katie’s Hair On Fire?!

I’d Like To Say This Is Shocking, But That Would Just Be A Lie

One Hundred And One Monsters, And Twenty Times A Therapist Was Needed

I Am Honestly Surprised That We Are Still Alive, And Apparently So Are The Gods

You Will Never Be A God

Blackmail Only Works If I Care

An Offer I Can Definitely Refuse

Hush Little Baby, Don’t You Cry, You’ll Give Away Our Location, And Then We’ll Die

Only Come Back With Back Up Or A Burger- Maybe Donuts

Doomsday Or Not, Let Me Go Back To Bed, I Haven’t Slept In A Week And I Don’t Care

Practise Doesn’t Make Perfect, Practise Makes A Forest Fire And A Flood

Sea Foam Speaks and A New Person Shatters My Dreams

The Labyrinth Apparently Doesn’t Murder The Already Dead, So Can We Just Die Already?

For A Moment I Forgot Gravity, And As It Seems So Did The Sky, Which Is Good Because I’d Hate To Die Before Breakfast

And God Told Us To Run A Marathon- What Happened To Normal Executions?

At Some Point The Universe Just Needs To Kill Us

There Is Not Enough Faith For This, 

No Words Can Explain Dan, The God Of Moths and Accidental Demon Summoning 

 The Endless and Mysterious Ocean Becomes A Bit Less So, And I Should Have Paid For Diving Lessons

If Best Plus Bitter Equal Better, Then I Am Way Better Than Everyone

Firecrackers And Actual Crackers- Where Is The Cheese

He Likes Art. Terrible Art, But Still Art So I Suppose I’ll Forgive The Sword Through My Head

Hazel Drives Worse Than Thalia Which Says A Lot Because Thalia Crashed Into A Lake- Oh Wait

What Do You Do When The World Almost Ends- And No Nico, The Answer Isn’t Go To McDonalds

This Wasn’t Supposed To Happen (Just Like Me)

Can I Rewrite My Life Story, Because If So I’m Starting With This

I Wasn’t Prepared For Parenthood When I Stopped A Kidnapping, I’m Seven

Patting My Own Back, No One Appreciates Me, Fuck This And Really The Rest Of My Life

Apparently Dying Is Not An Excuse For Being Late, So Fuck You Too 

Buying Happy Meals For The Dead Isn’t An Excuse For Being Late

Caped God? I Was Hoping You Had Said Cape Cod

Incoherent Screaming Is Our Theme Song, And I Feel A New Episode On

Who Told Apollo He Could Give Us Presents, Because MCR Is Not A Proper Wake Up Call

It’s Jesus Who Ruined Our Lives This Time, Folks

Don’t Awaken The Ancient One, She Has Anxiety

I Did Not Know That Could Kill Someone, But You Learn Something New Every Day

The Gods Themselves Want Me Dead, You’re Not Special, Todd

Doritos And Death, A How To On Properly Waking And Raising The Dead Featuring A Trip To Alaska

What Was I Thinking? I’m Pretty Certain I Wasn’t

News To No One: The Previously Dead Can’t Drive

I Really Hate Saving The World Actually

How Many Times Is That Threat Going To Work Considering It’s Not Serious? A Surprising Number

Everyone Asks Who We Are, Not How We Are, And Honestly I’m Pretty Hungry

The Gods Hate Me And I Don’t Know Why (I Do Know Why, But I Don’t Care, And Honestly They Shouldn’t Either)

 Which Circle Of Hell Are We In Now, Because I Was Not Planning On A Field Trip To Tartarus

We Master The Elements (Some Of Them- We Also Torch And Flood New England)

In Which We Almost Die Again And No One Bats An Eye

 Our Lives Would Be Incredibly Saddening If We Could Sit Down And Look At Them, But Leo Burned Our Chairs 

The Houseplants Try To Eat Us, And Katie Gets Mad

We Babysit For A God, And Then Adopt His Kids- Surprisingly He’s Fine With This

Dreams Do Come True And That Is Absolutely Not A Good Thing

There Goes My Best Bargaining Chip (Oh And Also His Head)

A Series Of Horrible Decisions- Who Decided I Was The Leader

Hylla, Please Don’t Leave Us- Oh, You Can Give Us A Box Of Cereal? Nevermind 

Sunshine And Rainbows Are Meant To Mean Happiness Not War- Iris and Apollo Destroy Things

Please Don’t Hit Me With Another Brick

We Were Happy And Then There Was A Giant Pigeon

Oh My Holy Fucking Shit That Was Not The Right Lever

In Which Swimming With Sharks Almost Leads To Death And Yet Saves Our Lives

There Is No Highway To Hell As It Turns Out, Only Backroads, And Now Nico And Thalia Are Disappointed

And Then The Sky Almost Crushed Us Because It Fell And Honestly I’m Never Trusting You Again

There Goes Normal Society, Say Bye-Bye, Miranda 

Are We Supposed To Live Through This?

The Dick Who Hands Out Toothbrushes Also Assigns Us A Death Quest And This Is Why We Don’t Celebrate Holidays

Sorry For Cursing You Out, Please Fix My Life

The Plan Checks Out- We Can Do This! (Spoiler Alert- We Can’t)

Three Hundred And Sixty Five Times We Can Say Fuck In A Hour

Please Let Me Pass Out On Your Lawn

Apparently Yelling Fuck At The Sky Is Considered ‘Disrespectful’ And I Haven’t A Fucking Clue Why

Yes Sir, That Is A Lot Of Blood, And No Sir, She Doesn’t Need That Leg

That One Time We Accidentally End Up In The Slaughter Sea, And How That Manages To End Up With A New Leader Of The Amazon Empire And Thalia Gets A Girlfriend

Yes, I’m Aware I Look Gay, Thank You Very Much, I’m Here To Be Queer

This Person Is Nico di Angelo With Less Shits To Give, And Honestly That Scares Me

A Good Idea With Bad Results And A Bad Idea With Surprising Results- The Ending Will Astound You

Never Thought I’d Literally Be Shut In The Closet Again, But Life’s Full Of Surprises

One Million Pounds Of Oranges And Sadness, Sixty Thousand Pounds Of Mangos, And A Truck Full Of Happiness- Monsters Not Welcome

Who Packed The Blueberry Muffins?

Nevertheless She Persisted, And Yet Just Like That, She Gave Up

What The Hell Is This, What The Hell Is That, Why The Hell Am I Here, What The Hell, *Moonwalks Into Hell*: A Brief Summary Of Life

All Is Fair In Being The First One In The Shower

We Accidentally Summon An Army Of Lost Souls

All Our Nightmares Come True And We Prove We’re Idiots

Life Gave ‘Lia Lemons. She Squeezed Them In My Eyes. Please No More Lemons.

Trying To Play Nice To The Gods Never Ends Well. In Other Words, Percy Is An Olive Tree

What’s Happening? I’m Digging My Own Grave, That’s What

Finger Guns, Peace Signs, and Middle Fingers To Nowhere- Home At Last

In Jason’s Defense, He Tried, But The Dragon Was More Interesting

Keeping A Family Alive Can Be Difficult, Especially With No Education and More Monsters A Day Than Cash (Twenty Dollars)

Thalia Tries To Sing Over Annabeth And Percy Arguing And All That Happens Is A Noise Complaint

At This Point, Murder Is Less Of A Passing Thought And More Of An ‘It’s Only A Matter Of Time’

Cousin Bonding Time Doesn’t Usually Include The Gods, But There Are Burgers So…

According To The Crazy Titan Lord Kronos, Asking If A Newborn Looks Like A Rock Is A Question That Will Result In The Death Of The Asker

Oh Joy, I’m Facing Scrutiny Over My Love Life From Immortal Preteens

Oh Things Couldn’t Be Worse When Your Parents Run The Universe Oh Things Couldn’t Be Worse When There’s A Vote To Kill Us (Leo stop using Jazz hands!)

We Have The Worst Family Reunion Ever 3.0

Barbed Wire Instead Of String, The Fates Hate Me More Than You Might Think

Zombies, Zombies Everywhere, Wave Your Hands Up In The Air

The World Is A Different Place When You Know What The World Is (Spoiler Alert: It’s Your Murderous Great Grandma)

The Refrigerator Seems Empty, Much Like My Soul

Ah, The Smell Of Success, It Smells Like Bullshit

My Heart Is Broken (Like Those Crackers That Bianca’s Eating)

Utter Chaos: Now Featuring Camp Half Blood And Literal Blood

Family Drama Destroys My Life

Family Drama 2.0: Family Drama Destroys California

So Then A God Says We ‘Will Save Humanity’, And Thalia Says ‘What The Fuck’

Two Middle Aged Women Start Screaming In Walmart

The Main Braincell Holder Is Asleep, God Doesn’t Exist, And Starting Forest Fires Is A Normal Way To Deal With Stress

Hell Is Just Life On Steroids

Queerly Beloved, We Are Gathered Here Togay… A.K.A. A Bet Ruins Rachel Elizabeth Dare’s Life

Normal People Would Avoid This, But The Two Most Normal People Here Used To Be Dead Or Will Die When A Stick Lights On Fire, So We Can’t Have High Hopes

We Try (And Fail, But Hey, It’s The Thought That Counts, Right?)

So THAT’S Where The Greek Fire Went. Sorry, Bus Driver.

Percy Has His Gay Awakening In The Form Of His Grandfather (Technically. He’s Also Technically His First Cousin Once Removed Or Something- Annabeth’s cousin maybe?)

You're Annoying Me To Death With Your Monologue So I Have To Kill You Now

What Can Go Wrong Will Go Wrong Doesn’t Mean You Should Set My Bed On Fire

Thalia Does Shock Therapy Meaning She Electrocutes People When They Say Things 

We Should Know By Now That Yelling Doesn't Solve Things But We Don’t, And The Gods Don’t Either

Most Of My Life Is Incredibly Traumatizing, But This Is New 

Who The Fuck Invited The Norse?!

Okay, I Thought The Norse Were Enough, Why Are The Magicians Here?

Wow. Popcorn. The Roman’s Worst Nightmare. 

So First The World Almost Ends, And Then The World Ends But It Gets Better, And Now It’s Ending Again?

Prophecies Can Fuck Off, And So Can Apollo

“Treacherous Nephew In The Tuxedo” Should Sound Funny, But It Doesn’t, And That Makes Leo Sad

 Why Is A Titan Making Dad Jokes? 

Falling Into A Dumpster Was The Highlight Of My Day, What Is Life

Grieving For The Living Is Just As Hard As Grieving For The Dead

Please Forget That I Tried To Kill You

In My Defence, An Invisible Higher Power Who Has The Ability To Strike Me Down Made Me Do It

Let Out A Boo For The Boom Man

Twenty McDonald’s Happy Meals And A Gun- Godly Gifts Are Awesome

We Enter The Maze Of Doom (This Time With Fabulous Prizes)

Two Brothers Are Not Happy As A Sister Cheers On Two More Brothers As They Duel To The Death- (Triton & Tyson & Kymopoleia & Percy & Anteus Have Sibling Bonding Time) 

The Eight Year Old With A Gun Manages To Save And Then Destroy A Life

Hello, I’m Queer, And Full Of Fear. Please Kill Me Now

Children Try To Make Plans (It Doesn’t Go So Well)

Thalia Grace Once Again Proves That Being A Demigod Really Fucking Sucks

It Don’t “Do Be Like That Sometimes” Leo, We Are In HELL

[dontspillthefrijoles43]

Leo’s birthday 🥳🥳🥳

(A/N: I know it’s a Fanon birthday, probably, but I could not do a post about our favorite Hammer brain without my oc— cause they’re my sillies, and I’ve been dead for awhile. So here’s my head canons for Leo’s birthday. Btw I hc him as 18 cause that’s the same age I am (🥳) and experiences I have had so far from turning 18)

Warning: Drinking mention, weed mentioned, teenagers being teenagers, etc

Leo has never had a real birthday party since he was 7, and when Breisa hears this she throws him the most nostalgia fueling Mexican/latino birthday party

She buys those ugly ass piñtas with balloons in one and candy in the other. Also party favors and hats (which he wears two of—like cat ears)

It’s either SpongeBob or TMNT theme, she even goes to the local pañería to buy him a cake

She will wake his ass up with the Vicente Fernández song, las mañanitas with his had made speaker that he made her and it sounds loud and booming

She also finds Texas barbeque recipes mixed with Mexican Texan authentic food. Has Will and Annabeth help her cook it.

While the seven distract him for his surprise party by buying new clothes. They also buy him a cowboy hat with flames on it.

When the party finally comes down too, Leo is surprise by party with homemade food, decorations,and jumper + a mechanical bull

You bet ur ass he rides the bull at full speed

He is having the time of his life and he even isn’t drinking— not that he’s much of a drinker anyway. He had his first shot and it tasted like battery acid and orange juice

He dances with everyone to all his favorite songs. He might’ve dance to old school Spanish/tejano songs with Breisa— maybe sharing a kiss under his cowboy hat😉😉

When it finally comes down to the birthday cake, he lights his own candles, everyone sings happy birthday. And he bows out his candles, only to get his face smashed into it by Breisa

Which scares the shit out of her because she thinks she goes too far, but then he pops up laughing hard, frosting all over his face. (Thank god she bought two cakes)

Gifts for the seven include: chuck of Ruby rock from Hazel, weed (trust me I had a vision) and cassettes + Polaroids of the trio from Piper, Lions Paw seashell necklace from Percy, a festus Chinese dragon style bracelet from Frank , power tools + car stickers from Annabeth, and Game disk of all the Mario party games + new controller from Jason

Now you may be wondering if Breisa threw him this big ass party and brought all his friends together, it would be it for birthday gifts. But nah, she loves him too much to leave something out— a hand-made love letter with purple lipstick stains cheesy asf, a restored painting of him + Esperanza, and matching necklace with the sun on it (hers has the moon).

