#like it isn't statistically likely that it's them or their friends or brothers or fathers

[betweenheroesandvillains]

.

[doberbutts]

i saw someone share their dog’s embark dna test. it was a mixed breed, but it had a COI of 74%. it didn’t even know that was possible

This is the fallacy a lot of people fall into. They believe that just mixing breeds will lower COI, and that by breeding mixed breed dogs that will magically solve all inbreeding depression problems.

There is a limited number of dogs in the world. Unless we re-domesticate some wolves, we will always need to be careful how we expand and restrict gene pools, because it is always possible to breed ourselves into a corner. Even if you produce mixed breeds.

But besides that- breed purity is not the end-all of inbreeding and inbreeding depression. Tater, my chihuahua with neurological problems, has a COI of less than 1%. I have a friend with a multi-generational collie/gsd mix she found wandering the streets in her Texas hometown and her DNA test not only revealed, yes, this dog is a mixed breed, but also that her COI was in the 70s.

How does this happen? Well if enough brother-to-sister, son-to-mother, daughter-to-father pairings happen, it doesn't matter whether you've mixed breeds. brother-to-sister is 25% COI on average automatically. What happens when you then breed those produced puppies together again? And then the father of that one sires a litter with one of his daughters? And then the son of that one gets to the mother?

You don't even have to do it on purpose. Often times in these very rural areas with loose, wandering dogs, the offspring do not move on because there is enough food and resources to allow for them to remain. Which means when they come into heat, they don't care that it's the brother or the father or the uncle that gets a tie. And they do it again and again and again, year after year, generation after generation, until they breed themselves into unsurvivable birth defects and eventually die off from something genetic.

All animals will do this. The reason wild animals don't breed with their immediate family isn't disgust over the idea. Humans are the ones who have a problem with incest. Wild animals tend to not breed together because either A: the parents chase off or consume offspring that overstay their welcome due to lack of resources or B: multiple available mates from multiple gene pools present themselves when the time comes and it's just statistically more likely that the outsider to the gene pool is who won that biological arms race.

[serenefountain]

Silly headcanon/AU traits writing time because I have writers block. Main four edition!

Kirby

He has a very sunshine-like personality. (In my AU, he technically is an adult, but I say that 20 is still really young for the silly orb species?) Despite the fact he may seem very unpredictable and manic, he can actually be quite smart! He is usually the most optimistic of of all of the four, and prefers to keep any possible faith he can in a plan. He is actually quite skilled at baking, making excellent lemon poppyseed muffins and strawberry shortcake! Although he loves baking, he also enjoys frolicking in the forest with Bandana Dee. He and Bandana actually have a collection of dried and preserved leaves and flowers, and they love to analyse the little bits of the plants. He often forgets that sometimes he should ask for help, instead of just purely acting to help others. Even though they are not related, he often considers Meta Knight to be the closest thing he has to a brother. This little pink orb is a huge fan of hugs and adventures! (In short: his MBTI type in my AU is apparently ENFP).

Bandana Dee

He is very shy, but secretly has a brave heart. Ever since he was a young waddle dee, he always had a love for plants and nature. Besides being a loyal servant to King Dedede, he owns an apple orchard, where he will sell the apples he grows and the foods he has made out of them. (Just like Kirby, he is around 20.) As a child, he was separated from his family by a large, destructive hurricane, where he is then taken in my the royal family. Dedede has always been his role model and father figure, even in tough times. To an extent, he is the "therapist friend", always kind and docile to his beloved friends. He deeply struggles with anxiety and paranoia, usually being the pessimist of the group. He always first sees the faults in a plan, until someone can convince him, of course. He rather enjoys writing and editing paperwork and such. (In short: his MBTI type in my AU is seemingly INFJ).

Meta Knight

Being the quiet mastermind, he seems to have a solution for every possible scenario. On the outside, he appears clinical and no-nonsense, but he truly is passionate for what he believes in. Usually he is seen working or training, but occasionally takes time to read or stargaze. For as long as he could remember, he always adored the stars and astronomy, slowly mapping the sky's plethora of lights and planets. (Contrary to Dedede's beliefs, Meta Knight is only 28.) Some seem to think he is quite self centered, however, this is a facade. Often, he feels incapable of acting on his own desires or interest, seeming as if he has no motivation to act if the only person it will pay off is himself. He thinks predominantly in statistics and numbers, usually being the risk-calculating realist of the group. He has a noticeable dislike for speaking, remaining silent whenever he can. He swore to protect Kirby as if he were his younger brother. (In short, his MBTI type in my AU seems to be INTJ).

