#leo piper and jason killed gaia

[swordoffrivolousthings]

Thoughts about Heroes of Olympus and how it could have been better.

Sometimes I think about what would have made HOO a better series. And I'm not talking about the obvious 'too much focus on romantic relationships' and the lack of usage of certain characters or the dumb ending.

I mean the little things that would change so much (mainly character dynamics but also worldbuilding i.e. Camp Jupiter and Gaia's reasoning)

Some of the points are inspired by @crisisreading and their posts. They are the first I saw raise some of my own points so! part 2

Make the ages vary more in the main cast, trust me

Let Percy, Annabeth and Grover get older by 4-5 years. Let them become adults and find themselves outside the godly war. Let them even finish college, I wouldn't get mad. Let them do anything beside being teenagers.

I promise this would make the dynamics more interesting. Percy and Annabeth will be more mentor figures, than fellow comrades. This would create some distance between some of the them, but ultimately create something fun. Piper would come to see some aspiring female figure in Annabeth (I think this would ether be positive or negative, depending how Annabeth changed as a character over the years, but I tend towards negative). Leo would potentially have someone older to exchange ideas with. Jason would possibly feel intimidated by Percy's vastly superior age, prowess and experience, instead of being able to clash heads with him.

Hazel would have not one, but two that people that would play parent to the others' reckless behavior. (go snort your harmful stereotypes up your ass, Riordan.) Frank, when telling Percy and Hazel about his stick, would possibly find in Percy a kind hand (not that he wasn't kind already, let me explain) and Percy would probably share with him this feeling of vulnerability - not dump it on Frank - about having your life tied to a specific thing. I mean his Achilles heel, with which he would have lived for far longer.

And a whole lot more.

2. Add Grover into the series as a perspective character

You have a new trio dynamic introduced in the first book of the series. Let the original trio interact as main characters and let us see how their relationship has changed.

Grover's opinion on the conflict between the gods and Gaia would be important. He is the Lord of the Wild, and Gaia is the literal personification of the Earth. Let us see his struggle between the loyalty he has to the gods and his friends and his powerful feelings towards protecting nature.

Also, he would act as a protector for the demigods. Because while I enjoy Hedge, he is not enough to keep them safe.

3. Throw the bullshit about Gaia getting revenge for Kronos' defeat out of the way

Gaia, as mentioned before, if the personification of the Earth. One of the first gods to emerge from Chaos.

Gaia can, of course, keep her resentment for the gods defeating the son that freed her from her pain (caused by Ouranos initially). But she is a mother goddess. She should want obliterate humanity because humans are slowly killing her. Painfully. She wants to survive and the only way she sees how if by killing all the humans. She wants to save her children, aka animals, insects, nature, and the only way she sees is bloodshed. Gods are not rational in their anger, no one is. So let her be angry and vengeful and out for human blood.

DO NOT MAKE HER A FUCKING VILLAIN, MAN! Make her an antagonist, but someone's whose ideals are worth taking in and adapting. Kinda like Luke about the demigod and minor god recognition. Where have the themes of the original series gone? Remember, an important theme in BOTL was protecting the environment. It was one of the most important moments when Pan faded. Do not let that go to fucking waste. Especially not now, in the world we live in.

4. Show the effects the war had on Camp Half-Blood. Hint it at Camp Jupiter, when Percy does not have the memories to corelate it with

We've had years since the end of the Second Titan War. How did the gods change the course of events ? (the victors write the histories) How much of Luke's reasoning for starting the war was erased. (hint, all of it.) Show us how much the perspectives were shifted and how much the people that fought in it were made into martyrs and villain, basically becoming caricatures.

Let us feel how much this hurts Percy, Grover and Annabeth. How it had impacted and impacts their trauma, grief and utter horror. The younger, newer campers see them as wonderful, all-just and loyal heroes of the gods. The way they hate it.

Good moment to implement the new cabins for the gods and let the new ones forget that it wasn't always this way. Let Percy's demand to the gods be forgotten, shoved under the rug. The tragedy unfolds, use it.

Since in Camp Jupiter none of the main characters have fought, let us see the subtility. Let the older legionnaires be ragged, scarred. Older and weary, with eyes glassy and suspicious. Have younger recruits have this heavy air around them. They know what happened, what killed most of the older people in the legion.

Have Jason, Hazel and Frank see these things in Annabeth, Grover and Percy too. They realise that oh. oh. these three have fought in the war, of course they would. Show them gain respect for the trio. The same kind of respect they have for the veterans back home.

5. Cut one of the Seven from the prophecy.

I know this seems radical, but it is a symbolism thing, which I think would be more interesting in a world based on Greek mythology.

It is established in PJO that three (3) is an important number: 3 Olympian sisters (Hera, Demeter, Hestia), 3 Olympian brothers (Hades, Poseidon, Zeus), 3 Fates, 3 quest members, 3 Furies, 3 godly realms (the Underworld, Olympus + the sky, the seas). Use this.

Give us six (6) prophesized heroes. It is, after all, the second most used number in the series and a multiple of 3.

I suggest Annabeth. Why? because she has her quest from Athena. Let that be her top priority, while hanging out on the Argo II to get to Rome. Let her bond with the younger demigods and have her possible death be always on her mind. Bring her hubris into play and she would think herself the chosen one, the one demigod child of Athena to survive. This would make her falling into Tartarus with Percy not letting her go more taxing on her psyche.

Show us how she hates herself because she took one of the principal quest members to certain death. She feels like she'd jeopardized the whole saving the world thing.

Cut the Seven to Six and let Annabeth die in Tartarus. Show us why a single-man quest is a death sentence. Why three (3) is such a valuable number.

6. CONSEQUENCES!!!

Jumping straight off the last point.

Change why Annabeth would end up in Tartarus. Make her ignore the string around her ankle because she thing that nothing bad can happen to her now. After all, Arachne is gone, right.

Let this be her undoing. I do not care how she dies, but make her choices, her hubris, be her undoing. Do not let her death up to a chance, a mistake or miscalculation. Show how toxic Tartarus is, because we do not see it enough, but make it Annabeth's idea, the plan by which she dies.

Do not make it Percy's fault. Let him try to do everything to keep her alive, but still failing. Attack his sense of loyalty, his self-esteem. Show how the experiences and her death affect him.

Bring the trauma from the last war back in those chapters, in a place where demigods leave something behind.

To less drastic things - let the others get hurt. Permanently. Show how this life affects and damages people physically, too.

Have one lose an eye, another get horrific scars. Lose a limb, a part of themselves. Do not make it seem like any other could have gotten the same wound.

Tailor them to their character, their pride and their skill. Hit them where it hurts most and let us see how it changes them.

Also, about Leo. Kill him too. The fact that he ended up alive is a deux ex machina. He should have suffered the consequences.

Also also, bring back the fatal flaws. They are missing from the series. Play with them, show why they are important parts of their characters. Bring back ancient Greek fatal flaws, and new ones that make sense in a modern world.

Hurt them because what hurts them is part of who they are. Show us why the Greeks invented tragedy.

7. Age up the target age. Go more young/new adult

I understand that PJO was made for middle schoolers. But the target audience had grown up alongside the characters, and as such they have matured.

This is why I said to age Percy, Grover and Annabeth up further. Leave some distance for the old and new readers to get up and personal with the new main characters. Have them find common ground with the new demigods but have their anchor in the old ones.

Make the readers work to understand and refamiliarize themselves wit the older demigods. Because they've changed.

Targeting a more mature audience allows exploring n. 6. The realistic consequences of living with the fear that something will come and eat you. How just a little mishap could change you for life. (or what has been left of it)

Please do not go grim dark. Show that despite this all, their purpose has not stopped existing. A life exists outside of your appearance or disability still exist, and while it would be hard, do not lose hope.

8. Hope, or lack of its importance in the Heroes of Olympus series

Alongside other callbacks and reinforcements of PJO's lore, where is Elpis (hope)? Why doesn't she appear as a larger theme in the books? I don't know.