You best believe she covers his face with lipstick stains until he is dizzy and lovestick

Leo: Best birthday ever 🥰

Breisa: Best birthday so far, Amorcito

[buoyantsaturn]

C.J. buoyantsaturn's 2023 year in review

JANUARY

But I can't help getting caught up in it all [12,446 words] summary: Nico, Leo, and Will are living their happily ever after - until an old friend moves back into town.

FEBUARY

Then you hold life like a face between your palms ... and you say, yes, I will take you / I will love you, again. [4,718 words] summary: “You’re still going to marry me someday, right?” Nico’s head snapped up, drizzling paint across the floor as he lifted the roller from the pan too early - which was exactly why they’d chosen to finish up painting first. Nico snorted, a gorgeous sound that sent Will’s heart fluttering. “Of course I am. What kind of question is that?”

MARCH

crocheted mushroom [1,618 words] summary: It had started off with something Will had mentioned in passing - a specific plant that only grew in the Underworld with its own magical healing myth. The next time Nico had gone to run an errand for his father, he returned with the flower, pressed and fragile, blandly announcing to Will that - according to Persephone - the myth was bullshit, even if the flower was pretty.

APRIL

How many kinds of love might there be in the world, and how many formations might they make [5,908 words] summary: Nico turned toward his husband with a smile, crossing his arms over his chest. He took a second to admire the work that Will and Annabeth had done - she’d designed a coop that was a perfect scale replica of the Apollo cabin back at camp, complete with nesting boxes where the bunk beds were placed. Nico called back, “Where do you think we’re going to find magic chickens in the middle of Texas?” Or, five friends who come to visit Nico and Will, and one who doesn't.

MAY

Work and play, they're never okay to mix the way we do [77,579 words] summary: “We don’t have an appointment,” Reyna stated without greeting, lifting her eyes from her computer screen to look at them both, though her hands stayed where they were on her home row keys. “We shouldn’t be long,” Jason replied as he took a seat in one of the chairs opposite her desk. When Nico didn’t move to follow, Jason glanced back at him and nodded to the other open seat. He didn’t speak again until after Nico had sat down. “We want Will Solace to open for Lost Heroes when we go out on our next tour.”

JUNE

Put the Car in Drive (don't stop running 'til you're long gone) [17,487 words] summary: Because, no matter what, Will would always come home to Nico. 

JULY

lemon drops [3,753 words] summary: "Um. Did you ever do the whole…law school…thing, like you said you wanted to? Because I think I might need a lawyer.” 

AUGUST

Doctor Doctor, Give Me the News (I've Got a Bad Case of Loving You) [29,023 words] summary: As he started out from behind the reception area for the first time in four hours, Leo called out to him, “Hey, by the way, Apollo’s doing that thing again where he talks about adding more staff members. Just be prepared, ‘cause you know he’s going to ask your opinion. Since you’re his favorite, and all.”

SEPTEMBER

(all i really want is to be your) Boyfriend [2,941 words] summary: “Nico, you’re never going to believe this!” Hazel exclaimed. “CPR got back together!” Nico turned his face toward the ceiling, wondering what he could have possibly done to deserve this.

OCTOBER

yet i need to talk to you [4,116 words] summary: “Being away from you just makes me think about how I never want to be without you, and--” Nico snorted. “Are you asking me to marry you? Haven’t we done this already?” 

NOVEMBER

Remember nights we spent on hard wood floors [67,859 words] summary: A sudden, tense silence passed between them. “Is it really this easy to start a band?” Lou asked. “Probably not,” Nico replied, “but we should meet up sometime to see what we can do.”

DECEMBER

bear skin rug [1,077 words] summary: Nico spun back around, a bright smile on his face as he said to Will, “See? How cool is--” Black spots danced in his eyes, and before he could say another word, Nico passed out.

[italian-wall-lizard]

I posted 2,635 times in 2022

That's 2,635 more posts than 2021!

398 posts created (15%)

2,237 posts reblogged (85%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@geeky-gay-greek

@emails-i-cant-send

@joshisepic2222

@bakedbananners

@on-the-outside

I tagged 1,322 of my posts in 2022

Only 50% of my posts had no tags

#pjo - 169 posts

#percy jackson - 164 posts

#riordanverse - 163 posts

#rick riordan - 161 posts

#fave - 104 posts

#mcga - 78 posts

#magnus chase - 75 posts

#toa - 50 posts

#alex fierro - 50 posts

#nico di angelo - 49 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#only two have guessed so far and i didn’t answer their asks so any post you see of me eliminating states isn’t a lie i’m not from any of em

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

my rrverse takes:

magnus is an underrated character in his own series

lester/apollo and magnus were BY far the funniest narrators

i didn't like jason's death but it was necessary and it made sense

i actually liked meg, she had a great storyline and she wasn't annoying

piper was queer from the beginning

with enough training hazel could probably be stronger than percy and jason

percy would end jason in a fight in two seconds flat

reyna, samirah, and hazel are the most badass rrverse women ever

i love toa but if i had to choose i would rather have five mcga books and three toa books

fierrochase and zarter are the most underrated ships in the fandom im right

mcga had HUGE potential as a series and rick def could have done more with it and added more books but didn't and i am very mad about that

rick's representation is very flawed both in poc's and lgbtq characters

(the feather in the hair, the food skin color descriptions, the fact that the only three latinx/hispanic characters come from abusive backgrounds, making leo call calypso "mamacita" in tdp, giving poc characters inherently non poc traits (hazels hair and eyes and pipers eyes), having samirah's hair out of her hijab at some points, making anubis white (biggie on that one), making his only book series with two mixed race main characters have three books instead of five)

(the genderfluid shapeshifter trope, outing nico and giving him the most trauma out of the seven but "hey it's okay because he gets a boyfriend", giving leo a girlfriend when he was very obviously into jason (and even then he didn't need to date anyone i really like the head canon that he is aro), making a slur of sorts for alex and having multiple main characters say it, making his only book series with a very openly queer main character (alex but also magnus at the end) have three books instead of five)

leo did NOT need to get a girlfriend, he should have stayed single as it was better for his character development

tj needs more recognition in the fandom i love him

annabeth was def one of the more powerful of the seven even though she didn't have powers and a lot of the people that hate her are just misogynistic (as well as piper)

not even a take but just a fact what the fuck was rick ON making anubis white like he is quite literally an egyptian god he is most definitely black

also not a take but like. please we need more people talking about tkc in the fandom i love it sm and no one is talking about it. the characters are amazing and i guarantee if carter and sadie were white they would've gotten more recognition

feel free to add on

846 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

#4

are you team "magnus is blitzstone shipper #1 and he knew they had a crush on each other since before they started dating"

or team "magnus is oblivious to blitz and hearth dating and he thought they were just really good friends until he found out like 2 years after they were married"

980 notes - Posted April 14, 2022

#3

picrew chain

i like these things so imma make one

here's me !!

super cool picrew link found here

tag whomever you'd like im tagging @tacocat-411 @blurrycow @avery-is-gay

981 notes - Posted July 2, 2022

#2

to my fellow swifties: what's your favorite album and zodiac sign? i wanna see if there's any correlation

mine is midnights and virgo

1,121 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

bitches on pjo tumblr really exploding right now over a thirteen year old boy saying eight words and wearing an orange shirt. it's me i'm bitches

3,742 notes - Posted September 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[eternally--mortal]

There’s no way Annabeth hasn’t been learning Egyptian magic spells in her free time.

Seriously. She and Percy have been suffering through close calls for so long. And Annabeth knows that she’s been at a physical disadvantage. She’s seen other demigods. Children of Athena are amazing and intelligent, but Annabeth can never face a problem head-on; she always has to work around it. In situations where the best way out is to brute force it, Annabeth has to work twice as hard to find a solution.

Well, guess what, Annabeth’s finally found a way to match Percy’s power.

And it’s through studying.

A whole new language of possibilities that she can mix and match when a powerful enemy shows up (because, from where I’m sitting, only two categories of monsters are chasing after Percy nowadays: One (1): idiots. And Two (2): major powerhouses who barge in, confident that they can take him out).

And let’s not forget Annabeth’s Norse heritage and the potential for Rune knowledge.

I promise you this. In the future of demigod history, Annabeth is going to be in bold print in the history books, not because she was Percy’s girlfriend/wife who tagged along on all his adventures with the power of friendship and spunky smarts, but because she was a master study of an amalgamation of pantheons to the point that she’s considered more dangerous than witches like Medea.

Annabeth may not be studying under the traditional title of ‘witch’ like Hazel is, but this girl is using magic to weaponize her brain.

There is nothing that this woman would not do to more conveniently protect her family —to put a stop to the absolute shit that she and Percy have been through.

I give you example A:

Sadie: This is our secret mansion which you can totally probably see with your holy voodoo magic god blood. Carter can show you the library, because Annabeth you’ll probably love that for some reason. The entrance is right—

Carter: Sadie, no, wait!

Carter: We have to invite them in.

Sadie: Wat? No, that’s only for—

Carter: *gesturing at Percy and Annabeth* Demigods

Sadie: Ooh. Right. Sorry. That could have been painful.

Percy: I’m sorry, but what?

Carter: We have a security system.

Annabeth: And it keeps out gods?

Carter: Only until you invite them in.

Annabeth: *eyeing Percy*

Annabeth: And could you, say, teach this spell to us?

Annabeth: Would it keep out Greek gods?

Annabeth: Even just one god, specifically.

Annabeth: Let’s say, a marriage goddess?

Percy: . . .

Percy: That would be great, actually

Percy: Now can we talk about how your house treats us like Vampires.

Annabeth is suddenly using magic everywhere, and it’s not just to protect them against monsters. It’s also to protect Percy from himself.

And I don’t just mean she makes him learn some hieroglyphs (which she does. He literally carries a pen with him. He might as well use it to write once in a while. Maybe the pen is as mighty as the sword).

Percy doesn’t have to use explodey-mountain powers when his girlfriend can speak just the right word and level a street. He won’t need to blood-bend against hostile gods, because Annabeth designs fortifications and pendants to keep the gods far away unless they have the proper permission.

Which totally spazzes Zeus out, by the way. All of a sudden, Annabeth isn’t just an inconvenient enabler for her Threat boyfriend. Annabeth is the Threat.

Zeus: I though you gave a prophecy to the Jackson kid.

Dionysus: Which Johnson kid?

Hermes: The new one. Charlie.

Dionysus: Ugh, the tiny one.

Apollo: I did. I mean, I tried. But the oracle doesn’t work around him.

Zeus: And why not?

Athena: Annabeth gave him a pendant.

Zeus: Well tell him to take it off!

Apollo: We, uh. We suggested that.

Zeus: And?

Apollo: *pulls up an IM screen recording. A twelve-year-old boy appears. He has Percy’s nose. . . Annabeth ears . . .*

Charlie: No. I am strictly grounded from quests. Forever. You have a prophecy for me, right? What’s Zeus gonna do? Kill me? Not if you want your prophecy fulfilled.

It’s also a great path for further developing Annabeth’s empathy for Percy’s frustrations with his own powers. We talk a lot as a fandom about Dark!Percy, but what about Annabeth’s side of things. She’s been terrified of her boyfriend, and he knows, and she knows he knows. Annabeth has seen Percy in his wrath, but she’s also seen how negatively her own fears affect him. There’s no way she would look at that and not search to the ends of the earth for some way to reassure him, or at least to support him.

Annabeth’s all calculated plans and building architecture and trying to make things last. She believed for years that Percy was going to die from the prophecy, and she attached herself to the idea of ignoring what would happen to him and instead trying to preserve Luke, because, by the gods, there was no way she was going to lose both of them. But look at how much Annabeth was ready to tear into Hera. More than ever, right now Annabeth has the motivation to throw out preservation and flip the script. I want Annabeth to experience what being destructive feels like. I want her to succeed and an want it to be beautiful and terrible. I want her to make mistakes. I want her to underestimate herself and overdo it. I want her to begin to understand her power to the point where she walks into situations with the weight of knowledge, debating whether it’s worth it to let a potential enemy live, or if she should just kill them now and save herself the trouble later. And I want Percy to step in and balance her out again.

In the end, I want Annabeth to realize that it’s not the power that’s scary, but learning to use it the right way and at the right time. Learning to lean on people, and to find people that will help you to balance it instead of just being afraid of you. Annabeth’s new magic—her knowledge—isn’t evil, and Percy’s power isn’t either.

[timelesslords]

Girl’s Night

Read on AO3

In which Annabeth has a little too much wine at Girl's Night and feels very guilty about it. Thankfully, Percy doesn't mind taking her home.

Annabeth Chase was very good at holding her alcohol.