King Dedede

The now gentle, once tyrannical king, Dedede is always a warm presence. Although he attempts to act stupid, he is actually highly intelligent! Even though he is the king, he has a generally informal and familiar way of addressing those he cares about. Perhaps he isn't as chaotic as Kirby, but he always brings energy to the table. A large part of his personality is that he can put up a good debate, but he can also be a comforting person. He chooses to not take his life too seriously, whilst also taking care of his beloved kingdom. At times, he is very optimistic and has the loudest opinion out of all of the group. He has a notably strange fondness for interior design. Dedede would do anything for his waddle dees, but he shows an even greater deal of compassion for Bandana. (In short: his MBTI type according to my AU would actually be ENTP, but that's hard to get across).

[lorata]

Fic statistics meme

Rules: Give us the links to your fic with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the least words.

Tagged by @mihrsuri :)

Most Hits: 201,259

Slow Work (Captain America) The future isn't all that's strange. Together in peacetime for the first time since before Steve took the serum, Steve and Bucky struggle to find their place -- and each other -- in the middle of a new millennium, new bodies, and new dynamics. Or, just because you wake up in a century where everything you've repressed is magically okay, that doesn't make it easy.

Second-Most Kudos: 1,349

you can take the boy out of the desert (Star Wars) In which what was meant to be a silly fic about Luke's farmboy water obsession turned into a story about grief, mourning, culture shock and friendship.

Third-Most Comments: 247

A District Upside Down: The War (Hunger Games) When the Arena falls and Brutus dies, Lyme leaves for District 13. It's soon clear that Alma Coin is less than perfect, but with her best friend dead and no other options, Lyme vows to make the best of her decision. Meanwhile, Brutus' youngest Victor joins President Snow in the Capitol to be the symbol of loyalty and the voice of her people as District 2 prepares for war. The twist: when Brutus fell, the hovercraft team who retrieved his corpse fought to resuscitate him, refusing to stand by and watch their hero die. A second rebellion — split off from District 13, fearing that Alma Coin had gone too far — saw their opportunity to gather fighters and a potentially valuable symbol, and recruit them to fight against both the Capitol and District 13. The Victors of District 2 are now split along five fronts: Enobaria in custody in the Capitol; Lyme and Claudius in District 13; Petra, Ronan and Odin in the Capitol; Brutus and the Peacekeepers who turned traitor to save him in District 8; and the rest at home in District 2, mourning and waiting and fearing whatever is to come. Some things will change, some will not, but one thing is true: District 2's Victors have the chance to make it out alive.

Fourth-Most Bookmarks: 243

welcome to your gory bed (Hunger Games) 19 named victors in the Hunger Games trilogy, and not a one escaped unscathed.

Fifth-Most Words: 70,804

Make Us Proud (Hunger Games) Growing up in District 2 with the high-ranking Peacekeeper families, Alec joins the Career Program at age seven like his older brother Creed and their friend Selene. Creed and Alec want to make their parents proud: for Creed that means the Arena; for Alec it's becoming a Peacekeeper and never, ever questioning orders. Selene, meanwhile, wants to be the next Enobaria, which is cute at eight and a lot scarier at twelve. Alec struggles to fit the Program mold while Creed and Selene flourish, but that just means he has to try harder. The Program's motto is 'Country before Self, Duty before Life', after all, and maybe if Alec works hard enough his father will smile at him the way he does at Creed. Meanwhile the Mockingjay is coming, and Panem is about to go to war ...

Least Words: 648

daughter of sea and sword (Wonder Woman) In your first moments you are drowning, but don't let that stop you. You are Antiope, the second of the Amazons, and from your first breath life is a battle.

i've lost track of who's been tagged at this point, so tapping in anyone who wants to play!

[tvdramas]

✽  —  [  she/they/he, genderfluid, 28  ]  —  this season on barbosa rules, the crew will be following [ castle rookie ], the wonderful [ yejide nwodo ] ! they are visiting the chateau from [ paris, france ], after a long year in the [ professional athlete (archery) ] business. rumor has it, they [ sabotaged their brother’s career ] . the staff knows them to be [ envious & aloof ] , but they make up for it by being [ challenging & decisive ] .

001. STATISTICS …

GENERAL DETAILS.