Elpis is still in the jar, having been used as a threat of defeat. But now Kronos is gone. Have Gaia use it as s symbol for her own cause.

Make hope Gaia's argument. The most important part of why her cause stands. Gaia is waking now because there is no hope for the betterment of the planet while in human - and therefore godly - grasp. She wants to save the planet, but they, the destroyers, are opposing her.

Hope is what she wants to bring back. The hope that death will not be the end of life, but further evolvement and betterment of all species.

This argument is what the counterargument should unravel. All species? Why are humans considered irredeemable, unworthy of becoming something greater?

Why can't they not coexist and why can't humans learn how to care about the world surrounding them.

Make hope for humanity and for the environment not a question of if they are capable to coexist, but how we can manage that. Humanity and nature are not mutually exclusive, but two halves of the same whole that need each other to sustain their longevity. Yes, nature can exist without humans, but humans can't.

This does not mean that the best way forward is to kill all humans.

There is no need for hope in HOO because there are no greater questions being asked about topics that require hope, because otherwise we would descend into nihilism and fatalism.

9. Give the gods reason to act the way they act, or a look at a greater narrative problem in the series

I may be generalizing, but the gods act erratically and make choices convenient for the plot, as it is, to happen.

Hera: how, specifically, does she know that Gaia is rising and what her plans are. Why is she against Gaia, when the older goddess has a track record of helping the Olympians on different occasions in the myths. Why does she decide to act when she does, how she knows that the king of the giants (whatever his name may be) is coming after her right then.

We don't know.

Athena: we understand why she wants the Athena Parthenos back. Why not force the Romans to give it back. After all, she is a goddess, even if the Romans don't respect her as the Greeks did, she has power and sway over them. Why send her children, a supposedly important part of what brings her glory, to a near-certain death. Is it misguided vengeance, an obsession to get the statue back at all cost, or simple cruelty. These reasons could apply very well to sending the Romans, yet she doesn't.

Zeus: why lock down Olympus? Paranoia, which fair, but you are a King, why wouldn't you look after your subjects? (bc Riordan chose to ignore part of his characterization in the myths and part of his godly domain) (I know kings aren't perfect, but after the last war, one would think he would do everything in his power to stop another one before it begins) Why not seek justice for Octavian's lies, that affect their ability to win the war, and kill/imprison him? Justice is part of his domain, as Zeus Nomius.

I know that we wouldn't necessarily need these answers, but without some of them, some choices left hanging seem to be there only to add to the drama and danger of it all.

All in all, I have many problems with the 'Heroes of Olympus' series. Some of them are nitpicks and personal preference as a high fantasy reader in my free time. Some of them would really add to the story and continue the themes of PJO.

Please ask me if something wasn't clear to you. I'll happily explain further.

If you find something you don't agree with, let's discuss. I'm open to changing my opinions.

[poppitron360]

Hot take but the whole “who is the most powerful demigod” debate is stupid.

Percy is not the most powerful demigod. Nico is not the most powerful demigod. Leo- despite vaporising a primordial goddess with his bare hands- is NOT the most powerful demigod.

The whole POINT of the Seven is that they’re all meant to be EQUALS in power. Or at least that’s what they are in theory, but in a desperate attempt to keep Percy as the main character they nerfed everyone else.

They each have unique abilities, which complement and contradict each other- working together as a team. They all have their own specific set of skills that they bring to the table. Neither should be more important than the other.

Yes Percy almost killed the goddess of misery with her own poison. Yes Nico can kill a person with a touch. But Hazel prevented Gaia from rising another seventy years. Piper can charmspeak literal gods. Jason defeated Krios single-handedly (we never see it but we’re told about it). Frank had to be given a physical handicap from the UNIVERSE ITSELF for being too powerful. Reyna has two ferocious robot lie-detector dogs, lived on Circe’s island so knows some magic and shit, lived with Pirates for a while, single-handedly ran CJ for eight months while trying to keep Octavian off her back AND led the legion into battle when the time came- not to mention the fact that she can basically amplify anyone’s strength/lend them hers. We don’t even have TIME to dive into all the times Annabeth has been seriously OP. Plus, Leo has a 60-tonne fire-breathing dragon, is the first fire user in nearly four centuries AND defeated Gaia.

I would’ve loved it if they’d all played equal part in the final battle against Gaia instead of Leo doing all the work. While I’m not complaining that Rick made my favourite character the most important in the end, I kinda think that if you’ve got a concept of Seven demigods each with their own role to play you should actually make their roles all equal- not just wait ‘til you find out who the fan favourite is and then give him the most significant job.

GIVE EACH MEMBER OF THE SEVEN EQUAL NUMBER OF POV CHAPTERS IN THE BOOKS PLEASE.

Perhaps it’s my neuros diverging, but I HATE it when things aren’t mathematically equal or don’t line up correctly. Fold a piece of paper in half all wonky-like in front of me I dare you.

The Lost Hero? Flawless! Each character gets two chapters, and it all rotates in the same cycle until we end up back with who we started. Admittedly Jason gets two extra chapters at the end but that just means we can give Piper and Leo more chapters in the other books. Son Of Neptune? Great! Percy gets a few more chapters in ratio to Frank and Hazel, though. Mark Of Athena?… All the Greek demigods get a POV! That’s fine! But where’s our book dedicated to just the Roman characters? House Of Hades? FANTASTIC! Everyone in the Prophecy gets a POV.

But wait! There’s more! Now there’s two new characters who need POVs, making the fandom have to write out a whole “the seven plus Nico and Reyna” thing even though the series is literally called Heroes of Olympus and so you could just call them that but that’s besides the point. Controversial, but I don’t mind the lack of Percabeth POVs in Blood of Olympus. We kinda already know a lot about them already and I wanna give my other pookies a time to shine. But the fact that Frank and Hazel only get TWO books with POVs meanwhile Leo and Piper get FOUR-

As much as I love them all, I just think that nine characters in five books might’ve been Rick biting off more than he can chew. We know this because of how hastily they had to wrap up Leo’s arc and the “oath to keep with a final breath” line in the Prophecy in the last chapter, and how Frank, Hazel and Reyna don’t get completed arcs until TOA.

But anyway, I think that “Percy is the most powerful”- while I know it’s an opinion most of the fandom share- is actually erasing the whole concept of HOO. Seven characters, equally powerful, for different reasons. And if Rick had just stuck to that concept, it would’ve been much more stylistically pleasing (with an equal number of chapters for each character) and be able to shine a light on characters like Frank and Hazel who are kinda pushed to the sides in the books. It made the final battle kinda anticlimactic just to have the Lost Trio and mostly Leo defeat Gaia, and just kinda made the ending underwhelming imo.

[bunkernine]

been rereading moa and got to the part where percy v jason in kansas with piper. this is mirrored almost EXACTLY to jason v leo @ medeas with piper. it doesnt matter which one of them dies or both of them could but jason and leo are definitely the prophecy kids. this is undeniable. so kansas is where they learn that one male and one female need to die for gaea. i think... leo was supposed to be there instead of percy. leo is the first one to have an eidolon. then jason would get caught and so would piper.... instead percy was a more enticing option than piper so he gets possessed instead. cuz the only reason why Leo isn't there is because he decides to take time to work on the ship... and piper is cautious because her dagger katropis can see the future. SO THIS IS MY THOUGHT: the cyclops try to kill piper + jason. then medea faces leo and jason because she can see the future and she knows these 3 are the kids to kill. then midas freezes leo and piper. then khione just goes ballistic lmao. and cuz they are all failures, GAIA gotta put in the work herself and she expects those 3 to be in Kansas— bacchus even realizes that kansas was a trap and leaves LMAO. when the eidolons fail, khione gets to do round 4 in hoh (the calypso thing).... the monsters tend not to be too picky later on, but i think the one girl one boy was always supposed to be PIPER + JASON/LEO but her dagger and unusually strong abilities gave her an unexpected edge. aphrodite even says, piper can see all possibilities as her daughter.... The possibilities being the ones that medea and the eidolons shouldve gave her: jason or leo, to storm or fire, greek or roman, titans or gods, demigod or mortal. piper's entire issue in tlh is trying to figure out her loyalties and decide if she should betray her friends. piper also CHOSE katropis out of every weapon, the same weapon as helen of troy of all ppl? Piper is ALWAYS put in the position of choosing and putting her heart on line: extremely fitting for daughter of aphrodite and adversary to gaia. i tried thinking, why the fuck does piper have charmspeak.... Its cuz she can take away other people's choices and make them her own- this is the MAIN reason she hates charmspeak too. Are you guys seeing what im saying ... "The prophecy was always about us three" ← i just think piper was intended to be more entangled but some. other. writing choices were made last minute :)

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I'll take a break to focus on the actual book I'm writing, but don't worry, I promise the final book will be the best one of all. See you in August! -Danny Words: 2,203 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Book Listen to: 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' -by U2

LXIII: Which Boss Do I Have to Fight to Get Some Validation Around Here?