In all honesty it was mostly because she didn’t drink that much to begin with. Being drunk had never been all that appealing to her— years of being on edge for the next fight made it difficult for her to intentionally dull her senses, and she never liked how foggy it made her brain either. Living in New Rome for the past few years hadn’t completely squashed those instincts, despite its top of the line anti-monster security.

But still. Annabeth could keep it together pretty well, when she chose to indulge. She’d gone to a few wild parties earlier in college, mostly at Piper’s behest, and she didn’t mind having a few glasses of wine every once in a while.

Girl’s Night was every once in a while. Every first Friday of the month, if you wanted to be exact about it. In all honesty the practice was probably a bit dumb and middle aged for a bunch of people (and, okay, ‘a bunch of people’ was generous- it was really only Piper, Annabeth and Hazel) in their early twenties, but Annabeth didn’t care. It was hard to keep up with people these days, and Annabeth appreciated the emphasis on female camaraderie and friendship.

Plus, Piper had really stellar taste in wine.

Tonight’s had been especially good, and after a long and stupidly stressful week at school (Annabeth wished she could emulate Percy’s senioritis, but unfortunately the Architecture program only got harder as it went on, not easier) Annabeth found herself a little extra appreciative of the relaxing effects of alcohol.

It seemed like all of them had had a tough week, because they were all buzzed pretty fast. Piper was even happy to deliver the latest Hollywood gossip, courtesy of her dad, and Hazel was telling them a story about a probie getting stuck in the unicorn stables that made Annabeth laugh so hard she was practically sobbing. Piper and Hazel were not much better; Piper had completely fallen off the couch from cracking up so hard, and Hazel could barely get a word in edgewise before she completely dissolved into giggles again.

It was then that Annabeth caught a glance of the two completely empty bottles of wine in front of them, and realized that all of them— though mostly she, specifically— had made a grave mistake. She had no idea how many times her own glass had been filled and then subsequently emptied, but it was enough that she was well past tipsy and solidly in drunk territory.

It was hard to care about the bad parts of being drunk when you were currently drunk, Annabeth was finding. Everything was just so much funnier.

Apparently Jason had also sensed that they were drunk, or maybe he just had heard the deranged cackling coming from the living room, and wanted to make sure they were all still alive.

“Are you guys alright?” he asked, sticking his head through the doorway.

“I’m fantastic. I mean, I don’t know about you two, but I am—” Piper paused, letting out a small hiccup, “Feeling awesome.”

“I feel great,” Hazel agreed, barely able to stop laughing long enough to let the words out.

Annabeth wasn’t sure she remembered how to form coherent words anymore, so she just gave a thumbs up.

“You guys are really drunk,” Jason said, voice an impressive mix of concern and amusement. He walked into the room, picking up one of the empty bottles of wine they’d left on the table and examining the label.

“That’s my man. Very smart,” Piper said, apparently completely seriously, leaning against Jason’s leg.

“Pipes, you realize this wine is like, 20%, right?” Jason asked, ignoring her declaration of his intelligence.

Piper frowned. The expression seemed very exaggerated, or maybe Annabeth’s head was just messing with her. It was very funny either way, and she had to stifle a laugh.

“Shut up Annabeth. Let me see that,” Piper said, holding her hand up for the bottle. Jason very wisely did not let Piper hold the bottle herself, instead holding it at eye level in front of her. She gripped the bottom of it, pulling it towards her and squinting at the label.

“Nevermind. I can’t read anymore,” Piper said, relinquishing her grip on the bottle. That sent Hazel and Annabeth into another fit of laughter. They would probably be drunk even if the wine wasn’t that strong, but it certainly explained why Annabeth felt like she was floating right now. She hadn’t been this wasted since at least freshman year, maybe ever. Everything was a little blurry at the edges, and she was dizzy in a kind of delightful way. She let out one last giggle.

“And that means we are officially at the me-calling-your-boyfriends time of the night,” Jason said, setting the bottle back down on the table. Piper groaned.

“Party pooper,” she grumbled, though she didn’t move herself off his legs.

“Sorry babe,” he said, apologetically, “You guys are welcome to crash here, obviously. I’ll just call Frank and Percy to let them know.”

“S’fine,” Hazel said, yawning and pulling out her phone, “I’ve been texting him. I’ll just tell him now.”

“That’s against the spirit of Girls Night.” Piper said, pointing an accusing finger at Hazel, “You’re a cheater.”

“I had to tell him about your dad’s friend secretly dating his co-star! She was in his favorite movie!” Hazel protested.

Annabeth had not texted Percy tonight, in part because, as Piper had said, it was against the spirit of Girl’s Night, but also because he was probably asleep. Usually he’d stay up and wait for her to get home, even though New Rome was probably the safest city on the face of the planet, and the chances of anything happening to Annabeth on the six block walk between their respective apartments was ludicrously slim. But he’d been practically dead on his feet when she left, and had agreed pretty easily to turn in early when she suggested it.

She immediately felt bad about the prospect of waking him up. She knew she should though— he’d much rather be woken up in the middle of the night than wake up in the morning with her not there. Even though it would take about three seconds to check his phone and realize everything was fine, old habits die hard and it would unnecessarily stress him out. Especially since it was the one night he’d agreed not to stay up and wait for her.

So waking him up was inevitable. Worse, she was starting to realize that she really wanted to be home with him. As comfortable as Piper’s floor was (and given how drunk Annabeth was, it was genuinely pretty comfortable) she just really wanted to be in her own bed, preferably with Percy also in it.

“Annabeth’s gonna want to go home,” Piper predicted, drawing Annabeth out of her thoughts, “She gets boyfriend clingy when she’s drunk.”

“I do not,” Annabeth said, even though she most definitely did.

“You’re a bad liar,” Hazel said, patting Annabeth’s leg sympathetically.

“I’m an excellent liar,” Annabeth said. Under normal circumstances this would be true. Unfortunately being drunk was not normal for her.

“Uh huh.” Piper said, “Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t want Percy to come pick you up.”

Annabeth looked into Piper’s eyes, currently a very pretty green shade. Not as pretty as the shade of green Percy’s eyes were, but nice, for eyes that were not Percy’s. What was she supposed to be doing again?

“This feels like a trick,” Annabeth said, squinting.

“She wants Percy to pick her up,” Piper said, tugging at Jason’s pant leg.

“Yeah, I got that,” Jason said. Annabeth was pretty sure he was laughing at them, but in her current state it was a little hard to tell. “Let me go get my phone.”

Piper whined as Jason walked away, leaning back against the couch.

“Can you even walk, Chase?” she asked, looking dubiously at Annabeth “He’s going to have to carry you home.”

“I can walk,” Annabeth said, very offended even though she didn’t entirely know if her statement was true. Piper snorted.

“You’re lucky Percy is strong.”

“This is all your fault, McLean. Don’t think I’ve forgotten,” Annabeth said, aiming a soft kick at Piper’s leg.

“Okay, in my defense I didn’t read the label,” Piper said, pulling her leg back just in time to avoid Annabeth’s foot.

“How is that a defense?” Hazel asked, though she was giggling.

Piper did not have time to further defend and/or implicate herself, because Jason appeared in the doorway again.

“Percy’s coming, he’ll be here in ten.”

“Was he mad?” Annabeth asked anxiously. Piper rolled her eyes.

“I don’t think Percy is physically capable of being mad at you,” she said.

“He thought it was funny, actually,” Jason said, ignoring Piper.

“Told you so,” Piper said smugly.

“Shut up,” Annabeth grumbled.

The next ten minutes passed in a very drunken blur. Now that she had fully realized she was intoxicated, the feeling only seemed to compound, each uncounted drink catching up to her with a reckless abandon. She was vaguely aware of Piper crawling back on the couch to lie down, and Hazel curling up in an armchair. Annabeth just stayed on her little patch of floor. If she got too comfortable, she wasn’t going to want to get up.

She could feel something anxious starting to prickle under the surface of all her artificially happy feelings, but it was sort of difficult to dissect when she couldn’t really think straight.

“Hey, Wise Girl,” a familiar voice said.

Annabeth looked up to see Percy smiling down at her. He looked so pretty she almost started crying. Almost. Crying as a normal human function was fine and good and emotionally necessary and all that, but crying because you were drunk and your boyfriend was hot was just embarrassing.

“I’m drunk,” she told him. Might as well get right to the point.

“Yeah, I gathered,” he said, still looking at her with entirely too much affection, “You feel okay enough to walk home?”

“Yeah. I wanna walk,” Annabeth said, accepting his hand and pulling herself to his feet. If he hadn’t been holding her she probably would have fallen over.

“You sure about that?” he asked skeptically, putting his other hand around her waist, steadying her. She leaned into him, because she always leaned into him, and yeah, okay, maybe she needed his support to walk straight, but what about it.

“Very sure,” Annabeth said. Already she was adjusting to being on her feet. Percy half looked like he wanted to protest, but making it out of the living room seemed to convince him that she was okay to at least make it a few blocks home.

Sitting down on the bench in the front hall to put her shoes on was somehow worse than walking. She managed to shove her shoes into her sneakers, but getting them tied was probably not going to happen.

“I can’t remember how shoelaces work,” Annabeth admitted, looking up at him, “Does that mean I’m screwed?”

“Well, there’s good news and there’s bad news,” Percy said, leaning down to tie her shoe for her. Annabeth shut her eyes tight, then opened them again, trying very hard to focus out her vision. It didn’t work.

“What’s the bad news?” Annabeth asked, because bad news tended to ruin good news, and she’d rather just get it out of the way.

“You’re going to be very hungover tomorrow.” Percy said, straightening up. She thought he was smiling, but considering there were two of his head floating around in front of her, it was kind of hard to tell.

“Are you laughing at me?” Annabeth asked. He was definitely smiling now.

“I would never,” Percy said, wrapping an arm around her waist, “C’mon, lets go.”

Their goodbye was not as extended or elaborate as Annabeth expected, mostly because Piper and Hazel were already half-way to being passed out. Still, there were some waves, some I-love-yous and a partially incoherent apology from Piper, though who it was aimed at was something of a mystery.

Stairs were just a bit tricky, but she managed to stumble down them without seriously injuring herself. She was sure Percy helped somehow, but she could barely tell the difference between his arms supporting her and her own movement.

“What’s the good news?” Annabeth asked, once they were safely on the sidewalk, heading in the direction of her apartment. It was probably cold, but between Percy’s body heat next to her and her own drunkenness, she could barely feel it.

“You haven’t thrown up?” Percy offered, half-heartedly. Annabeth swallowed down a gag.

“Don’t say those words again,” she warned. Percy winced.

“Right. Sorry.”

“That wasn’t even good news, that was irrelevant news,”

“I think it’s excellent news, personally.” Percy said. He was laughing at her again, probably, but she also probably deserved it. Probably. She was wrapped under his shoulder because his arm was still helping hold her up, so it was kind of hard to see his face. She focused her eyes down at the sidewalk in front of her instead, focusing on not tripping.

“You would,” Annabeth said, “You didn’t have good news, did you?”

“I was sort of hoping you would forget,” Percy admitted.

“I never forget,” Annabeth reminded him. She had an excellent memory. Especially for things that had happened only 2 minutes ago. Admittedly the rest of the night was already starting to get a little blurry.

“I’m sorry for doubting you,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Annabeth felt a small stab of guilt. He was teasing her, sure, but he was also being stupid nice even after she’d dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night to practically carry her intoxicated self back home.

And now she was remembering where that little wiggle of anxiety had been stemming from. He didn’t like being around drunk people. He never really said anything, because he was him and thus was probably allergic to the mere thought of even mildly killing anyone else’s fun for his own personal comfort or convenience. But she knew him well enough that he didn’t need to say anything. He’d never taken up Piper’s offer to go partying with them, even though he encouraged Annabeth to go when she’d wanted to, and he hardly ever drank himself. Even then it was only in social situations, and usually just one drink that he probably didn’t even feel.

So maybe he hadn’t flat out said he didn’t like people being wasted around him, but he had told her about Gabe; how he was a drunk, abusive asshole. It wasn’t too hard to put the pieces together.

“I’m sorry I got drunk,” Annabeth said. It was kind of a lame apology considering she was probably slurring her words a good amount, but she meant it anyways.

She felt something shift in his demeanor— if she was sober, she would know instantly what the slight change in pressure meant. As it was, she was kind of in the dark.

“Why are you sorry?” he asked. She thought he sounded surprised, but maybe she was mishearing, because it would be dumb for him to be surprised by that. At the very least, he should understand she felt bad about ruining his night.

“Because, I got messy and you had to wake up and take me home even though I could have just slept on Piper’s floor,” Annabeth said. Words were sort of flowing out of her without her completely approving them, in a jumbled rush. She didn’t like it, but she couldn’t quite remember how to stop it either.

“I don’t mind,” he said, just as she’d known he would. He meant it too, even drunk off her ass she could tell he wasn’t annoyed at her at all, even though he would be totally justified to be.

“But I could have just slept on the floor,” Annabeth repeated, though even the thought caused her to lean deeper into him.

Percy slowed his pace, almost stopping. Annabeth tried looking up at him to decipher what he was thinking, but she couldn’t really make out his face well enough to tell.

“This isn’t just about waking me up, isn’t it?” he asked.

Ugh. Why did she forget in her drunken stupor that he knew her just as well as she knew him? Obviously he was going to pick up on something deeper that was making her feel guilty.