FULL NAME: yejide nwodo. NICKNAME(S): n/a. AGE:   twenty8. DATE OF BIRTH:   february 9th, 1996. PLACE OF BIRTH: paris, france. CURRENT LOCATION:  persephonē fortress. GENDER:  genderfluid. PRONOUNS:  she/he/they, no preference. ORIENTATION:  bisexual. OCCUPATION:  olympic archer. MISC:  n/a.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, ETC.

HEIGHT:  5'6. TATTOOS:   none. PIERCINGS: earlobes. CLOTHING STYLE:   generally comfortable clothing, though obviously very expensive.

HEALTH.

ALLERGIES:   peanuts. SLEEPING HABITS:   poor. SOCIABILITY:  4/10, introverted friend. DRINKING / SMOKING / DRUGS: socially / no / yes. MISC: chronic pain in shoulder and arm

PERSONALITY.

TRAITS:  challenging, decisive, sarcastic, aloof, envious. LIKES:  winter, romcoms, neat notetaking. DISLIKES:  stupid questions, taking calls without a text beforehand, waking up early. FEARS:  failure. HABITS:  narrowing eyebrows, rolling eyes, tapping fingers. HOBBIES:  running, reading. 

FAMILY, RELATIONSHIPS, ETC.

MOTHER: fatima, former model. FATHER:  dami, chief of surgery. SIGNIFICANT OTHER: none. BEST FRIEND:  tba. EXES:  none. SIBLING(S): seye. CHILDREN: none. PET(S):  none.

002. BIOGRAPHY / HEADCANONS …

[  trigger warnings:  addiction (opioids), chronic pain.  ]

in the winter, fatima nwodo gives birth to twins. there's a snow storm outside, but she's comforted by the fact that she's introducing a baby boy and girl into the world in the same luxury hospital that her husband is chief of surgery at. seye and yejide. honor and mother's mirror. 

the twins are expected to be great, because why wouldn't the children of a former model and exemplary surgeon be stellar? and it's not like it's hard. forget being fed by a silver spoon, they're given everything they could ever want before they know they know they want it.

they're placed in every sport and activity that can be conceived, though the one that sticks the most with them is archery. at eight years old, they take to a bow and arrow like ducks to water. while close as younger children, this shared sport drives a wedge between the two almost immediately.

it's like everyone's constantly at odds with yejide. or maybe yejide is at odds with everyone else. either way, she's getting the cold shoulder from seye and fatima at any given time. why? her father, dami, has no clue. after work, he'll look at yejide over his reading glasses as he skims the paper and simply shrug as fatima throws another scathing remark yejide's way.

yejide learns to live with it, because the alternative is confrontation, and that's simply unheard of in the nwodo family, where everyone is expected to bottle shit up and never let it out. anger escapes only when she has a bow and arrow in her hands, and a target seventy meters away. nock, draw, aim, release. nock, draw, aim, release. nock, draw, aim, release.

it becomes a mantra, a saving grace, mumbled under her breath when she needs to relax her mind.

she's practicing more than seye, taking it more seriously. she sees the pride in dami's eyes, the envy in seye's, the pity in fatima's.

fatima wants her to consider education and modelling, perhaps even acting. yejide says no repeatedly, to fatima's distaste. of course she isn't deprioritizing education, but modelling? she has her father's face, his demeanor, his rumbling laugh, and none of the grace that her mother hoards for herself.

seye, ever the one to please his mother, decides that archery and modelling go hand in hand. he gets a contract with an agency and is distracted enough by this new endeavor that yejide surpasses his archery skills with ease.

the first injury is mid-competition. she's removed from the roster entirely and spends the remaining time on bedrest per her father's instruction. seye wins his category and she's left with nothing to show for the years of effort she put into getting this far. none of the medals compare to what she could have won from the archery world cup.

when seye comes home, yejide is in indescribable pain. dami only gives her over the counter painkillers. but seye, bless his soul, finds fatima's not-so-secret collection of opioids and slips her the bottle. there's just enough to get yejide through the worst of the injury, and she's back in business shortly. she follows her father's instructions of physical therapy when she's able, recovering well.

the 2016 olympics roll around and the twins qualify to be on the france team. they excel, because of course they do, and are on every major news outlet that's tracking the olympics. more medals join the growing collection the twins have in their family home, and for a few months, they're able to put aside their differences.

the 2020 olympics go similarly, with the twins placing in every category they participate in. more medals added to the collection, more magazines with their faces plastered on the front. yejide is in college, balancing her archery career with a slow going education in kinesiology and biology.