She knows all the people in this room, but the way she thinks about them, and how they interact with her now that she's physically different, is kind of off.

"We talked to Apollo," Ara starts explaining. "He said Gaia reawakened the Python, keeping the Oracle of Delphi prisoner—that's why Rachel can't see anything now."

Ella the harpy, Tyson, and Rachel will leave with the Romans, they'll try to rewrite the Sibylline books, which is why Ara called for a meeting.

"But Gaia is permanently asleep now," Will reasons. "That means Dad can kill the Python now!"

Ara grimaces. "But your father angered Zeus. We might not see him a while, or worse—"

"Wait, if we stop getting prophecies, that's completely alright," Nyssa replies. She's the counselor for Cabin Nine because Jake refused to step back in. "We lost two great inventors already, and it's not like Hephaestus goes out of his way to have tons of kids, our numbers are thinning—"

"I'm perfectly aware of it, Nyssa, thank you." Ara silences the girl. "But we should be worried about Apollo."

"Why? No more prophecies means peace!" Percy argues.

Ara gives him a look. "No more prophecies means we'll face our future problems blindly, and trust me, there will be problems. We've been stripped of our advantage, and that's not all that worries me."

"What is?" Piper asks reluctantly.

"Zeus will punish Apollo for his delulus of greatness, and he has a special way of humiliating Apollo... I'm pretty sure he'll use it again."

Will's face loses color. "That's terrible news! We could be left powerless! Our whole cabin!"

"I'm aware of that too," Ara sighs. "If this doesn't end well, you might lose them forever..."

"Hold on, time out," Percy intervenes. "I'm lost."

Annabeth explains. "Zeus once punished Apollo by stripping him of his godly status. He turned into a mortal, and was forced to do a series of trials until Zeus considered he'd humbled him enough."

Jason looks concerned. "What could've happened if he'd failed those trials?"

"He would've died, most likely," Ara says. "None of his descendants would've kept their powers, maybe. Some traits at best, whatever they could've learned in training, but stuff like—"

"Magic healing, music powers, perfect aim, the light..." Will shudders. "All gone."

"Your job is important," Ara turns to Rachel and Ella. "The books have information concerning what's next, maybe it'll tell us if we need to prepare in case Apollo's absence causes another conflict in Olympus. We mustn't get too comfortable in our peace."

She scans the room and sees the campers' good mood dying before her eyes. Ara's expression turns guilty, but she keeps going.

"Keep your eyes open. Apollo might reach out to any of us, he could show up at camp and have no memory of who he is—Gods, he might not even look like himself at all! But balance is needed whether we like it or not, if you find him, bring him to me."

No one is happy with her lecture, but Ara ends the meeting and sends the group of Romans away. Nico approaches her and nudges her arm. "You didn't need us after all. You kept them under control the whole time."

She smiles a little. "I thought they would fight me more on it."

"You're too scary now, but don't worry," Jason grins. "You'll get used to being almighty."

Almighty raises her myth. 

What if that line was about her as much as it was about the sword? She's powerful nowadays, but hardly a myth. She would need to become history for that, and her death doesn't feel any closer.

"Ara?"

"Hmm?" She gives a start.

"I said, can you do me a favor now?" Nico asks, his eyes fixed on the Big House's entrance. "Stay near."

Ara is intrigued, she follows him out and sees what he'd been staring at from inside. "Hey, guys," Percy smiles at them. "Annabeth just told me some good news!"

"We're going to spend our senior year together," Annabeth beams, "here in New York. And after graduation—"

"College in New Rome!" Percy punches the air. "Four years with no monsters to fight, no battles, no stupid prophecies. Just me and Annabeth, getting our degrees, hanging out at cafés, enjoying California—"

"And after that..." Annabeth smiles sweetly at the boy. "Well, Reyna and Frank said we could live in New Rome as long as we like."

"That's great," Nico says, sounding genuine. "I'm staying too, here at Camp Half-Blood."

"What?" Ara looks at him with shock.

"Awesome!" Percy exclaims.

"So," Nico clears his throat, "since we're going to be spending at least a year seeing each other at camp, I think I should clear the air."

Percy hesitates. "What do you mean?"

"For a long time, I had a crush on you." Nico shrugs. "I just wanted you to know."

Percy looks at the boy blankly. "You—"

"Yeah. You're a great person. But I'm over that," he smiles a bit. "I'm happy for you guys."

"You... so you mean—"

"Right."

"Wait," Percy frowns. "So you mean—"

"Right. But it's cool. We're cool. I mean, I see now... you're cute, but you're not my type."

Ara snorts, not believing her ears.

"I'm not your type..." Percy blinks. "Wait. So—"

"This is gonna take a while," Ara guides Nico away with amusement.

The boy snickers. "See you around, Percy. Annabeth."

If that isn't surreal enough, Annabeth and Nico high-five, and then the boy openly smiles at Ara and pats her shoulder. Even if it's a closed smile, it's enough to bewild her. Nico makes his way down the porch steps and shouts at someone to wait for him. Will Solace, out of all people. Almost immediately, both boys glow in the same bright yellow light.

"Holy shit," Ara breathes.

"Huh," Lily says, coming out of nowhere. "Yeah, I can see it."

Ara jumps. "Gods, Lily, stop doing that!" She lowers her voice with confusion. "Did you see that, though?"

"What?" Annabeth grins at the girls. "Don't tell me you couldn't tell! I'm sure you were the first to find out!"

Ara looks at her smiling. "Yeah, what an idiot, right? But no, I meant..." She hesitates, it's still not her place to tell others what she just saw. "Nevermind. You know where Reyna is?"

"Talking to Piper by the lake," Lily responds. "Need me to come along?"

"Nah, it's fine, I gotta feed Pollo anyway," Ara shows her a lighthearted smile before walking away. "Go waste time with your elf."

"Don't call him that!"

"Don't forget Mom picks us up in an hour!" Percy shouts, coming out of his dazzled state.

"There you are!" Ara finds Reyna and Piper. "Ready to go?"

"Yes. Again, thank you for letting us stretch our stay."

"You're always welcome here," Piper says. "If you need to take a break, get away... you've got Frank now—he could assume more responsibility for a while. It might do you good to make some time for yourself, when nobody is going to be looking at you as praetor."

"Would I be expected to sing that odd song about how Grandma puts on her armor?"

"Not unless you really want to," Piper grins. "But we might have to ban you from capture the flag. I have a feeling you could go against the entire camp solo and still beat us."

"I'll consider the offer. Thank you." Reyna pauses. "I wonder... You two are children of Venus. I mean Aphrodite. Perhaps—perhaps you could explain something your mother said."

Piper and Ara share a look, and the younger girl crosses her arms. "Go ahead."

"Once in Charleston, Venus told me something. She said: You will not find love where you wish or where you hope. No demigod shall heal your heart. I—I have struggled with that for..."

The answer comes easily to Ara. "Don't have to be scared. Love is a vast concept and its fulfillment comes in many forms, rarely is it ever another human. Before Leo, love would come to me by helping people and not dating. It really is in the most random places."

"You are an incredible person," Piper adds. "And you have friends, sometimes that's even better than a partner."