“I just—” Annabeth started, then stopped. It was difficult to pick words precisely enough for the thoughts she was having.

“I know you don’t really like parties and stuff. Or drunk people. And I’m a drunk people right now, so I’m sorry.”

Great job, Annabeth, Annabeth thought to herself. Very delicately put. The lack of subject verb agreement, that was a nice touch. You didn’t sound completely fucked up even a little bit.

God, she hated being drunk.

“I didn’t want you to wake up alone, tomorrow,” Annabeth said, trying again, “But I forgot that me being drunk might be worse, so that's why I feel bad.”

Percy stopped walking. At first Annabeth thought it was in response to what she’d just said, but then she realized they were in front of their apartment building.

Then she realized he wasn’t making any moves to go inside, so it was about what she’d said after all. Instead he turned her around so she could see his face, keeping his arms around her waist in support.

She couldn’t quite read his expression, yet another reason why alcohol was the devil.

“I have a feeling we’re going to need to repeat this conversation in the morning when you’re sober,” he started, “But just for the record, you being drunk doesn’t make me uncomfortable at all.”

Annabeth studied his expression, searching his face for any signs of mistruth. She found none, but she also couldn’t entirely trust her senses at the moment.

“Are you just saying that?” Annabeth asked, suspiciously, “Because that’s the sort of thing you would lie about.”

She had sort of expected him to sigh in annoyance, but to her surprise he smiled instead.

“I’m not lying, I swear.”

“But you don’t like other drunk people,” Annabeth insisted. For some reason the two ideas could not coexist in her mind.

“I don’t like drunk strangers,” he corrected, “You’re not a stranger.”

“Well, duh,” Annabeth said, which made him laugh. She hadn’t meant to, but she liked hearing him laugh, so she would accept it anyways.

“But doesn’t it— I don’t know, bring up bad memories, for you?” she asked, cautiously, “I don’t wanna do that. I don’t even really like being drunk.”

He just shook his head.

“If it did, I would tell you. But it doesn’t, I swear.”

Annabeth frowned. It was probably just her stupid wine brain, but she couldn’t quite connect the dots between all the points he was making.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because,” he said, somehow still smiling, “You’re you.”

“That’s a lame answer.” Annabeth said.

“It’s true,” he said, in that stupid earnest honest voice of his, “I mean, maybe if you started throwing beer cans at my head when you got tipsy it’d be different, but you’re the opposite of aggressive when you’re drunk. You actually get really cuddly, it's kind of cute.”

Annabeth knew he was trying to comfort her, but she also knew that Gabe had done a lot worse than throw beer cans at him. She felt a surge of anger on his behalf, but more powerfully a wave of sadness looking at his upbeat expression. It was so supremely unfair that she wanted to cry, but she just hugged him instead. She was probably proving his point about being cuddly, but she didn’t even care.

“I’m so glad your mom made him into a statue,” she mumbled into his chest.

“Me too,” Percy said, resting his chin on the top of her head.

“I love you so much,” Annabeth said, because she really, really did. Like so much. An embarrassing amount, if she were capable of feeling embarrassed about anything having to do with Percy Jackson, which she was pretty sure was impossible.

“I love you too,” he said, kissing the top of her head to prove it.

“Piper said I get boyfriend clingy when I’m drunk,” Annabeth admitted. He laughed, his chest vibrating beneath her.

“She might be right about that.”

“She’s usually right about things,” Annabeth said, without thinking. Then—

“Don’t tell her I said that.”

He laughed again, but it was quieter. She felt it more than she heard it this time.

“Your secret is safe with me,” he promised.

“I’m sorry I woke you up,” Annabeth said, because she really did feel bad about that, even beyond all the other stuff, “I should have paid more attention to what I was doing.”

She felt him shrug underneath her.

“Stuff happens, it's not a big deal,” Percy said easily, “We’ll just sleep in tomorrow. Speaking of, we should probably go inside.”

As soon as he said ‘go inside’ Annabeth’s brain suddenly registered that she was exhausted. It was late, her head was swimming, and his chest had been very warm and very comfortable. She’d fallen half asleep without even realizing it.

“Inside sounds good,” Annabeth agreed, yawning.

“C’mon, I’ll carry you the rest of the way,” Percy said, finally pulling away, brushing a few stray curls out of her eyes.

Maybe if she had been sober she would have protested. As it was she was pretty happy to climb on his back and rest her head on his shoulder. He looped his arms under her legs and lifted her up easily. Gods, he was stupidly strong. She should appreciate that more.

“I love you,” she mumbled one last time into his shoulder. Whether he’d heard or responded was a mystery to her, because she was asleep before he finished climbing the stairs.

[perseabethj]

wrapping paper and fights

25 days of Christmas prompts by @annabethy.

Day 21: Wrapping Gifts. Annabeth will do anything to make sure she can wrap her gift—even if that includes flirting with the cute guy that's trying to use the last of the wrapping paper.

“I should get a planner,” Annabeth kept thinking as she said ‘goodbye’ to the cashier.

An hour ago, she had received a text from Hazel on her group of friends’ group chat saying that she was on her way to help Piper set up for the ‘party’. She had been lost for a few minutes, thinking Hazel had got the days mixed up, but then everybody started saying they’d be leaving in half an hour and she realised that she was the one that got it all wrong, believing the party to be in two days. Piper had suggested doing a Secret Santa this year and Annabeth had fully believed in her abilities to find the perfect present the day before—however, she hadn’t counted on having to find the perfect present in less than an hour. She had run to the nearest Target and walked down several aisles until she found a matcha whisk that Piper had been asking for forever and quickly paid for it. The cashier had told her that they weren’t wrapping anything because it was too busy, but that she could go to the wrapping paper station, and Annabeth was praying nobody would be there and she wouldn’t have to wait, since she was already twenty minutes late.

As she was approaching the table, she saw that there was only a very small piece of wrapping paper left, but it was all that she needed. She quickened her steps but, when she was less than two metres away from the piece of paper, a guy on her left that she hadn’t noticed grabbed it for himself. She quickly turned to look at him, Extending her hand and grabbing the paper as well.

“Hey! I was gonna use that!” Annabeth exclaimed. She was being the kind of person she had always hated when shopping, but she really needed that paper.

“So was I?” The guy asked. “That’s why I grabbed it.”

“You don’t get it,” she told him. “I’m desperate. I need that piece of wrapping paper.”

The guy stood there and stared at her, and she used that time to stare back at him. He was beautiful—black, wavy hair that looked (and probably was) unbrushed, high cheekbones and tanned skin, bright green eyes, thick eyebrows and thick lips. If they hadn’t been fighting over something so important, she probably would’ve been tongue-tied. However, this was a serious matter, so flirting was off the table. Both of them were still holding onto the piece of paper and, just as she was sure he was going to say she could have it, he pulled it towards him.

“Look, I’m sorry, but I am also desperate.”

Annabeth groaned and threw her head back before looking back at him and pulling the piece of paper towards her.

“My life as I know it will be over if I don’t wrap this gift.”

“Well, then I hope you are excited for your new life,” he told her, obviously fighting off a smile.

Annabeth decided that flirting was off the table unless it helped her achieve her goal.

“What’s your name?” she asked him more softly.

The guy looked at her doubtfully before answering.

“Percy,” he told her, and Annabeth just wanted to scream because of how fitting it was for somebody so beautiful to have such a unique and attractive name (she was tired of dating Marks and Jakes).

“Okay, Percy,” she told him, smiling shily. “If you let me have this piece of wrapping paper, I will let you take me out to coffee.” Sure, it wasn’t her best day and she didn’t look her best, but she knew she was attractive, and she’d gotten more difficult and more expensive things for less.

“What if I told you I’m gay?” Annabeth stared at him, mouth slightly agape, and he started laughing as embarrassment started to settle in. “I’m joking! But you should see your face.”

Annabeth frowned and said nothing, only holding onto the piece of wrapping paper more strongly.

“I need this wrapping paper now ,” she told him, all her fake shyness disappearing. “I was supposed to be at my friend’s house twenty minutes ago. You can wrap your gift at home.”

“Do I look like the kind of guy to have wrapping paper at my house?”

Annabeth bit back a sour remark about how he actually looked like the kind of guy to ruin her friends’ Secret Santa and decided to change her strategy.

“I will suck you off in the bathroom.”

“Jesus Christ!” Percy yelled, finally letting go of the piece of wrapping paper.

“Yes!” Annabeth exclaimed, holding it away from him and putting it in her bag.

“That’s completely unfair!” Percy whined, trying to grab her bag’s strap unsuccessfully.

Annabeth turned around to stop him from grabbing it, and it was only when his hand grazed his boob that they realised the position they were in and the fact that they were in a Target. They froze for a few seconds until Percy took a step back and put up his hands, looking at her like a deer caught in headlights.

“I am so sorry,” he told her, looking truly sorry.

“The blowjob offer was a joke ,” Annabeth said, trying to look serious. As soon as he opened his mouth to reply, Annabeth started laughing, and he visibly relaxed and lowered his hands slowly, smiling a bit. “I’m sorry!” Annabeth exclaimed. “I didn’t mean to get you flustered!”

Percy grinned and shook his head and, now that she had the wrapping paper in her power, she could finally appreciate him fully.

“I cannot accept defeat without knowing your name,” he told her.

“Annabeth,” she said, a wide grin on her face.

They looked at each other for a few seconds before he put his hands in his pockets and, if Annabeth hadn’t been staring at his face for the past five minutes, she might have missed the subtle blush on his cheeks.

“So, Annabeth,” he started, and she almost shivered at the way her name sounded coming out of his mouth. “Since I’m letting you have this piece of wrapping paper,” Annabeth opened her mouth to reply, but he continued before she could do it, “does that mean I get to take you out to coffee?”

Annabeth smiled and didn’t say anything, putting her hand in her bag and taking out her phone. She unlocked it and opened the contacts app, creating a new contact before giving it to him.

“I don’t have time today, but we can set a date over text.”

Percy grinned and took her phone, writing down his number before giving it to her. Annabeth could see that he had sent himself a text so he could save her number, and that made her feel warm inside—he was truly interested, and she felt that this could go somewhere very nice.

“I look forward to it.”

(Years later, they still fought over wrapping paper, and Annabeth always managed to get the good one, Percy using the one they bought at the dollar store. He didn’t really mind, not when one year, inside that wrapping paper, Annabeth found a velvet ring box. That dollar store wrapping paper became a staple in their house after that.)

[sideblog-go-brrrr]

My Top 5 Book Series

As my first real post on this blog, I wanted to talk about my 5 favorite book series. This is specifically about series, not stand-alone books, so I am excluding Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot books. Although those books are, technically, chronological with recurring characters and references to other books, you can read those books by themselves and understand everything fine. I really like all of these series and it was hard to choose an order, and I haven't read some of these series for a while, so I am going off of memory. Heads Up: There are some spoilers about certain character relationships, but no major spoilers.

1. Rick Riordan PJO Universe books: This is the longest series with 21 books in the main storyline(Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, Trials of Apollo, Magnus Chase, and Kane Chronicles). There are also other books that aren't part of the main storyline that I liked. I think that my favorite protagonist is Magnus Chase, but I also liked Apollo's character development and Percy is hilarious. I love Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology which is partially why I liked the series. Sidenote, Alex Fierro and Annabeth Chase are some of the best-written female love interests that I have ever read and they are both amazing!

2. Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens: Out of all of these series, I think that this will be the least known. Murder Most Unladylike follows Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong who created the Wells and Wong Detective Society. They solve a variety of crimes involving murder in multiple places in England, Hong Kong, and Egypt during the 1930s. Hazel is the narrator and my favorite character, but I also like George Mukherjee, the best friend of Hazel's love interest. There are ten main books with a couple short stories. In August, there will be another book coming out that is a collection of four stories, which I am definitely going to be getting. If you are interested, check out Robin Stevens' website. I would just like to say I am only putting this below Percy Jackson because there are fewer books, but this is my favorite mystery series that will be getting its own post eventually.

3. Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom: So let me preface this by saying, I did not read the original Grisha Trilogy, I am just talking about SOC/CK. Also, I just finished reading Crooked Kingdom the other day and the ending has me shook!!! I really loved this duology. I enjoy how it is written, switching between 6 POV characters(the Six Crows). I love the plot and I think that the first couple of chapters do a really good job introducing us to the characters. I think that Kanej is one of the most interesting and well-written ships there is and I love Jesper, he's fantastic. I haven't watched the Shadow and Bone TV series on Netflix, but from watching analysis/reviews of it and watching funny moments, I think that Kit Young's performance as Jesper looks amazing and really well done. With that said, I was surprised that they are all supposed to sound British.

4. Stalking Jack the Ripper: The first book this series takes place in is London while Jack the Ripper is committing his murder spree. Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell, along with the help of Audrey's Uncle, investigate the crimes while dealing with living in the 1880s. My favorite part of the series is that in other books, they travel to different places which creates a lot of good character development. My favorite book out of the 4 books in the series was "Escaping from Houdini". With that said, I think the ending of the second book was the best and most surprising. Seriously, if you like historical fiction with a romantic subplot, you really need to read this book.