seye doesn't follow her, more interested in brand deals and showing off his achievements. fatima adores her son.

august 2023, berlin. archery world cup. she graduated two years ago with her dual bachelor's. she's taking a break before attending school for her doctorate's in physical therapy to pursue archery for as long as she can before it takes a toll on her body. apparently, now's when it happens.

yejide tears her rotator cuff bad enough that it requires intensive and immediate surgery. it's a career ending injury. seye doesn't show up at the hospital; he's busy winning, busy qualifying for the 2024 olympics. fatima doesn't show either. dami visits when he can, occupied with holding together a hospital and balancing his responsibilities.

she recovers at the family estate, but it's less recovery, more learning to live with constant, unending pain. the bottle of prescription painkillers runs out embarrassingly fast, and she digs through dami's office to find his prescription pad. she pockets it, practices his signature a couple times, and is on her way.

the day she learns that for some odd reason, seye has withdrawn his name from participation in the 2024 olympics, she finds a way to get out before any rumors start spreading. greece might not be far enough away from home, but it's the only place she can think of even if she'll still be in the public eye.

she's given an out, an escape from the estate, a reason to not be face-to-face with her stagnant career and her brother's despair. she blocks his number, her mom's number (not that fatima will be calling), and hesitates over her dad's. for now, she leaves it unblocked. it's easier to appear innocent when she leaves a line of communication open. now it's about surviving. picking up the pieces and taping them back together again. nock, draw, aim, release.

003. CONNECTION GUIDE …

PLATONIC yejide keeps her circle small on purpose. whether she genuinely feels companionship with everyone in the circle is unknown, but at least for one or two people she feels strongly enough to be protective. still, she keeps secrets from them and will not hesitate to spill their secrets if needed. ROMANTIC all of yejide relationships have been short as she's not the commitment type. as soon as things start getting a little deep, she's getting on a life boat and leaving. more likely to use relationships as a way to get at her perceived rivals and succeed in class. ANTAGONISTIC absolutely the type of person with on-show enemies. whether they be set up by the producers for drama or not, she probably doesn't like them anyway. she'll do what it takes to be better than anyone else without qualms, even if that means digging into their life and exposing what should be hidden.

[palpablenotion]

@berecovered makes a good point but I'd Iike to address something OP seems to state but isn't flat out with (for those of us bad at subtext) though I may be projecting.

If you stop reaching out to your friends, full stop, you need some situational context to expect anyone to keep reaching out to you. The fact of the matter is relationships take effort FROM BOTH SIDES.

This means that if you stop reaching out, you've let go of your end. Think of a relationship as carrying a couch. Sometimes one of you will have a heavier burden, maybe one or both might need a break even, but the burden only moves forward if both parties work. If only one person tries to move the couch, it becomes tiresome, tedious, and potentially damaging to the person and or their surroundings.

If you stop reaching out, you're dropping your end of the couch with the expectation that the other person will have it covered. That's unfair to them.

What is fair, and touches on bere's comment, is determining how to maintain a relationship in ways non damaging to both parties. For them it was video chatting, that's awesome, they found their niche. For others'... well, when I started down my road to understanding my psychological minefield and neurodivergencies, when I was able to confidently say to people, "I'm autistic," without feeling like a fraud because I'm afab and don't meet the checklist designed around white amab heternormative middle class boys in the ... late '80s? early '90s? I also started to see how damaging, how toxic, some of my relationships, past and present (at the time, which was like 2009), were. I had two conversations with a person who has been dear to me since I was an 11 yo, whose family was my second family. I called his mother 'ama and his father 'apa or somethings "secondary father-like figure" because that amused him. I held relationships with all his brothers, some stronger than others, but it was like they belonged equally to me. And the family welcomed me.

I had one conversation in the dreary Michigan autumn of 2009, waiting at the bus/train station i used to commute to university, walking around and not putting near enough care where I put my feet, despite the slippery, wet foliage that used to mark Octobers here. And I told him, "I love you, you will always be special to me, your family will never be strangers, but if you can't help me carry this relationship, I can't bear this burden any longer."

He's one of the best people - nice, genuine kindness, generous - that I've known. But that winter I made another call to tell him I can't hold up my end anymore. Unless he was prepared to hold the burden himself long enough for me to trust he wouldn't drop it on me again and again and again, I was setting my side of the couch down.