"I can attest to that," Ara nods, then adds playfully. "But if you ever feel like giving dating a try, I'm available until my boyfriend comes back from the dead."

Reyna stares at her. "I can't tell if you're being serious."

"This is a special offer with a deadline," Ara retorts half-joking. "I find you frustratingly attractive."

Reyna laughs and Ara feels like she just accomplished a great deed. She perks up at the sound but then something hits her across the face. The girl groans and looks around in confusion. "What the..."

Ara looks down and it takes her a moment to understand what she's seeing. She picks up the item and Piper gasps. "Is that—?"

"Oh my gods," Ara's hands are shaking. "Oh, gods! What do I do?"

"What is that?" Reyna asks.

"That's Leo's!" Piper says. "It fell from the sky!"

Ara feels like maybe she should sit down before she opens it, but her impatience gets the best of her and she opens the scroll with trembling, clumsy fingers.

"Hey, guys!" Leo's tiny projection comes out of the scroll. Ara makes a bizarre noise with her throat and holds tighter onto it, unable to look away. Reyna and Piper get closer."Sorry to leave you like that. Bad news: I died. Good news: I got better! I had to help my bud Cal. We're taking Festus to—" 

The image glitches and Ara shakes the scroll impatiently. 

"Back as soon as—" 

More glitching and static.

"Cook tacos when—" 

More static. 

"¡Vaya con queso! Love ya!"

The scroll turns off and Ara gets angry. "That's it?!"

"Leo's alive!" Piper hugs her. "It worked!"

"Smart," Reyna hums approvingly. "Seems like our date will never come to be, Strategus."

Ara twists the scroll in her hands. "An entire freaking week where we both almost died and all he has to say is Vaya con queso?" She's fuming. "Well, good for his bud Cal! I hope they bring me a shirt from whatever stupid countries they visit on their super fun holiday away from everyone else!"

Piper steps back. "I should get Lily."

"I should leave," Reyna says promptly.

The girls hurry away while also spreading the news about Leo. Soon enough, Ara is surrounded by an eager crowd that wants to hear the message. Ara plays it back, glaring at the projection. 

Lily sees her expression and nudges Nico, both taking her away from the congratulating crowd that calls her boyfriend cool and intelligent before she can kill them.

Steam is practically coming out of Ara's ears. She's forgotten all about her duties, her hurt ego stops her from thinking clearly while she paces around her room.

"Look at the bright side, Queen B, he'll be back soon and you won't mope for months like with Percy!"

"Hey! It wasn't my fault!"

"No one's saying that," Annabeth replies, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Ara keeps throwing her tantrum. "This is the same boy that used to send me weekly scrolls to my apartment to tell me I looked pretty in a dream he had—and now I get nothing!"

"For all we know that 'Love ya!' in the end might've been just for you," Nico pokes fun at her.

"I'm gonna strangle you," Ara warns him.

"Dude, why are you angry? He broke the curse!" Lily insists. She had to catch up quickly with Annabeth's help to understand the full context of what was happening.

"I'm happy but I'm angry that he kicked me out of the ship like I was getting on the way, and now he's taking his sweet time to talk to me!" Ara glares at the pinboard in front of her, packed with pictures of the boy. "Ugh, look at this! Oh, you should've seen the way I cried for him—Ugh, I hate him!"

The group shares a roguish look. They know Ara can't handle big emotions, especially when it comes to Leo, so right now she's fighting to regulate herself. But if Leo doesn't get there fast, Ara's high will suffocate her until it knocks her down and leaves her unable to get out of bed.

"Birdy," Percy approaches and places a hand on her shoulder. "Leo's probably saving his romantic speech for when he sees you in person. He knows you love it when he makes a show out of it."

"The scroll was a perfect opportunity to show off," Ara argues with a pout, but she's calming down.

"Yeah, but he had no way of knowing you would be the one to get it and have it slap you across the face," Nico replies. "Besides, you know he worships the ground you walk on—What's the big deal?"

Ara takes a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. "The big deal is that the curse is broken," Her fingers skim the picture of him in the bunker's platform, smiling big while showing a thumbs up to the camera. "And he's traveling with a goddess whose sole purpose is to tempt men so they stay with her..."

"Hey, Calypso isn't like that," Percy tries to defend the girl's honor, but Annabeth pulls him back and shakes her head, now is not the time to try and reason with a frightened Ara.

"You're saying you don't trust Leo?" Lily questions with disbelief.

"I'm saying I have no way to contact him, and if something happens mid-journey, or Apollo shows up and I'm not here..." Ara scowls at the drawing of the Argo II in the middle of her pinboard. "Without the oracles here to guide us, anything can happen."

Next Book –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[yonemurishiroku]

Yay!

Okay, I'll start off by saying that Jason Grace is my absolute favourite character in the whole of the camp half-blood chronicles. When I was around 12 or so I genuinely had a crush on him and now that I'm 19 I just absolutely adore him and just want to protect him lol.

Anyways.

He's been done so dirty, okay? Killing a former protagonist after his series is over is so cheap idc, especially if you kill him out of the blue after revealing that a huge part of what he fought for during hoo (his relationship with Piper) was over.

I can understand Leo and Calypso breaking up, because they met for two weeks or something and then 'fell in love'. They have a lot to unpack and a lot to work through before they're able to form a relationship. But Piper and Jason? They were together for five books, there was a genuine connection between them, they worked well together, etc. Idk, whether you ship Jasper or not, them breaking up outside of their main story for factors that weren't even mentioned when they were protagonists is a huge wtf moment.

I don't want to think this, but it feels like Rick wanted Piper to be queer, which, you know, is great, the more representation the better, but there are other, more sensible ways he could've used to approach her queerness. He could've had Piper mention she'd realised she was queer after the war but she still loved Jason because, you know, four books of relationship development weren't for nothing. Or, if he wanted to break them up, he could've given Jason and Piper more protagonism and explain their reasoning for parting ways better.

But I digress.

Jason's death was so fucking gratuitous, it makes no sense. Why would you kill a protagonist after his series is over? Why? Just to be cruel? So that his death can be serve as some stupid character development for Apollo/yet another trauma for Nico?

Also, are we going to talk about how fucking stupid it is to kill Jason specifically? My man had a very important task to fulfil after hoo: he was going to create temples for the minor gods to stop them from rebelling. You know, he was doing virtually all of Olympus a huge service and I honestly don't know how the minor gods didn't all collectively murder Apollo for letting the one demigod that cared about them die. Idk, if I were a minor god I'll go steal his soul or something to resurrect him, because everyone else is too focused on themselves to care about the minor gods. This is so annoying wtf.

And don't even get me started on how sad it is that Jason's peace was robbed of him when he's been in a shitty place most of his life: his mother was an abusive alcoholic (because neglect is abuse), he was raised by a literal wolf and trained to be a warrior ever since, he was the Percy Jackson of Camp Jupiter during pjo, he had to fight in the war against Gaia, he had to see Leo die (and obviously Rick couldn't wait until they'd meet again to kill him), and the love of his life broke up with him when he did absolutely nothing (nothing!) wrong. People may not realise it, but he's one of the characters who's had the most fucked-up lives wtf.

In conclusion, Jason is now part of Hotel Valhalla because Hera did one (1) good thing and glitched his going to the Underworld so that he could live forever. That's what I'm telling myself from crying about him 24/7.

Ok I just want to say that in some time from now unto eternity I may steal borrow that 'if I were a minor god I'll go steal his (Jason's) soul or something to resurrect him' because that's an absolutely fantastic prompt for the next book.

(Or maybe idk the minor gods wrecking havoc bc their only representative was killed off for the sake of an Olympian sounds quite nice too).

For the rest yeah you have a (many) point(s).

[muiltifandomnerd]

The ending of you story! It’s been a definite journey reading your book with all its ups and downs and betrayal and love. I’m wondering how the other couples are doing like Isabelle, Hyun x Ben, Evangeline x Kaito, Percy x Annabeth. Are they still together and married and do they have kids?