5. A Series of Unfortunate Events: So I read this one a long time ago, but it is still one of my favorites. I think that it is a really unique series because it is a mix of mystery, horror, and thriller. We know who the villains are and they stay the constant villains for most of the series, but the people who die change in every book. I am also putting this here because there is an AMAZING Netflix adaptation of this book series. It was so good and it was probably one of the best book series to screen adaptations, in my opinion.

Anyways, if you got to this point, thanks for reading! With everything going on in Overwatch right now including the Anniversary Event and the Game Developer update, it took me a little longer to get this out than I wanted it to. I will be talking about a book I just finished in the next few days, hopefully, and I will talk a little bit about the Overwatch League on my main blog.

[lukecastellandeservedbetter]

18. Mirror Mirror On The Wall

a/n: hello. I am back. I’ve defeated the dreadful writers block and am prepared to update this series a little more regularly. You guys have given me so much support and kind words, and I greatly appreciate every single one of you. 

Read the others!: Masterlist

Luke was quiet. He got little medical attention, since he wasn’t the one that had been knocked into unconsciousness. He got a little ambrosia and some nectar, but that was the extent of attention he received. 

Which didn’t bother him at all, since he wasn’t looking for attention. He pushed away his pizza, letting Percy have his slice, his mind wandering away. 

“What was Luke doing when Percy and Jason were fighting?” Annabeth raised her eyebrow. “I thought you said you’d be good to go with them, what happened?” She directed the question at the exhausted demigod. 

Luke looked up at her. “I panicked.” He whispered. 

She raised her eyebrow. “You panicked.” She repeated, unamused. “Jason and Percy were trying to kill each other and you panicked.” 

“It felt like… him. Like he was back. And my eyes, they were gold, and I couldn’t… I couldn’t concentrate and-” He snapped his jaw shut and closed his eyes, training to get control of his breathing back, the hot tears pressing at his eyes again. “I thought…” he was at a loss of words. 

The table was quiet. “What were you doing?” Piper asked. “With the sword.” 

Luke’s hand covered his weak spot. “It’s my Achilles Heel.” He mumbled. “It’s the only spot that will kill me.” 

“You still have the curse,” Percy realized with wide eyes. “I forgot.” 

Luke nodded, keeping his hand over the spot, as if protecting it. “She would’ve killed me the same way I killed him,” He gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. “Poetic justice I guess.”

The table was quiet for a moment. “We should all get some rest,” Annabeth commented after a moment. 

“Wait.” Piper stopped them, casting an apologetic glance at Luke. “The eidolon are still here, with us.” 

Everyone looked around uneasily. 

“She’s right,” Hazel agreed. “I can feel them.” 

“How can you tell?” Annabeth asked. “How do we fight them?” 

Piper faltered, seemingly unaware of what she should do. Luke thought about the field in Kansas. “You controlled them,” Luke pointed out slowly. “You could probably get rid of them.” 

“I don’t know…” She looked unsure. 

“Just try,” Annabeth urged gently. 

Piper took a deep breath before nodding. “Eidolon, show yourselves.” 

And Luke’s world went dark once more. 

---

It was late now, and Luke was standing in the shower. The warm water ran down his back, his forehead resting against the cool wall. Steam rose around him as he tried to catch his breath. He squeezed his eyes shut as his body convulsed with contained sobs. His mouth tasted coppery as his teeth sank into his lip, trying to smother any sound. Tears mixed with soapy water. Images flashed through his mind rapidly, moving too fast for him to grasp anything, leaving him alone in the dark. 

Not for the first time, his lungs ached for oxygen, his heart hammered desperately, and his stomach churned, and all he could think of was how much he wished his father would have just let him die. 

He took a shaky breath and shook his head, as if the movement would clear the thoughts away. He tried to think of anything else. 

He thought about Connor and Travis, who despite everything, have stood at his side. Invited him back to the Hermes table. Hung around him. Trained with him. 

His heart slowed a little. 

Percy, and Sally, who had taken him, given him a second chance at life, one outside of the gods. The job Sally got him, the adventures through the city Percy took him on. The family dinners. The vacation to the cabin. 

He could breathe again. 

Leo, and Jason, and Piper, who didn’t know about his past, and even after they learned about it, continued to befriend him. Leo, who had been so acutely aware of his habits and built him his own training space on the ship, Jason who somehow understood him, who looked to him of all people for advice. Piper, who seemed so unsure with her own strength, who sat and talked with him for hours about training techniques. 

His mind cleared. 

Annabeth, who was beginning to trust him again. 

Hazel, who insisted that he was just a knight with a banged up suit of armor. 

Frank, who was kind and tried to be a mediator whenever he could. 

He turned off the shower, straightening up a little, taking a couple of deep breaths before stepping out into the cold air, drying off and getting dressed quickly. 

Luke paused in front of the bathroom mirror and looked up, making eye contact with his own reflection. 

His eyes were blue. 

Just as they had always been. 

He took another deep breath when there was a banging on the door, breaking his gaze away from his reflection. 

“Hey man, you’ve been in there for almost an hour,” Leo complained. “All the hot water is going to be gone.” 

Luke shook his head and found himself laughing at the younger boy. He gathered his things and opened the door, looking down at the demigod. “Can’t you just heat the water up?” He raised his eyebrow. 

“That is not how it works.” He scowled. “Are you done? It’s almost curfew, and I don’t want to be used for Coach’s next target practice.” 

“Yeah I’m done.” He chuckled and stepped aside. “Night Leo.” 

“Yeah, night,” He told Luke dismissively before shutting the door. 

Luke headed back to his own room and flopped back onto the bed, relaxing. Genuinely relaxing. Between fighting a possession and the sheer panic that had gripped his heart since, his muscles had coiled up tightly, ready to fight or flee at any given moment. But now, after a hot shower and regaining control of his thoughts, he just felt exhausted. 

He sent a tired thanks to his father for the safe travels thus far, and rolled over, falling into a comfortable and silent darkness. 

[demigodsanswer]

Girl, I'm sorry to bother you and sound like all these white people blowing up people's ask boxs... But! There's tea about the "gods have no DNA" or is that just apart of the "rick being a little bitch about brown eyes"? And... I need, I crave it, more Chrisse- NO, more, Ares siblings- Ares sisters. I forgot her name but the feminine one, them hanging out doing girly shit, shit talking their brothers. After "Not just a daughter"- I forgot the name sorry, but its like crack top me. xoxo, love ya

There is tea on the DNA thing. I know there are other posts out there about it, but here’s my understanding of it: 

The DNA thing started in The Last Olympian as a throw-away line to explain why characters could date each other, even though all the gods were related. I think this was something the 10-14 year olds weren’t meant to think very hard about and move on. 

Problem with that is: that doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t make sense from a biological stand point - if Poseidon didn’t have DNA, Percy should be a genetic clone of Sally. Now, while there’s a lot of fantastic trans Percy potential in there, we already see that, obviously, Percy isn’t a genetic clone of Sally. Not only does he have godly powers, he also has Poseidon’s green eyes and black hair.  

So, maybe this was just Percy being an unreliable narrator and either no understanding how godly DNA works, or dumbing it down for his readers. 

However, beyond the sheer dumb-assery of that comment, we the issue of godly genes play out throughout the series in the features they give demigods. That is, they tend to give demigods Eurocentric features. Percy’s green eyes and Annabeth’s blonde hair and grey eyes are Eurocentric, white features that are described as beautiful, unique, and godly.  

This becomes a bigger problem in The Heroes of Olympus series with Piper and Hazel, who are the first demigods to be described as mixed raced (I don’t actually remember if Hazel is described as being half-black, but I know Piper was described as being half-Native American.) And it seems as though that Piper’s classmates can tell she is mixed raced. This not only gets into issues of blood quantums (which I am not equipped to talk about), but it also raises a question, again, of godly DNA. Do they have DNA or not? 

Is it possible that Piper’s dad remembered Aphrodite as a white woman and told Piper that? Sure, but there’s still the issue of other people identifying her as half white without her telling people. Annabeth is never described as half Swedish and half Greek, so why is Piper? 

And if you think that “oh maybe it’s just because Piper is half Native American half white whereas Annabeth is all white,” I would push back and point out that the thing white people love more than making casseroles and clapping when the airplane lands, is telling you what breed of white we are. If Annabeth identified as half Greek (as in from the nation of Greece) and not half Greek God (which is what she actually is), she’d probably tell people constantly. 

And this all comes back to the eye color thing, because Piper and Hazel are given unnatural eye colors, which exoticized them, but they are also given lighter, non-brown eye colors. Couple this with the fact that they are both described as mixed raced when no other characters ID as half Greek/Italian, you’ve got young girls of color, who have been exoticized, given lighter features, presumably have lighter skin because they are mixed raced, and Hazel specifically is also described as having lighter colored hair. These are all issues of colorism and exoticizing young girls of color, particularly young black and Native girls. 

So do the gods have DNA? No, when Rick wants his characters to kiss without the audience feeling weird about it. But yes, when he wants to make characters of color seem whiter.

That’s my understanding of the DNA issue. 

My post about the brown eyes was coming from this place, but also generally from the realization that the only characters described as having brown eyes are the characters described as being ugly, creepy, annoying, or otherwise unattractive (unattractive as described by the narrator eg. Percy describing Clarisse as unattractive because she’s masculine&fat). These characters include Clarisse, Frank, Nico, and Leo. Or characters who are told they’ll never find love or have otherwise forsaken it: Reyna, Bianca, Zoe. Or Drew Tanaka, who is a whole mess of a character, and we don’t need to get into that. Can we assume that characters like Beckendorf had brown eyes? Sure, but, uh, he does get blown up. 

Tl;dr: Rick’s comment about the gods not having DNA was likely a throw away line meant to fend off middle school nit pickers, but he has since contradicted it in such a dramatic and racist way that it can’t be ignored in the way it was meant to be. Also brown eyes are beautiful. Let Piper and Hazel have brown eyes. 

Lastly, to your other part of the question. I don’t think that’s an actual RR character, I think that’s @novemberwasgrey‘s OC, so I’m gonna bounce you over to her blog. 

[winryofresembool]

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 22

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: Leo Valdez can be sweet when he wants to.

A/N:  Sorry for the long break! The holidays were a rather busy time for me so it did good to take some time off from writing. But now I'm back for my weekly updates (at least I hope I am)! And not just with any chapter but a long-ish chapter full of Caleo fluff :) I really hope you guys enjoy! Please let me know what you think because I 100% mean it when I say I love reading your comments!!

Words: 3200+ 

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

…

Once Calypso had made up with Leo and Annabeth, she had new issues to deal with. When she paid her rent for the month, she noticed that she only had enough money for one more month’s rent, not even including the other living costs such as food, other daily necessities and school supplies. She had pushed back the job hunting earlier partially because the friendship issues had made her feel too low to care about that kind of thing, partially because she had no idea what she could do, only having a high school level education and no special skills. She had only ever worked at her father’s company and that was not something she wanted to advertise in her applications. But now she was in a situation that unless she wanted to return to the very place she wanted to stay away from, she had to come up with something.

Annabeth and Piper had seen some of the clothes and other items she had sewed and made with her own hands and encouraged her to sell them but Calypso herself wasn’t entirely convinced they were good enough to be sold. She was also a decent enough artist but with a class full of artists just as good (some even better) than her, what would make her stand out in the public? Her people skills weren’t amazing either so she doubted that she would make a good retail worker. But she knew she would probably have to come out of her comfort zone in this case, so if anyone was willing to hire her, she’d accept it.

She was startled when she suddenly heard a familiar voice from the other room: “Sunshine, I’mma head out to buy some groceries and stuff for a new project. You need anything?”

In some other situation, Calypso would have been thankful for the offer, but she was still feeling like a nervous wreck because of her earlier discovery. That’s why the words escaped her before she could stop herself: “Huh? No, I don’t think so? And I can still buy my own groceries, thank you very much.”

“Sorry, I just thought I’d ask… I didn’t mean to…” Leo seemed a bit baffled by her outburst. He was already about to head out when Calypso came out of her room and stopped him.

“No, I’m sorry.” She sighed, looking regretful. “I was just on the edge because I just noticed my financial situation isn’t exactly the best… But that is something I need to figure out on my own, I don’t want charity.”

“Well, I wasn’t gonna buy you a car or anything,” Leo tried to crack a joke. “Just thought that if you’re running out of milk or something, I could have saved you the trouble… Since I’m going there anyway…”

“Oh… no, I don’t think I need anything,” she said, this time a lot softer. “But thank you for asking.”

“No prob, Sunshine,” Leo replied, looking relieved now that he knew she wasn’t actually angry at him. “But hey, if you do need help with, like, searching for a job, or something, I’m your man.”

Calypso tried to keep her face neutral even though she had a feeling her cheeks were probably red. “I’ll… keep that in my mind.”

“Well, see you soon,” Leo said after the two just kept staring at each other for a while. He seemed to be sizing her, possibly still a bit thrown off by her weird reaction before he put his coat on (Calypso noticed it was the same shade of red as a lot of his shirts seemed to be. And it was also rather snugly fit, definitely not a bad sight, she thought before she had time to stop herself) and took his bags, leaving her alone.

“See you,” she said quietly when the door was already closed.