Isabelle: Not Spoiling but she find the right person and become a foster mom

Hyun x Ben: They are married but they choose to not have kids. They live in Spiti, Ben becomes a artist and gamer while Hyun becomes a private magician.

Kaito x Evangeline: They live in Spiti and are married. They don’t have kids. Evangeline becomes a teacher while Kaito works with Chika and Grover in a organization of improving the enviroment and saving the endanger species.

Percy x Annabeth: They married and have a daughter named Cordelia Penelope Jackson. Percy also joins Kaito, Chika, and Grover on the enviroment organization. Annabeth made Camp Half Blood a city like New Rome

Frank x Hazel: Frank and Hazel are married and have a son named Cain Zhang. Frank is still a praetor while hazel owns a successful jewelry story and an artist. They managed to break the curse thank to Nico and Erebus help.

Jason x Piper: Tragically Piper died during a monster attack and Jason finds somebody else.

Leo x Calypso: Leo died as he sacrifice himself to kill Gaia in Heros of Olympus while Calypso got rescued by Ryan and Alabaster.

[demigod-shenanigans]

You actually made this reblog during the last few days of my exam phase so while I’d have loved it either way it was extra appreciated then! Didn’t have the mental capacity to properly reply at the time but I do now so I shall :)

-Yeah, they’re in the middle of the whole Gaia conflict and with Leo building the Argo there just wasn’t really time. Beyond that, I also just think Jason and Leo are the kind of couple who like to just. Enjoys hanging out together for random activities. Jason watches Leo work and Leo watches Jason train and they just nap together after a long day. Neither of them is even really sure where to draw the line between a date and just spending time with each other. This is their first real relationship they have no clue what they’re doing. Also I’m like 90% sure the reason the date is on the beach is that Percy is the person with the most relationship experience they know and of course her of all people would suggest a beach date lmao

-oh my god Piper and Leo would have the best time in a trampoline park. I feel like they’re on the same one trying to use each other’s bounces to go higher. They definitely have a bet going on who will be able to get highest up. Piper wins purely because she’s got a very slight height advantage (like, an inch) and she never lets it go.

-No one in their friend group can cook except for Leo. Jason is the worst because he’s not just a bad cook but regularly kills kitchen appliances with his electricity powers without meaning to. Piper canonically gets picnic sandwiches made by her dad’s private chef. Reyna is great at chopping things and absolutely useless in the kitchen otherwise. After Piper and Reyna move in together Leo stages a cooking related intervention to teach them some basic stuff and he’s way too smug about the fact that he’s the only reason they haven’t burnt their house down yet.

-Piper insists on making them a playlist. Reyna usually prefers to drive in silence but Piper was so excited about it that she couldn’t tell her no. The playlist ends up being way less distracting than the fact that Piper is singing along constantly why does she have to be so cute?

I also feel like Piper is a way better driver than Reyna is, honestly. Reyna can drive if she has to but it’s a purely practical skill she learned out of necessity. Piper actually really enjoys driving and is the one to take over during the more difficult parts/when it starts to get dark if they haven’t made it to wherever they’re stopping for the night yet.

Reyna is not great at admitting that she’s subpar in a skill especially not to people important to her but Piper just grins and goes “there’s plenty of stuff you can do that I’m not great at. I was bound to finally beat you at something” and maybe Reyna doesn’t mind it so much anymore

Besides there’s something to be said about being able to watch a content Piper drive and occasionally hand her food and change the song at her request. Reyna’s spent so much of her life being in charge. It’s nice to be able to sit back and take the passenger seat for once.

-Tiny Reyna and Jason will always get to me. Him being the first to welcome her and feeling this immediate connection. Just instantly deciding actually she’s his friend now and he really really needs to impress her. Reyna being overwhelmed by it all and being without her sister for the first time in her entire life in this strange place but at least she’s not alone. At least Jason seems excited to have her here. Maybe this won’t be so bad.

-Oh the thought of Leo and Piper making elaborate plans to sneak out of school but being caught repeatedly because they keep cracking each other up makes me smile so much. They were menaces together I just know it

-The funniest thing about them throwing stuff off the Argo to see what goes furthest is Jason could so easily cheat with his wind powers and win. However. He refuses. He’d rather lose this fair and square

-Jason is always either holding Leo’s hand or has his hands in Leo’s curls. Their PDA is unbearable actually. Also this has backfired on Jason at least once because sometimes when Leo gets excited about an idea or nervous or something his hair will light on fire and when that happens his hair is not where you want your hands to be

-I feel like Piper hasn’t even ever really pained her own nails so this would probably be a disaster. However. She learns Reyna has never had a sleepover and she cannot let that stand and doing each other’s nails is kind of a standard sleepover activity, at least in some of the movies she’s watched, so they’re doing this. (It’s definitely for that reason that Piper suggests it. Not the fact that it means that she’ll have an excuse to hold Reyna’s hand for an extended period of time. Not at all.)

Also it has been the world’s longest day, I’m exhausted, if anyone could spare wholesome silly headcanons (primarily valgrace/pipeyna and/or any platonic combination of these four characters but also just pjo in general) I would be incredibly grateful

[thinkingjasico]

One thing that's been on my mind lately is why did the gods offer percy immortality at the end of pjo and didn't offer to the seven at the end of hoo? (six actually cause leo was technically dead)

[ima-ghost-art]

The Gods and demigods looking at the Seven and thinking *damn Percy Jason and Annabeth really kinda are the most important of the group right? Clearly they're the strongest and the teams leaders, they must have been the biggest threat to Gaia in the Titan war*

...

*Leo, Frank and Hazel who had their childhoods taken and ruined by gaia, (who is also responsible for multiple of their family deaths), bc she knew they were her biggest threat and the others were basically just back up since they couldnt kill her without them*

*jason is an iffy one bc he was controlled more by Hera than anything and piper doesnt really fit into either category*

[deithe]

The funniest thing Riordan ever wrote was implying that Leo 'mamacita' 'how many franks am I worth' Valdez has the power to kill gods

[xx0yeet-everything0xx]

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN

I DIDNT REALLY THINK THIS ELABORATION PART THROUGH SO IM JUST GOING WITH IT NOW OK IM SORRY ITS SO LONG

okay so. you know the main suspense in the original was the last two lines!! to save or raze olympus or something idr

the hoo prophecy had SO much potential with that line to storm or fire the world must fall. like. this isn't even olympus anymore this is the WORLD. if the gods were wary with the first prophecy then... imagine this one??

that line wasn't a surprise as it unraveled because piper had already said it. and they all decided it was final, but like. it would've been so cool if they'd gone into the destructive side of it.

ESPECIALLY that scene in the beginning of BoO when jason meets beryl. that is the only time we've seen him come close to snapping, and even then (alas) he reigns it in. maybe if we saw a little of it from someone else's perspective. or when he calls zeus 'unwise.' there could be more tension because they wonder if he's going to turn.

and i've stated this before but just make leo's fatal flaw revenge it works so fucking well. he kills the primordial who ruined his life. he meets the goddess of revenge. seven years later and he still has fresh hate for aunt rosa (understandably). just... yes.

throw in percy too actually. everyone's worried about percy definitely being it-- esp. with tartarus-- until jason loses his shit with beryl (i changed my mind he should go batshit then. give us a character rick please.)

just. piper accurately predicting the prophecy all the way in HoH is so annoying. i want to be in suspense. thats what made pjo exciting! piper should predict something completely different to throw us all off actually. like. storm or fire refers to one of them killing the other IDK.

not to mention i do wish jason was a bit more involved with the ending rather than just a foil to leo (as much as valdez bbg deserves that) because in BoO there is literally a thought he says where "whatever i am, im the blood of olympus." which should be foreshadowing for something because thats the goddamn title of the book & also demigod blood is pretty important here in general (helps gaia raise, right?). but it wasn't. 'storm and fire' at this point give us a valgrace boss fight (leo + festus vs jason) and make them kiss too

i do 100% love that leo finished off gaia because that just makes sense to me but. would've been fun if the plan went wrong. if there wasn't a guarantee. HIGHER STAKES PLEASE. I DONT WANT A SECURE BACKUP PLAN I WANT IT TO BE TERRIFYING AND FULLY CHANCE

also the ending troubles me the most because. where was the twist??? the unexpected ending??? the scene (+ theme[s]) that ties the series together???

off the top of my head uhhh betrayal/broken promises would be a good spin-off on the original pjo series. except the original is about upholding those promises this could be about breaking them.

my case: the gods' promise to percy & annabeth (broken!); i'm pretty sure something between sammy and hazel was left unfinished too; jason's promise by his mom; piper laying fake promises with charmspeak all the time; leo carrying on sammy's promise to help hazel (theres a scene i believe) + his promise to himself to never use fire again which he consistently breaks(that ones a long-shot); frank's a son of mars, mars is all about promises, duty, so that one's interesting because i can't really think of a certain event where he breaks it. im sure we could find something though.

but soo uhh adds new level to an oath to keep with a final breath

fuck that calypso thing btw

so POINT IS let the promise be something between leo and jason (i very much love keeping them as the centre-point of things) maybe, said off-hand and not considered but it comes up in the end. and in the end, maybe that can be a trigger. for idk.

for leo to defeat gaia? for jason to just End the world? idk. my brain hurts now.

does this even make sense. ugh.

@alonetogethermp3 im sorry idek what im going at here myself 😭 i strayed so off-topic LMAO

im not even joking when i say that the biggest flaw in HoO— which, in my opinion, ruined much of its charge— was towards the end with how they handled the prophecy

[doevademe]

Here is a “fun” idea, say during the events of House of Hades, everyone gets stuck in Tartarus, meaning everyone see Percy bend poison and almost kill a goddess. Everyone is freaked out by this, and keeps their distance from Percy, which makes him feel miserable. The only one who keeps by him, at least until everyone kinda gets over it and apologizes to Percy for treating him badly, is Nico, who is used to people being freaked with his scary powers. This really can happen whenever, it just would be interesting to see the Seven see this side to Percy and become scare of him while Nico is just like “he’s not scary he baby”

Percy sat away from the rest, hugging his knees as the rest discussed what to do now that they were out of Tartarus. Everybody kept glancing at him, as if worried he'd suggest joining Gaia or something.

After all they had been through they only saw him as a monster.

Well, with one exception.

"I'm going to leave soon," Nico informed him. Percy looked at him, worried. "If we want to stop the Roman attack, the Athena Parthenos needs to be brought back, but you guys are needed to stop Gaia."

Percy didn't want that. Nico was the only one who approached him without fear. The only one to actuslly tslk to him after... after the incident.

"You're going to Shadow Travel all the way to Camp?" Percy asked.

Nico shook his head.

"Doing that with the statue would kill me," Nico explained. "I'll make shorter jumps, and rest between them."

"I'll go with you," Percy offered. He didn't want to be alone with the rest of the crew. All judging him and too scared to even see where he was coming from. "You need someone to have your back while you rest!"

"You are one of the Seven, Percy," he said. "You have a role in this. Reyna and Coach Hedge are the ones who will go with me."

"I didn't vote on that!" He argued. Nico gave him a sardonic smile.

"You'd be outvoted," he said simply. "Come on, I plan on eating as much as I can before my first jump."

"So you can go farther?"

"So I don't pass out."

Percy chuckled, only to curl on himself again.

"You go," he said. "I don't want to ruin everyone's meal."

Nico stood up and held his hand. Percy observed it for a while.

"Take it," he ordered. Percy did as he was told. "This has gone long enough."

Before he could protest, Nico was dragging him to the picnic table where Piper had set a feast using the Cornucopia.

Everyone stopped eating as they approached. Nico didn't acknowledge them, just sat by Hazel's side with Percy on his right.

Reyna and Hedge looked around, confused, but the rest where looking between them, wondering what to say.

"You know," Nico started, his voice loud as he picked a piece of shephard's pie and put it on his plate. "I get it if you're wary of me."

"What?" Hazel asked. "Nico, it's not you—"

"I mean, child of death, creppy zombie powers, the ultimate outcast, I totally get it," Nico continued, ignoring his sister. He pointed at Percy, who gulped. "But him? He's one of you."

"You saw what he did down there, dude," Leo said quietly. "We all saw it."

Even Annabeth put her head down, and that hurt Percy the most. Nico frowned.

"Well, I'm sorry, next time he'll make sure to just burn down a warehouse with his mother inside." Nico's voice was full of venom. Leo looked as if he had been smacked.

Jason and Piper stood up, glaring at Nico.

"That's too far, di Angelo," Piper said dangerously. Jason glared at him.

"Oh, so now the girl who brainwashes others with her voice and the guy who can zap people out of existence claim the moral high ground," Nico said sarcastically, standing up to almost reach their height. "The dead talk, you know? I know what each of you has done."

"Nico, please..." Percy tried. Nico gave him an apologetic smile before turning to the others.

"See? I'm creepy, I'm unnerving, but you?" He pointed at them. "Each of you can be just as scary as Percy. Among this merry group we have deadly curses, accidental matricide, and a walking consent nightmare, and I know for a fact that most of you have killed more than just monsters."

Percy looked at Nico, feeling nothing short of admiration for his friend.

"Percy's only dangerous to his enemies," Hazel said quietly. "That's what you said, right?"

"We just didn't realize what the extent of 'dangerous' was," Frank added quietly, probably scared of Nico bringing up something he had done too.

"Well, congratulations on finding out," Nico said. He sat down and bit into the pie. "Most of you are older than me, so act your age, accept that Percy saved us, and get over yourselves."

Nico may or may not have muttered 'bunch of hypocrites' as he munched on his food. Percy would never tell.

"You are not unnerving, Nico," Percy said. Nico raised an eyebrow. "I mean, you can be, when you want to, but you're also very kind, and giving. You protect your friends and family with everything you have."

Nico blushed a bit. The others watched the exchange silently.

"This isn't about me, Percy," Nico said. "You guys need to work together, or else Gaia will rise and then it's game over." He gestured at the rest of the table.

Percy looked around and realized the others were deep in thought. Nico was right. None of them, except maybe Frank, could truly claim to be innocent.

Nico had made himself a target of the Seven's contempt for him. It felt like his chest was going to explode from feeling both sad for his friend and touched by his actions.

They continued eating quietly until Reyna approached them, telling Nico she would help him with the statue.

"Stay safe," Percy called. He had a new appreciation for the Son of Hades.

He hugged him, making Nico squeak.

"I won't be alone," he said against his ear. "And by the look of things, neither will you."

Nico pulled back. Percy turned and saw Annabeth approaching him hesitantly, guilt all over her face.

"Hey Seaweed Brain," she said, wincing. "I think we all need to talk."

Percy didn't know what to say, so he just nodded dumbly.

"See you later, Percy," Nico said behind him.

When he turned back, the son of Hades was already talking to Reyna as she helped tie up some ropes from the statue to Nico's back.

For some reason, his heart rate picked up at seeing him.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I think it's so funny this chapter comes out on Mother's day (México) -Danny Words: 2,407 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Call Your Mom' -by Noah Kahan ft. Lizzy McAlpine

LI: I’m Currently Having the Worst Time of My Life, Thanks for Asking!

One thing about demigods is they will expose their trauma to the room. And if Ara's dad was her monster under the bed, Jason's mother was his Roman Empire (pun intended). All he ever did was based on the one lie she'd told him when he was a toddler.

"So pleased to meet you, son of Jupiter," Antinous smiles. "Listen to your mother. You have many grievances against the gods. Why not join us? I gather these serving girls are your friends? We will spare them. You wish to have your mother remain in the world? We can do that. You wish to be a king—"

"No. No, I don't belong with you." Jason replies in a dazzled state.

"Are you so sure, my fellow praetor?" The son of Janus asks. "Even if you defeat the giants and Gaia, would you return home like Odysseus did? Where is your home now? With the Greeks? With the Romans? No one will accept you. And, if you get back, who's to say you won't find ruins like this?"

"That's a lie," Ara steps in.