Once sure that Leo was far enough and not coming back, Calypso leaned her back against the wall of her room, sliding down into a sitting position on the floor. Throwing her head back, she groaned at herself. She had thought that the small falling out they had had because of the Percy incident might have affected her feelings towards Leo, but it seemed to become clearer and clearer every day that wasn’t the case. Even if she had admitted to Hazel and Annabeth that those feelings were not quite flatmate like, it was a whole different thing to really come to terms with that fact. She was falling quite hard.

The more she thought about it, the more she freaked out. Her relationships before one faithful day during her teenage years had failed badly (and that was over 5 years ago anyway) and the online dating she had done afterwards… Well, now that Calypso thought about it, only the conversation with Percy had seemed to be going somewhere. All the people she had cared about had left her and never come back. That, along with the fact that she had spent a lot of time alone in the past, had left her scared of relationships and ruined her self esteem, making her think that she simply wasn’t good enough. If Leo left too… she wasn’t sure how she’d handle that. Not to even mention, her dad was still probably looking for her and getting Leo mixed into that would be very dangerous for him. No matter what Annabeth said about wanting to help.

Biting her lip, she decided there was only one option. No matter what she felt, she should try to treat Leo just like any of her friends and conceal her true feelings. Having Leo in her life just as a flatmate was way better than not having him in it at all. When she remembered her friends’ hints that perhaps Leo himself wasn’t as indifferent to her as he probably should be, she suddenly felt like crying. In different circumstances… maybe they could be happy together, go on dates, hold hands… Now she would inevitably have to let him go when someone else would realize that Leo was a great person worth dating.

Calypso didn’t know how long she had been sitting there, and she also hadn’t noticed that there were tears running down her cheeks. She didn’t snap out of her daze until she heard the front door clunking again, this time indicating that Leo had already returned.

“Please just ignore me…” Calypso ranted in her head, but no luck. She heard steps from outside her room, stopping right in front of it. Swiping her wet cheeks quickly into her hands, she stood up from the floor just in time for Leo to knock on her door. Calypso didn’t really want to open it when she was in that emotional state but she knew that not answering would raise even more questions. Her messy looks she could always try to shrug off as a ‘bad day’, she decided.

“Yeah?” she asked weakly, opening the door to reveal her flatmate with that stupid trademark grin of his on his face. He seemed pretty happy about something he had or was about to do. The late autumn wind had made his curly hair even messier than usual and his cheeks were red from the cold weather and the exercise but his eyes were sparkling excitedly, like he couldn’t wait to show her something. He started: “I went to the hardware store and…” He quickly stopped when he noticed Calypso’s expression and puffy eyes. His happiness immediately melted away. “Hey, what’s wrong? Have you been crying?”

“It’s been a rough day,” Calypso sighed, looking down. “Don’t worry, I was just being overwhelmed by the loads of uni work before the exam season. And like I told you before, I need a job… But… it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Alright, if you’re sure…” Leo narrowed his eyes slightly, probably sensing that she wasn’t telling him the entire truth. “But yeah, I was gonna give you something. Hope it cheers you up a bit. He handed her a tiny packet of what seemed like flower seeds but before Calypso had time to read the text on it, he started explaining.

“So, I was gonna tell you that I went to the hardware store to buy me some supplies, and you know how they sell all kinds of seeds there as well? Well, I just happened to notice these while waiting for my turn to pay for my stuff and I just randomly decided to buy them.”

“But… why?” Calypso asked, finally looking at Leo directly.

“Um…” He started rubbing the back of his neck. “Remember when Festus jumped on your desk and broke it? There was a plant on it too… and I never replaced it. When I saw those,” he nodded towards the packet Calypso was holding, “I remembered that the plant looked like that… At least I think it did… I’m no good with that kind of stuff… But I know you care about your plants… so I thought it’d be only fair if I got you those. I know it’s not gonna be the exact same one you had, but…”

Leo didn’t manage to finish his sentence because Calypso couldn’t contain her feelings anymore. She closed the space between them and hugged him even tighter than the time they had had a game night with Jason and Piper. No one had gotten anything for her in years, and even if the seed bags didn’t cost much, it was the thought that mattered way more to her. She had never expected him to remember such a detail from several months ago when they hadn’t even been friends, but apparently he did.

“Uh, Cal, some air would be nice,” Leo said jokingly when it started seeming she didn’t even want to let him go. He didn’t attempt to break the hug, though, instead gently stroking her back. “Wow, Sunshine,” he said in an attempt to lighten the mood, “You’d think I bought you a house based on your reaction.”

Calypso raised her head from his shoulder, giving him a half hearted glare as she broke the hug.

“I’m not allowed to be thankful for a gift? You don’t know… You don’t understand…”

“Understand what?” Leo raised his eyebrows.

Calypso took a deep breath before answering. “I haven’t gotten gifts from anyone since I turned 16. And even then it was just… uh, never mind. The point is that I’m not used to such nice gestures… And I didn’t think you’d remember… It was my favorite plant. So excuse me if I’m feeling a bit emotional because your gift was more thoughtful than you probably realized.”

“OK, sorry,” Leo apologized quickly. “If you’re not used to nice gestures, I’m not used to displays of affection so I got a bit surprised, that’s all… Well, either way, I’m glad I got you something you care about.”

Calypso’s expression softened again. “Yeah. Thank you. I’m sure they will look pretty.”

Suddenly Calypso realized she was feeling a little dizzy, not sure if from the crying or from the smell of the mechanic oil she had just smelled on Leo’s shirt as she had hugged him. Sitting down on her bed, she leaned her face into her hands.

“Um, are you really OK?” Leo asked. “I know it’s not any of my business, but… if I can help you somehow, let me know.”

After a while, Calypso looked up from her hands, having half expected Leo to leave already. “If you happen to know anyone who’d be willing to hire an inexperienced, uneducated young woman, sure, be my guest,” she muttered.

“Hey.” Leo sat down next to Calypso on her bed, nudging her arm slightly. “Where’s the Calypso who has told me to fight my fear? I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who’d be willing to hire you if they knew how talented you are.”

“Wait… what?” Calypso wasn’t sure if she had heard right. Even if they had been friendly towards each other for a while now, she didn’t remember Leo complimenting her like that before. “Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s true!” Leo exclaimed, his eyes gleaming fiercely the same way Calypso had seen a couple of times earlier. “You are a talented person and even I can see that. You can draw and paint – I bet you’d do way better blueprints for machines than I do. To be honest, I’d probably hire you to do that if I could. You create a lot of things with your own hands – like that one dress you wore the other day, right? Like, OK, I wear overalls all the time so you can take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I thought it looked neat.”

“But…”

“But there are other things as well,” Leo continued persistently. “You know a lot and you’re always working on something – if not something university related, you take care of your plants or bake or something like that – and I think under that hard cover of yours you’re actually a super caring person. I dunno, those are things that at least I value. But maybe I’m the weird one here.” He rolled his eyes as if everything he had just said had been very obvious.

“Leo…” Calypso just stared at him with wide eyes, not finding the right words. She hadn’t been emotionally prepared for Leo showering her with compliments. If her cheeks had felt warm earlier, they were definitely burning now, and her eyes felt weird too… like she was going to cry again. “I…”

“Shhh. Crying doesn’t suit you, Sunshine. Luckily Uncle Leo is good at bad jokes that make the ladies laugh. How about this: What do you give to a sick lemon? Or… why didn't the astronaut come home to his wife?”

“Leonidas,” Calypso repeated but this time she did it with an annoyed groan. That was apparently what Leo had wished, though, because he grinned at her in return.

“Alright, I won’t finish that one!” he raised his hands up. “But it did work because there’s still some spice left in you. That’s what I wanted to see.”

“You’re the only person I know who can literally go from 100 to 0 when trying to cheer someone up,” Calypso said, but her mouth twitched. “But thanks. As much as I hate to admit it, I think it might have worked. For your information,” she added unexpectedly, “you give lemon aid to a sick lemon and the astronaut needed his space.”

“I think my job here is done,” Leo said approvingly, taking one step closer to her. Calypso had seen his brown eyes sparkling when he was happy and burning when he was mad but now she thought they seemed soft and warm, unlike she had seen before. And her heart skipped a beat when she registered that the reason for the warmth might have been… she herself. He looked at her right in the eyes and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear before his fingers moved to her face. He brushed some of the wetness off with his thumb and for one, short second Calypso thought that he also wanted to do something else… touch her jaw, her lips… But that moment ended fast when he cleared his throat and pulled his hand away. One, tiny part of Calypso’s brain yelled: “no!” while the rational part tried to be relieved.

“Um… You had something there…” Leo tried to brush his previous actions off. “Anyway. Like I said I have no doubt someone wouldn’t hire you. But now that I think of it, I remember hearing from my moms that one of their friends is looking for a holiday helper at her flower shop that is quite near Waystation. The holidays are always a busy time there and the owner’s daughter, who has usually been the one helping, has moved away, so they could really use an extra hand.”

“A flower shop?” Calypso asked, hope starting to flicker in her eyes. “Do you think they may have a lot of applicants?”

“Who knows.” Leo shrugged. “I think it might be a pretty popular place… but you can’t win if you don’t try, huh?”

“Yeah. You’re right,” Calypso agreed. “Do you know how I can contact the place?”

“Hold on for a moment. I can call Emmie and ask,” Leo said and left Calypso alone in her room, baffled by what had just happened but also a bit hopeful. Maybe at least something would turn out right even if her social life would probably continue to be a mess.

A few minutes later Leo returned with a piece of paper in his hands and a satisfied expression on his face. It told Calypso that he had managed to get the number.

“Here you go, Sunshine! Hope you’ll still remember me and how I helped you when you become rich and famous.” He winked.

“I know I’ve told you this before but you really are a weirdo,” Calypso shot back but took the piece of paper gratefully. She excused herself to make a phone call and managed to get a hold of the owner of the flower shop who suggested a meeting for the next day. After finishing the phone call, Calypso searched for Leo who had withdrawn into the living room to watch a movie.

“So… I’m going to have an interview with the owner tomorrow,” she told him. “Keep your thumbs up that it will go fine. I’m kind of nervous, to be honest.”

“I’d keep even my big toes up if needed but I think you’re gonna do great,” Leo noted. “For reals. Have some faith.”

“Easier said than done,” Calypso sighed. “You probably understand.”

“I… yeah,” Leo admitted, thinking about one moment only about a week earlier when he had felt like nothing would work out. “But for what it’s worth, there are people who do support you.”

“You too?” Calypso asked carefully even though she was a bit scared of his answer.

“Yeah, me included.” Leo nodded.

“Listen, Leo�� Thanks… for everything you’ve done for me today. Not just the seeds and the phone number, the emotional support too. It really helped.”

She surprised even herself by leaning closer to Leo and giving him a quick peck on his cheek. He went completely speechless and just rubbed the spot on his cheek Calypso had kissed absentmindedly as Calypso waited for him to say something.

“Uhh… you… you’re welcome?” he finally stuttered when Calypso had already started thinking she had crossed some line with the cheek kiss and they were back on square one.

“I should probably go back to do some research…” she said. “I’ve had a hard time focusing on anything lately but I’m feeling better now so hopefully I will manage to make some progress with some assignments. Have fun with your movie!” She attempted to sound cheerful even though the two sides of her brain were having an intense battle in that moment. One said: ‘why don’t you just stay with him? The assignment can wait!” while the other side wanted to run from that situation before Calypso did something she would regret.

“Alright… Thanks. And good luck with that!” Leo said. Calypso was convinced that she just imagined it but to her he had seemed just a bit disappointed that she hadn’t joined him. When she was back in her room, she exhaled sharply. So much for that ‘being just friends’. She would really have to start working harder on that before someone got hurt.

[dyde21]

Mistletoe

So @granger-chase made a post about wanting a mistletoe fic, then @annabetncnase reblogged it wanting one, and I got inspired. Then that inspiration turned into a lot longer story than I planned for anyway here’s this: I thought the fandom could use a little more Percabeth Christmas Goodness! :D I hope ya’ll enjoy!

XxXxXxXxX

“If you change the playlist, I’m drop kicking your Playstation out the window, Jason.” Percy called out as he heard the Christmas carol pause, before resuming a moment later, if not a little quieter.

“Can’t you choose something less… boring?” He asked, walking around the corner of their small apartment. Raising an arm he leaned against the wall, staring at his roommate. Percy just ignored him as he ripped open another bag of chips, dumping them into one of the few tupperwares they had. “Grab the sodas.” He ordered, walking past Jason towards the tiny kitchen table that usually served little more purpose than a coat rack, aside from the occasional last minute, panicked study session. 

For once though, it was actually cleaned off properly, and he had even grabbed a tablecloth from his mom to borrow for the night. 

“It’s a Christmas party, Jason. We’re supposed to play carols.” He explained, snagging a chip and eating it before turning to face his best friend. 

Jason grabbed a chip himself, rolling his eyes. “Yeah yeah, tis’ the season and all of that. But there could be a little more pep, you know?”

Percy paused, his shoulders slumping. “Maybe you’re right? Maybe modern stay stuff works better?” He paused, thinking for a moment. “But Hazel is coming over too so I don’t want to play too messed up stuff.” He glanced up at Jason, looking for help.

Jason’s usual cocky smirk faded as he looked over. “Hey, I was just complaining. You’re fine, I’m sure they’ll love it.” 