Jason raises a hand to stop her and replies to the other boy. "You were a legion officer—A leader of Rome."

"So were you. Loyalties change."

"You think I belong with this crowd? A bunch of dead losers waiting for a free handout from Gaia, whining that the world owes them something?"

The crowd closes around him. Piper uses charmspeak. "Beware! Every man in this palace is your enemy. Each one will stab you in the back at the first chance!"

"Dearest, be sensible," Jason's mother insists. "Give up your quest. Your Argo II could never make the trip to Athens. Even if it did, there's the matter of the Athena Parthenos."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't feign ignorance, my dearest. Gaia knows about your friend Reyna and Nico the son of Hades and the satyr Hedge. To kill them, the Earth Mother has sent her most dangerous son—the hunter who never rests. But you don't have to die."

Jason looks at the girls, then back at his mother. "What do you want? What brought you here?"

"I want life! Youth! Beauty!" The woman leans in looking crazy. "Your father could have made me immortal. He could have taken me to Olympus, but he abandoned me. You can set things right, Jason. You are my proud warrior!"

"You're a mania," his voice quivers. "A spirit of insanity. That's what you've been reduced to."

"I am all that remains. Embrace me, son. I am all you have left."

"No!" Jason steps back. "My loyalties haven't changed. My family has just expanded. I'm a child of Greece and Rome. I'm no child of yours." He makes the claw sign over his chest and his mother vanishes.

"Well, then," Antinous sighs. "I suppose we'll just kill you."

Ara tosses the platter she's holding at some ghouls, expands her shield, and draws out Almighty. Her friends join her and pull out their weapons. Watching Jason fight when angry, is one of Ara's favorite things. He throws amazing one-liners, like the one he uses when he pierces Antinous through the chest: "Enjoy the Fields of Punishment." 

Jason and Ara run through their opponents fast and mercilessly, with clear progress in their teamwork after eight months of knowing each other. The boy summons lightning while Ara keeps changing her weapon to different things, Annabeth jabs and beheads, and Piper tosses food at the spirits while shouting stuff using charmspeak.

Jason lowers his sword only a second and Michael Varus stabs him with rage before Piper kills him. Ara drops Almighty in shock. Piper tries to pull out the sword but Ara shouts at her in a commanding voice. "Don't! That'll make him bleed out faster!"

"But—"

"Gods..." Annabeth gets to them, pale and shaky. "Oh, gods."

"Thanks," Jason sinks to his knees. "I was afraid it might be bad."

"Piper, press around the wound—Annabeth, get help."

"You're going to be fine," Piper tells the boy. "Girls, ambrosia!"

Ara draws her Octopi from under her cloak and hands it to Piper. "Don't do anything yet, hang on—"

"Imperial gold," Annabeth stammers. "It's deadly to demigods. It's only a matter of time before—"

"The Argo!" Ara urges her. "Send them a message!"

"Iris messages won't work—"

"Leo is watching, you don't need those!"

"Morse code," Piper pulls out a tiny mirror from Ara's Octopi and hands it to Annabeth. "Here."

Ara grabs her sister's head and kisses the top of it. "Clever!"

Annabeth goes away and Ara tries to ignore how Jason's looking as she kneels before him. "How many times I've saved your ass, Jay-G?"

"Don't call me that," Jason grunts. "And the answer is too many."

"You have no survival instincts man, I keep telling you," Ara rips his shirt open and sees the tip of the sword protruding from his abdomen. Fear starts to seep through. "He's not coughing blood so no organs were touched... maybe. This will hurt, blondie." She looks at Piper. "Pull it out."

Piper pretends she'll count to three, and pulls it at one. Jason crumbles swearing like he's never done before.

"We gotta stop the bleeding," Ara stops him from squirming too much.

The girls rip parts of their dresses and press them against both sides of his wound. Ara sings her heart out, and now Piper knows the healing tune, so Ara hears her singing voice for the first time, which is much nicer than hers and therefore more effective.

"Keep singing!" Ara makes her old mixture of ambrosia and nectar, but there's no time to wait, so she pours it raw over the wounds. "Hang in there, Jason, don't fall asleep."

The boy barely reacts, which is not a good sign. Piper rolls him over and pours the rest at the other end of the wound. Ara tries to keep him awake and cradles his face. "You know, for a moment I feared my dad would show up but I guess he prefers to stay dead. At least your mother kind of loved you!" She jokes, but her voice falters.

Jason shakes his head. "It wasn't a part of her I could save. Don't count your blessings, Birdy, your dad might be waiting for you in Athens."

"And I'm sure you'd like to meet him so you can personally kick his ass, so keep your eyes open!" Ara searches through her Octopi bag, smearing blood on it, and pulls out bandages to keep the pieces of fabric in place. "Annabeth!" She calls anxiously.

Jason sits up groggily. "Maybe I could fly ..."

"Don't move!" Ara says sharply. "Gee, you get hit on the head multiple times and—"

"Shut up!" Jason scowls. "Gods, kind of wish I had died so you would drop the joke already..." It's the first time the boy snaps in such a way, so he must be in a lot of pain. Pain is good, it means his body is still responsive.

Ara laughs despite how frightened she is and Jason matches her grin. "Yeah, at least it wasn't a head injury this time, huh? I stayed conscious the entire fight..."

"You defeated, like, two hundred enemies," Piper kisses his temple, keeping pressure on his wound. "You were scary amazing."

"You guys helped."

"You're welcome," Ara nods solemnly. "If you're lucky this will make Leo stop switching your camp shirts with Hazel's."

"I knew it! I should anoint Nico as my new best friend..." Jason winces. "Oh gods—Reyna, Nico, and Coach Hedge, they're in danger. We need to warn them."

"We'll take care of it when we get back to the ship," Piper eases him. "Your job right now is to relax. Besides, those three are a tough group. They'll be fine."

"Fuck!" Ara exclaims. Jason's injury has dark smoke coming out of it. "The stupid lullaby isn't working!"

"Ara," Piper says in a careful tone. "You need to stay calm."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," she holds Jason's hand, trying to absorb something, but nothing comes out. "Look at me, tough guy," she snaps her fingers, but Jason's dilated pupils hardly focus on her face and she swallows a cry. "Jason, please, don't do this to me..."

"Annabeth's coming back," Piper announces.

The girl walks up to them dragging her foot. Jason looks at her with half-lidded eyes, he's getting weaker. "Are you hurt?"

"It's fine. Just the old break from the Roman caverns. Sometimes when I'm stressed... That's not important. I signalled Leo. Frank's going to change form, fly up here and carry you back to the ship. I need to make a litter to keep you stable."

Annabeth and Ara work together, the younger girl passes the materials while Annabeth weaves. "How are you doing that?" Jason asks in awe.

"Learned it during my quest under Rome," Annabeth mumbles completely focused on the task. "I'd never had a reason to try weaving before, but it's handy for certain things, like getting away from spiders..."

Ara turns Almighty into a rectangular shield (the one Leo made is circular and wouldn't support Jason's body properly) and places it above the harness made with pieces of cloth and leather straps. Ara stands on it and pulls.

"Sturdy enough," she steps out.

"Wait," Jason stops them. "A bed—There was a special bed in this palace."

Ara frowns. "So what?"

"The marriage bed was sacred. If there was any place you could talk to Juno... Juno!"

Ara only cares about getting him out, but then in the distance, an olive tree spurts out into view. "Great, we definitely should waste our time talking..." She groans.

"My heroes," Juno greets them.

"Hera," Piper mutters.

"Juno."

"Whatever," Annabeth scowls. "What are you doing here, Your Bovine Majesty?"

"Annabeth Chase. As charming as ever."

"Yeah, well, I just got back from Tartarus, so my manners are a little rusty, especially towards goddesses who wiped my boyfriend's memory, made him disappear for months and then—"

"Honestly, child. Are we going to rehash this again?"

"Aren't you supposed to be suffering from split-personality disorder? I mean—more so than usual?"

"Whoa," Jason tries to sit up and fails. "Juno, we need your help. We—" he makes a guttural noise and falls back.