Percy nodded. “That’s cool then…” He trailed off, glancing over the table of snacks and sodas. “Think we need more? I know Piper and Annabeth said they were bringing food but…”

Jason walked over, resting a hand on Percy’s shoulder. “Hey man, chill. Alright? Everything is fine. We still have some time and we’re just hanging out with some friends. I know you’re getting stressed.”

Running a hand through his hair, Percy shook his head. “I’m not stressed, I just want to make sure things are… right.”

Jason gave him a deadpan stare, making it clear he wasn’t falling for his crap. “Dude, your leg is bouncing as you’re freaking out over whether or not we have enough chips when I don’t think we’ve had this much food in our house in a month.”

Staying quiet, Percy couldn’t exactly refute him. He knew himself well enough to know that his stress was starting to peak. “Okay, maybe a little.”

Pulling out a chair, Jason sat down and slid the other chair back with his foot, motioning for Percy to sit down as he took another chip. “Talk.”

Resisting only for a moment, Percy sighed and sat down, dropping his head into his hands. “I know, I’m stressing out. Sorry. I’ve just… never had a party or something like this. Usually my mom took care of things when I had friends over. Plus she’s coming over.”

“She’s been over countless times.” Jason offered, letting his friend continue to get out what he needed to.

“Right. But… I want tonight to be the night. It’s been so stressful around her. You know… since…”

“Since you fell in love with your childhood friend?” Jason helpfully offered, laughing at the stricken look Percy got on his face. “Don’t say it so loud!”

Jason rolled his eyes and dipped a chip in the onion dip. “Yeah, I almost forgot it’s the worst kept secret in the world.”

Glaring the blonde, Percy narrowed his eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be nice?”

Shrugging, Jason returned the look. “I am, dude. When I met you two you were practically joined at the hip, and I’ve never seen that change in all these years. But since you started…” He paused at Percy’s glare. “...thinking differently about her, you’ve been stressing out over the little things, freaking out for no reason, and frankly we’re all getting a little worried about you. What you need a push in the right direction, for your sake.”

Percy knew his friend wouldn’t lie to him. After Annabeth, Jason was his best friend for sure. 

“I know it’s cliche but I really don’t want to screw things up between us. Even if she might feel something too… I don’t want to do it wrong. I wish I could handle things as well as she does. She’s still so… perfect. ”

Jason rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut. His girlfriend was Annabeth’s roommate, and he had heard first hand how objectively false that statement was. Percy was a victim of being hopelessly in love, which meant he had a habit of missing out on obvious things about Annabeth. The way her usual fluid speech tended to get flustered around him, or the way she had gone from a comfortable companionship with Percy, to jumping at the chance to be with him as eagerly as percy was. Even the way her eyes always were always drifting to him, with a soft smile he never saw her wear any other time.

It was painfully obvious these two dorks were head over heels for each other, but were too scared to admit it. What really drove Piper and Jason crazy were that they were pretty sure they both knew it as well. After all, they did know each other better than anyone.They were just choosing to ignore it, writing it off as them just being their usual friend.

Still, if Jason had to catch them being a moment away from kissing without going through with it again, he was about going to lock them in a closet until they were engaged.

“Trust me. She’s got it as bad as you do. Tonight is the perfect opportunity to do it right.”

Percy looked up at him. “You think?”

Jason laughed. “I’m pretty sure you could confess behind a 7/11 and she’d still say yes dude. You just need to actually go for it.”

Percy nodded. “Maybe you’re right…”

Jason could sense his hesitation, but also the spark of confidence in him. Maybe tonight all of them could finally be put out of their misery. “Come on, we still need to put up these lights.” He said, grabbing a box of small tree lights and tossing them at him. 

Percy nodded, clearly grateful for something to do other than think and started to move to a corner to figure out how they were going to attach them to the walls without damaging them while Jason pulled out his phone. He sent a quick text to Piper.

XxXxXxXxX

“Do you think this is enough food?” Annabeth asked, pacing back and forth as she looked at the two pizzas, the bowl of pasta salad, and a tray of brownies for dessert. 

Piper raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding me? Even with the appetite of Jason and Percy, there aren’t that many other people there. We’re bringing plenty and Hazel said she’s bringing Jambalaya, and Leo was bringing his famous tacos. We have plenty, stop stressing.”

Annabeth nodded. “Right. That’s fair. I don’t have to eat if we start running low too.” 

She paused, looking down at herself. “Are you sure I look okay?”

Scoffing, Piper glanced at her best friend up and down once again. “Please, I dress you you myself. You look cute, don’t worry.”

The blonde nodded again, twice. “You’re right. Thank you.”

Piper just shrugged. “If I left it up to you, you’d still be standing in front of the closet.”

Annabeth flushed slightly, running a hand through her hair. “I just wanted to look nice, is that so bad?”

Piper paused, noticing the slightest hint of hesitation in her voice that made the joke seem a little less innocent than normal. 

“You’re fine. Any reason you’re so nervous though?” She asked, not so subtly opening the door for the conversation she knew they would be having before they left at some point anyway.

Pausing, Annabeth opened her mouth to deny it before she dropped her head against the wall.

“Tonight could be… something.” 

Piper was stunned, Annabeth was usually full of a lot more denial, or subtle about her “crush” on her best friend. If you could still call it a crush based off how long she’s had it and how much it had been distracting her lately.

“Are you going to confess?” She asked gently. 

Annabeth hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. “I don’t… probably not… I just. I just think Percy might… being thinking the same thing of me.”

Piper screamed internally. Her friend was one of the smartest people she knew and so incredibly dense at times it hurt. She was glad Annabeth was working through her fear of being rejected or abandoned by him to take the next step, but if she spent a minute not being lost in his eyes, she would be able to see how adorably head over heels he was for her. The number of times she had seen the poor boy practically collapse in on himself with regret when he let a chance to kiss her slip by, or he fumbled his words.

“I’m… glad you’re starting to see that.” Piper said carefully, reigning in her own frustration at the fact her two best friends were depriving themselves of happiness out of pointless fear. Annabeth could be touchy at times so she knew she had to tread carefully. “Just remember, Percy has fallen for you, the person whose been by his side longer than anyone. Don’t try and change yourself. He’s seen you at your best, and at your worst and he’s still by your side. All you need to do is reach out a hand and he’ll meet you there.” She offered gently.

Annabeth fell quiet as she let the words sink in.

Piper leaned down a bit to get a better look at Annabeth’s expression. She saw a mix of determination and concern. A look Piper often saw her with whenever she tried, and usually failed, to take the next step with Percy.

Her phone buzzed, and when she checked it she saw Jason’s text and grinned. It seemed like the stars were aligning for things to finally happen tonight. Typing out a quick response, she moved over to Annabeth. “We have a little time before we need to head over. Let’s squeeze in an episode of The Great British Bake Off before we head over so you can relax. This is supposed to be a fun christmas party, remember?”

Annabeth stared at her, and nodded after a moment. “Yeah.” She said slowly, grateful for the moment ceasefire on her lovelife. 

They moved over to the couch, and a few moments later they were lost into the episode.

Glancing down at another text from Jason, she grinned. Tonight would be a bit night if their idea worked.

XxXxXxXxX

The sound of a few knocks on their door had Percy heading over to it too quickly. He opened it, shoving down the pointless nerves he felt. 

The door had only been open a minute before Piper had shoved a bowl of pasta salad into his hands that had been balanced awkwardly on the pizza boxes as they made their way up the stairs before. 

“Trick or treat.” She said with a wink as she walked past him, setting down the boxes she carried before throwing her arms around Jason’s neck to share a kiss with him. 

Annabeth was standing awkwardly in the doorway. Her arms were full of the rest of the food as she looked at Percy. “Hey. Merry Christmas.”

Percy grinned at her, before his gaze drifted upwards to see the santa hat she had on. Adorable. Blinking once, he realized he hadn’t answered her yet. “Merry Christmas, Wise Girl. Now come on, I need you to prove my point to Jason about chips.”

Annabeth looked confused, but nodded and followed him, closing the door behind her.

“Jason says plain Lays chips are better than Ruffles.”

Annabeth looked horrified and made an indignant sound. “Are you kidding me?”

“Right?” Percy agreed.

The blonde woman crossed her arms, glaring at Jason. “How could you say that? Ruffles have texture, are much better with any kind of dip, and are actually more than just salt.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Don’t drag your best friend in to win your arguments for her.”

Percy took a bite of a Ruffles to make a point. “If you weren’t so stubborn I wouldn’t need to bring in the big guns.”

Piper leaned up and kissed Jason’s cheek. “Sorry hun, but they’re right about this one.”

Jason huffed and moved over to the couch, plopping down on it and looking away.

Both Annabeth and Piper laughed, as Piper moved over and sat next to him, messing up his hair and chatting with her pouting boyfriend. 

Percy glanced over at Annabeth as she made her way over to him. “You guys actually did a good job decorating and cleaning, I’m impressed.” She teased.

Around the room various Christmas decorations had been put up. Tinsel was hanging from most things, they had a tree propped up in the corner that was decorated in pure chaos. There was a random assortment of reindeer paraphernalia across various surfaces. 

Letting out a sigh of relief, Percy grinned. “I’m glad you liked it. It took us a while.” He paused. “I’m glad you dressed for the occasion.” He said, nodding his head towards her santa hat. 

Annabeth laughed. “You know me, Ms. Christmas Spirit.” She countered.

“You say that like it’s a joke.”

Percy challenged, knowing full well how much she actually enjoyed the holidays. 

Going to take another chip he dipped, Annabeth’s hand shot out as she grabbed the chip from him and ate it, grinning at him. “It’s the season for giving.” She said to his scandalized expression.

He was clearly about to protest when someone knocked on the door again. 

He gave her a glare letting her know that it wasn’t over, before he moved over to the door. 

When he opened the door he saw Frank and Hazel standing there, all bundled up and smiling. He shared a quick hug with Hazel before bumping Frank’s fist as the lead them in. 

Not much longer after, their group finished getting there as they spread out across the apartment. The carols had been turned up, and Leo was currently belting along with Mariah Carrey as his girlfriend laughed next at him. 

“Tyler and Ashe aren’t coming?” Annabeth asked, leaning on Percy’s shoulder as she looked over at Piper. 

Piper shook her head. “Nah, they had made plans already apparently.” She said, before turning her phone around and showing Percy and Annabeth an instagram post. Tyler and Ashe were kissing, standing in front of a display of lights that Percy recognized to be at the zoo. 

Annabeth laughed. “There is zero chance they aren’t engaged by our next christmas party.”

Percy nudged her hips. “I’ll be amazed if they aren’t engaged by spring.”

Jason laughed. “Sounds like we need a new bet.”

One round of betting later, and soon they were chilling on one of the couches. Percy was devouring yet another slice of pizza, while Annabeth worked on a bowl of Jambalaya, her legs draped over Percy’s lap. 

He was currently chatting with Jason about a new game that had been announced, giving Annabeth a chance to just see him laughing and smiling and she couldn’t do anything but smile.

Eventually turned back to look at her, causing her to shove a spoonful of food into her face to try and look like she wasn't just staring at him. 

Behind them, Jason and Piper shared a look as Piper got up, moving to their balcony outside for a moment. 

Jason stood up a minute later. 

“Percy, do me a favor, come with me for a second?”

Percy glanced at Annabeth, before nodding and untangling his legs from her. He followed Jason off to one of their rooms for a moment while Piper came back and moved over to Annabeth. “Okay, Annabeth. I need you to trust me.”

“No.” She replied instinctively, making Piper roll her eyes. “Then trust Percy.”

“Why?” Annabeth asked, red flags instantly being raised. 

“Look, he prepared a surprise for you tonight. Jason told me about it, but we need you to stand up and close your eyes.”

Annabeth paused for a moment. 

Piper’s voice went softer. “Please?”

Sighing, Annabeth figured she might regret this later but stood up anyway and closed her eyes. 

“Good. I promise nothing bad will happen. Besides, I still live with you so I don’t want you mad at me.” She said, before gently resting her hands over Annabeht’s eyes from behind and started leading her. “Just walk, trust me.”

“I know exactly where you sleep.” Annabeth warned as she let Piper lead her. A minute later it was a little chillier and she realized she was on the balcony. “Just where are we going?”

“Just wait a minute, it’s almost ready.”

Piper stepped back for a moment, leaving Annabeth shivering slightly as she thought of all the ways she’d make Piper’s life a living hell if this was a trick. A second later she heard Percy’s voice and her heart rate spiked.

“Where are you leading me? I never trust you, dude.”

Percy’s voice sounded just as confused as her. A moment later she heard him stumble next to her. “This better be worth it, Jason.” His voice sounded right next to her, making her jump. “Percy?”

“Annabeth?” They both asked, as they heard the sound of a door being slid shut. 

Annabeth opened her eyes to see… nothing special. They were just out on the balcony.

Percy opened his a moment later and looked at her expectantly. “So…?”

“So? I thought you had a surprise.” Annabeth countered.

“But they said…” The gears turned in Percy’s head. “I’m kicking his ass.” Percy said as he turned, before pulling on the door and trying to step through. 

Instead, the door didn’t budhe and he slammed into the glass.

“Don’t tell me…”

Annabeth said after a moment. 

Percy dropped his head against the class. “It’s locked. I’m actually going to kill him.”

He turned around and leaned on the balcony. “Great. Locked out of my own party.”