"First things first," Piper says firmly. "Jason is hurt. Heal him!"

"Some things even the gods cannot heal," the goddess raises a brow. "This wound touches your soul as well as your body. You must fight it, Jason Grace... you must survive."

"Yeah, thanks... I'm trying," he pants.

"That was super helpful," Ara remarks. "But if you could please just give us more intel..."

"I am grateful that you called upon me. I have spent weeks in a state of pain and confusion... my Greek and Roman natures warring against each other. Worse, I've been forced to hide from Jupiter, who searches for me in his misguided wrath, believing that I caused this war with Gaia."

"Gee, why would he think that?" Annabeth taunts her.

"Fortunately, this place is sacred to me," the goddess ignores her. "By clearing away those ghosts, you have purified it and given me a moment of clarity. I will be able to speak with you—if only briefly."

"Why is it sacred...? Oh. The marriage bed!" Piper exclaims.

"Marriage bed? I don't see any—"

"The bed of Penelope and Odysseus. One of its bedposts was a living olive tree, so it could never be moved."

"Who cares?" Ara exclaims impatiently. "Lady Juno, please!"

"Sail around the Peloponnese. As you suspect, that is the only possible route. On your way, seek out the goddess of victory in Olympia. She is out of control. Unless you can subdue her, the rift between Greek and Roman can never be healed."

"You mean Nike?" Annabeth frowns. "How is she out of control?"

"Explaining would take too long. I must flee before Jupiter finds me. Once I leave, I will not be able to help you again."

"What else should we know?" Jason asks hoarsely.

"As you heard, the giants have gathered in Athens. Few gods will be able to help you on your journey, but I am not the only Olympian who is out of favor with Jupiter. The twins have also incurred his wrath."

"Artemis and Apollo? Why?"

"If you reach the island of Delos, they might be prepared to help you. They are desperate enough to try anything to make amends. Go now. Perhaps we will meet again in Athens, if you succeed. If you do not..."

Juno vanishes and Jason faints.

Ara takes her friend straight to the sickbay and does her best to bring him back, she gets more blood on her clothes but in the end, the dark smoke diminishes. Jason is sleeping now, but he looks dead and ironically that makes her want to kill something.

Piper says she'll call the others for a meeting, but Ara suspects she just wants a moment alone to cry the stress out and pick herself up. Ara should've kept an eye on Michael Varus. 

Someone knocks on the door and when she turns she spots Leo staring at her with worry. "Is that..."

"It's his." Her eyes brim with tears and Leo approaches her quickly. Ara releases all of that pent-up anxiety, burying her face in his curls as he wraps his arms around her waist. "I couldn't absorb his pain, he's dying..."

Leo hushes her. "He's with us, he'll be okay."

She tries to keep him away when he tries to hug her tighter. "I'm covered in blood—"

"That's okay," the boy keeps her in place. "We can wash up later."

Her grip is weak. "Juno said something about Apollo, maybe we can—"

"Shut up," Leo stares at her as if searching for something. Ara waits in confusion. The boy strokes her cheek, outlining the dry blood on her skin. "What are you feeling?"

The girl blinks. "What?"

"Eros said you needed to reconnect with your emotions, right? So before you go back to being a General, talk about your feelings," he raises his brows. "So?"

Ara blushes at his sweet gesture. "I'm scared and remorseful, but I'll have to push through it, I can't change the past."

"You sure you don't wanna call your dad?" He tries to joke. "We can make a short stop at the next gas station and give him a call."

Ara pouts and sniffs. "Man, don't even... if I think about home I'll be sobbing like a baby for another hour."

Leo looks at her not knowing what to do to help her, then sighs. "My guy Jason... always gets the worst deal, huh?" He makes a face. "I'll have to fix the showerheads."

The girl senses his awkwardness and smiles softly, leaning into his touch. "Do you know how much I love you?"

He visibly relaxes and grins. "Can't hurt if you say it again, can it?"

"I love you," she kisses his forehead. "A lot."

"Love ya' too, doll... But you reek like a butcher, go get a shower."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[poppitron360]

To be fair, I feel like they do have these moments in canon and just the fandom never talks about them.

(TOA spoilers bc I just finished reading it)

Jason basically splitting Caligula’s throne room in half with lightning. We’re also told he killed the titan Krios with his BARE hands if I’m not mistaken.

Leo vaporising a primordial goddess with basically his bare hands- the fire showing THROUGH his skin enough to see the inside of his skull.

Piper charm-singing an entire ship of Caligula’s henchmen. Her charmspeak bringing Jason back through the doors of death in TLH when Hera went supernova. It working on literal gods and goddesses- even Gaia.

Hazel preventing Gaia from rising another seventy years, yes her manipulating the Mist but also summoning a whole legion’s worth of gold from underwater in SON.

Why does nobody talk about the fact that Frank KILLED Caligula? Fighting a roman emperor in one-on-one combat? In the battle before Tyrant’s tomb it’s mentioned how he’s pulling these “crazy, reckless stunts” and just all-round being a menace. And that’s not even mentioning him in HOH slaughtering all those killer cows and shit.

Annabeth defeating Arachne, Annabeth in Tartarus, Annabeth finding her way to the Athena Parthanos by herself.

Rick DID write this, but y’all are sleeping on these moments. It’s all “Percy Percy Percy” but give my other babies some recognition!!

Man, I wish Rick had spent less time trying to nerf the rest of the seven’s powers so that Percy could be the strongest demigod, and instead focused on the fact that they’re all meant to be equals.

[demigods-vampires-fae-are-bae]

Stuff some people forget in PJO/HOO/TOA

• Percy can control blood

• Annabeth once resented Tyson

• Grover was the one who found Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, Luke, Nico, and Bianca

• Bianca died because she wanted to get the Hades doll for Nico

• Jason is dead

• Piper hates using her charmspeak

• Percy and Frank are somehow related

• Calypso and Zoë are sisters

• Leo is dating a Titan goddess

• The goddess of misery called Nico perfect

• Zeus killed Nico's and Bianca's mom

• Percy debated staying in Ogygia

• The last time Leo and Jason saw each other was during the war against Gaia

• Hazel fought a giant by herself

• Percy sent Medusa's head to the Olympian gods

• Leo technically died

• Frank was suppose to die after the stick burned out

• Atlas killed his own daughter

• Hedge was the one who brought Clarisse to Camp Half-Blood

• Jason's death really haunted Lester/Apollo

• Silena was the spy (but she's still a hero)

• Beckendorf died in a fire

• Reyna is immortal now

• Annabeth considered joining the Hunters

• Someone has a statue of Gabe

• Percy and Annabeth probably died in Tartarus if it weren't for Bob

• Nico uses McDonald's to raise the dead

• Hazel is supposed to be dead but was resurrected

• Dam

• Octavian is a jerk

• Jason once saved Percy underwater

• Frank "giant goldfish" Zhang

• Persephone once turned Nico into a flower

• Hades, Nico, and their skeletal army saved everyone's asses during the battle of Manhattan

[thatonefandomjumper]

Jason Valhalla this. Jason Valhalla that.

What about Leo Valhalla?

Just imagine. He's just blown himself up to kill Gaia and is expecting to be resurrected, unaware that a stray Valkyrie just so happend to have picked up his soul.

The physicians cure would either not work or he'd have it, still full, on his person.

And he's just... so confused.

This would take place before Magnus Chase.

Imagine Leo being a part of the Magnus Chace series instead of The Dark Prophecy.

Imagine Leo befriending Magnus and the gang and going on another venture on a ship around the world.

I think he'd be in kinda the same role as Mallory, Halfborn and Tj.

Imagine Leo and Alex interacting!

I'm not sure if he'd want to be alive again or not at the end of the series, but if he did, he'd probably ask Odin if he could receive Magnus's declined reward at the end off the Ship of the Dead.

And then meeting Piper again and finding out Jason is dead...

But wait!

If he still has the physicians cure he will of course immediately use it!

And there is Jason! Alive again! And the three of them can actually have they're happy end together!