Annabeth nudged him with her hip. “If it makes you feel better, I got locked out too.”

He shook his head. “Of course it doesn’t. You’re the one person I trust to keep them in check.”

“Why do you think they did it?” Annabeth asked after a moment. If they bothered with this dumb prank, they had to have a reason. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Piper staring back at them with an amused, if not slightly apologetic look. And a finger pointing straight up.

Glancing up, Annabeth’s stomach dropped.

Hanging above the sliding door was a mistletoe.

“You’re kidding me. That little bi-”

“Are you serious?”

Percy said as he saw it too. 

They glanced at each other, before they both flushed red and looked back out at the skyline. 

“I’m burning her present.” Annabeth said after a moment.

“I’m dropping his down the fire escape.” Percy countered, before they both started laughing. “We’ll get them back for this sometime.”

“Naturally.” Percy agreed. 

Annabeth shivered slightly and she felt Percy’s jacket drape over her shoulder. She raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, but won’t you be cold.”

He shrugged. “We won’t be out here long but you get cold easily.”

Annabeth sighed. “I guess we know what we need to do.”

Percy’s face was red, and Annabeth was pretty sure it wasn’t just from the cold. “I guess.”

He turned to face her, and Annabeth’s pulse was pounding. They tried their best to ignore all of the eyes watching them. 

They stared at each other for a moment, before they started to move closer. 

Annabeth’s eyes closed as she tried not to panic over the fact that she was about to kiss her crush. 

“Wait.” 

Her eyes flew open at his words. Instantly it felt like a sword had pierced her heart. Her fears were true, Percy didn’t see her that way. “I-” Before she could try and come up with anything to say that wouldn’t end in tears, Percy continued. 

“I can’t do this.”

She nodded her head, feeling tears well up in the corner of her eyes. “I know. I’m so-”

“Annabeth!” He snapped, making her look up surprised. 

“I can’t kiss you like this. I… like you too much. I love you. But I don’t want you to kiss me just because they are forcing you to. My heart can’t handle that. You deserve bet-”

“Percy!” She interrupted, her brain melting. “Did you say you love me?”

He nodded, unable to meet her eyes. “For a while now. I just…”

“I love you too.” Annabeth blurted out before her courage could fail her. “For so long. But I wasn’t sure… I didn’t know if…”

They stared at each other for a moment while Piper’s words echoed in her head. 

Just reach out a hand.

Slowly Annabeth reached out a hand, and found Percy’s entwining with it. 

Leaning forward, she pressed her lips against his as they shared their first real kiss. It was brief, and they looked at each other for a moment, before they leaned forward again and kissed each other in the cold night air. Annabeth’s other hand slipped up into Percy’s hair while his wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. 

Time seemed to fade away, and she felt warm in the cool night air next to him. 

They kissed for a minute more before they separated as they caught their breath. 

Percy had her new favorite goofy smile on his face as he kissed her nose briefly. “I think we can go back in now.”

“They can wait.” Was Annabeth response as she leaned in for another long anticipated kiss. 

All Percy did was hum his agreement into their kiss as Annabeth was pretty sure she loved the holidays even more now.

XxXxXxXxX

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! It was just a short cute little story for me! :D I hope ya’ll have a wonderful holiday season!

If you feel like it, please check out my Christmas sale on my Art Commissions! It’d really help me afford to get my friends and family a little nicer gifts this year, and I’d love to make some art for ya’ll! You can find them HERE

[italian-wall-lizard]

my rrverse takes:

magnus is an underrated character in his own series

lester/apollo and magnus were BY far the funniest narrators

i didn't like jason's death but it was necessary and it made sense

i actually liked meg, she had a great storyline and she wasn't annoying

piper was queer from the beginning

with enough training hazel could probably be stronger than percy and jason

percy would end jason in a fight in two seconds flat

reyna, samirah, and hazel are the most badass rrverse women ever

i love toa but if i had to choose i would rather have five mcga books and three toa books

fierrochase and zarter are the most underrated ships in the fandom im right

mcga had HUGE potential as a series and rick def could have done more with it and added more books but didn't and i am very mad about that

rick's representation is very flawed both in poc's and lgbtq characters

(the feather in the hair, the food skin color descriptions, the fact that the only three latinx/hispanic characters come from abusive backgrounds, making leo call calypso "mamacita" in tdp, giving poc characters inherently non poc traits (hazels hair and eyes and pipers eyes), having samirah's hair out of her hijab at some points, making anubis white (biggie on that one), making his only book series with two mixed race main characters have three books instead of five)

(the genderfluid shapeshifter trope, outing nico and giving him the most trauma out of the seven but "hey it's okay because he gets a boyfriend", giving leo a girlfriend when he was very obviously into jason (and even then he didn't need to date anyone i really like the head canon that he is aro), making a slur of sorts for alex and having multiple main characters say it, making his only book series with a very openly queer main character (alex but also magnus at the end) have three books instead of five)

leo did NOT need to get a girlfriend, he should have stayed single as it was better for his character development

tj needs more recognition in the fandom i love him

annabeth was def one of the more powerful of the seven even though she didn't have powers and a lot of the people that hate her are just misogynistic (as well as piper)

not even a take but just a fact what the fuck was rick ON making anubis white like he is quite literally an egyptian god he is most definitely black

also not a take but like. please we need more people talking about tkc in the fandom i love it sm and no one is talking about it. the characters are amazing and i guarantee if carter and sadie were white they would've gotten more recognition

feel free to add on

[annabethisterrified]

Book Review: THE TYRANT’S TOMB by Rick Riordan (The Trials of Apollo #4)

“Today, one way or another, the fate of New Rome would be decided.”

THERE ARE NO SPOILERS UNTIL YOU GO BELOW THE CUT!

Reeling from the loss of Jason Grace and the mounting danger of his mission to stop the evil emperors ascendance, Apollo (aka Lester) and Meg arrive disheveled and devastated in New Rome...with a coffin in tow. Getting into Camp Jupiter is tricky enough, and once Apollo and Meg get caught up to speed on the chaos that’s been wreaked in the Bay Area, they realize that the impending battle will be the culmination of everything they’ve been fighting for. Reyna, Frank, and Hazel’s leadership roles put them to the ultimate test as they scramble to prepare for their final stand against Caligula and Commodus. Together, Apollo, Meg, and the inhabitants of New Rome must mourn who they’ve already lost while simultaneously gearing up for the inevitable confrontation that will seal the fate of their home once and for all. 

The penultimate installment of The Trials of Apollo picks up on the heels of The Burning Maze’s tragic conclusion. Through Apollo’s perspective, the reality of what went down in the third book continues to weigh heavily upon the whole cast, but most of their focus is forced forward to an incredibly dangerous confrontation slated for the Blood Moon. Loose ends from the Heroes of Olympus series are tied neatly yet surprisingly, and the continued evolution of Apollo and Meg’s bond shines as the book’s true, gleaming heart. Apollo’s own recognition of his past failings, his father’s abusiveness, and the reality of what his humanity has taught him all come to a head, setting up what’s sure to be an impactful fifth and final book-- not just for Apollo’s journey, but as a capstone for what the whole saga’s implications about what it means to be a hero, and to be a human. 

The Tyrant’s Tomb is consistently entertaining and heartfelt, but the final third of the story proves to be the most deftly-crafted and meaningful. Though not as heavy as its previous installment, this fourth book gives plenty of focus on some lovely development from our main protagonist, priming the series for its finale next fall.

If you click below, there will be spoilers. 

Hello? Okay. You promise you’re good for spoilers...?

All right, just because of who I am as a person I guess, I’ve broken this down into like ten sections. Ooof. Generally, I will say that I was super pleased with how this story went. My only disappointment was that I’d hoped for more of a prolonged or “on-screen” unpacking of the effects of Jason’s death on the Camp Jupiter kids, specifically Reyna. However, I get that that’s kind of hard to do through Apollo’s perspective. I wasn’t totally sold on the idea that he sang a song haha, but I’m glad that Jason’s loss wasn’t just addressed at the beginning and then “moved on” from. It was threaded throughout, showing that grief is not something that you can check off a list. This is something that will always stay with these characters, and alter how they live and feel about things. It ebbs and flows. In addition, I think there could’ve been just a bit more action in the first half of the story, but it was never boring or aimless. And the concluding battle was expertly written and soooooo amazing omfg. Still reeling.

Anyway, let’s go.

FRANKLY, I HAVE NOTHING BUT LOVE

I’m so happy we got the chance to see Frank leading Camp Jupiter as praetor! He did such a good job, but also acknowledged that this is still a new role he’s transitioning into. I was so pleasantly surprised at how he managed to be both authoritative and gentle, and it was gut-wrenching to know that he intended to take Caligula down with him. When I imagined the fallout of Jason’s death, I always pictured Reyna being the one to tear down the emperors in revenge, which was why I was so affected by Frank’s commitment to honoring his friend. Not only did he order Jason’s designs to be built in like thirty hours, but he was so ready to avenge Jason that he was fully prepared to die. 

What. An. Arc. I LOVE HIM. I’m glad he’s finally free of his burden, and that he gets to keep doing an epic job as praetor (though hopefully during more future peaceful times). Camp Jupiter’s lucky to have him. 

SHINE ON HAZEL

Words can’t express how infatuated I was with Hazel in this book. She’s always been one of my favorites, but she really shone in this story. She was already so strong and developed at the end of Heroes of Olympus, but this book still brought her out better and smarter than she was before. She cannot be stopped. Hazel’s determination and grit make her formidable, and she definitely proved to be Rome’s greatest asset throughout the entire story. 

I think it’s great that she gets to step up and take on Jason and Reyna’s former role of praetor...alongside Frank, too! I didn’t expect her to react with anger towards Jason once she found out about his death, but it hit me hard. She initially took Jason’s death to be a reflection of the Seven’s failings as a team. Hazel loved how powerful the bond between them all was, and when Jason took on the burden of TBM’s prophecy alone without confiding in anyone, I can totally see why she felt like that was a betrayal. UGH hit me hard.

REYNA REYNA REYNA!

Reyna is just objectively an amazing character. I’m so so so glad we got to revisit her in this story, and loved where she ended up going. Starting this book, I had literally no idea how she would be handled. She’s always been the quintessential strong leader, which is awesome, but I’m glad we got to unpack the implications behind her very...layered...existence. Leaving Puerto Rico in a traumatic situation, going straight to Circe’s Island, escaping as a pirate, carving out her path in New Rome, getting roped into the Titan then Giant War? Damn. She’s been through a lot, and none of it of her own free will.

Like I mentioned earlier, I wish we’d learned more of how she dealt with Jason’s death. They were obviously really close growing up, and though it was clear she was devastated and things were referenced “off-screen”, I still kind of wish we’d gotten a bit more. Regardless, I liked that the focus of her presence in this book was about HERSELF and nobody else. 

And hello!!!!! She has a red truck!!!! and goes out hiking with her greyhounds??? makes me so glad. 

And yeah-- that ending, huh? I know it got mixed reactions. Personally, it felt pretty natural to me. I’m so glad she stayed in touch with Thalia after the events of HoO, and knowing that they’ll be on eternal adventures with a bunch of other wonderful girls....happy sigh. Reyna’s right-- this is kind of a much-needed vacation by joining Artemis’s team. No matter how long or short she stays with them, it’s important that she’s able to reclaim her destiny and figure out what and who she’d like to be. 

APOLLO & MEG

These two!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy shit. Their bond was so well handled and I loved seeing how it developed in this installment. They can communicate on an instinctual level-- they can call each other out, and recognize the abusive patterns both of their fathers have over them. They have so much in common, but also have so much to teach one another. I loved that they were both able to tell each other “I love you” and ughhhh yes the sibling dynamic is so epic. (Also, the whole Reyna and Meg ganging up on Apollo about Koronis bit was hysterical.) (And the “I thought you loved me?” “I’m multitasking.”) 

WHERE TO NEXT?

Just because I haven’t said this yet, but HOLY MOLY I adored Lavinia. Oh my god. She was amazing-- hilarious, presumptuous, go-getter, kind...what a star!!! What a joy to read!

Anyway, now it’s onto the fifth and final installment...THE TOWER OF NERO. I’m so happy that we’re going back to where this story started (in both Hidden Oracle and The Lightning Thief)....New York! And it sounds like also a potential field trip to Delphi, Greece? I’m down!

I’m assuming we’ll be able to tag up with Annabeth, since she’s the only main-player we haven’t yet revisited in ToA. And probably also Percy, Nico, Will, Austin, Kayla, etc. at Camp Half Blood. 

There’s a lot of ways this could all go down, but I think this book set up a heart-wrenching conclusion. I’m looking forward to Apollo and especially Meg standing up to their fathers and claiming their own lives. I’m not even sure if Apollo will want to be returned to godhood by the time his trials are up. We delved into some really interesting threads in this book-- he mentioned several times that he’d only ever felt comfortable and “at home” when he was human. What will that mean for his final trial? 

In either case, this book was fabulous and I’m so glad we got a chance to learn more about Camp Jupiter and New Rome...and I feel like a lot got resolved, so it felt like a satisfying way to say goodbye to the California crew. I doubt they’ll be in the last book, so it was bittersweet but fitting to leave them as we did!

Now, we wait. One last time! Thanks for reading this if you made it all the way down, haha!