It's about balance, boundaries, and respecting both yourself and those you have relationships with. I had a similar conversation with another friend and he lifted his end and held it strong when shortly thereafter my parents separated, devastating me - I still live in my father's home, but with my mother, they began cohabitation 10 years later until his death 2 years ago, which still has me shattered.

I found out a few years later, when he called that day that that happened and said he was in town for the weekend, did I want to stay with him for the night? ... he hadn't been in town. He had begged his grandmother or mother to come get him and bring him home, a 3hr round trip, so he could be there for me as my sister, in another state, had texted him saying I might need him. After holding up relationships one sided most of my life, which is what the initial suggestion of stop reaching out and see who stays is - it's dumping the full weight of the relationship on the other - , he had lifted his side and I was so relieved I never even realized how special it was. How easy.

I know a lot of NDs struggle with this, especially ADHDrs. I think the statistic is 80% of ADHDrs will have trouble maintaining friendships by 2nd grade. This is what that looks like. Not one person dropping 3-12 couches. But one person holding that many and praying, hoping, maybe even deluding themselves that the other end is held too.

I've let go of a lot of couches only to watch them fall, completely unsupported.

i’ve heard a lot of people say “don’t reach out to your friends first and see how many people will remain in your life. those are your true friends” and i get it. it sucks and it’s tiring constantly being the one to message first, to initiate hang outs but don’t take this so literally. some friendships require initiation. i have lost touch with so many people who genuinely cared about me and wanted me in their life because i stopped reaching out. it’s a hard pill to swallow but honestly some people just suck at it and it doesn’t mean they don’t love and value you. i’ve reconnected with some people over the past few months and it’s crazy how genuinely happy they are to see me and how engaged they are in the conversation. i just think sometimes we’re too harsh on each other & too quick to emphasize other peoples flaws and remove them from our lives but then we’ll all be alone and what’s the point of life then!!!!

[dojae-huh]

I see jaedo hugs as awkward, maybe it's just me. They're both very aware of the ppl around them and usually try to be quick abt it and try to keep it neutral too.

Jaedo hug after them both going red is a good example of that (the what gift u want but in Japanese show). They so tried to do a bro hug and messed up. Then messing up makes me focus on their hugs and relationships more then the voice or the hug itself

To the anon, As a bi woman in a very conservative country, I didnt realise I was bi even though I had a major crush on a girl in my school (at 14).

I wasnt the one who realised I might not be straight it was my best friend's boyfriend who pointed out I'm a little too much into a girl in my college, even then I thought it was a normal thing to experience in teenage years. I think I was in my early 20s when I realised I wasnt straight at all. I had more crushes on women then i had one men while being in a relationship with a man for the longest time. So not everyone realises they're gay or bi even if they're flirting and crushing on ppl of their own gender.

People are individuals, not statistics. Some realise when they are 10, some when they are 50.

Whether a country is conservative or not is important. "You can be this" is a seed that needs to be planted.

There is one Russian man who wrote a book about how it's OK to do "unmanly" things (like manicure). So I picked up a few cases from him and from the YT comments. 1) In one family a boy had dry hands (for people from the hot countries where you can't find damn hand creams in 7/11... yes, Thailand, I'm looking at you... the cold and the dry air in heated up apartments takes the moisture out from the skin and the skin starts to break apart, up till capillaries, so small wounds appear). That boy tried his mother's handcream and it helped. However, his father and older brother saw it and punished him, they forbade him to use handcream because "men don't use women's things". The boy grew up and moved to his own apartment, it took him several years before he gave up and started to use cream to help with his problem. He tolerated dry hands and pain because he was told he can't use cream. 2) In another family a boy was told taking a bath is for women, real men take showers.

There are a lot of "don't do this", "real men/women must do this" in any society. And "boys like girls" is one of the most universal and strongly upheld. One of the reasons why Jaehyun realised his orientation young, is that he thinks for himself, it's hard to change his opinion (that's why Do complains Jae is more stubborn than him).

I'm not saying Doyoung isn't stubborn or doesn't think for himself. When he decides he wants something, he goes for it (like he did with singing or dropping out of school to become an idol). However, the first step is to realise he wants something.

I'm still not 100% sure about Doyoung not knowing about his orientation, so I'm still open to hear out the arguments against. However, as we are debating here, I'm playing for one side, and my role is to find weal points in the opponent's reasonings.

[notfeelingthyaster]

Imagine (based on the incomplete fanfic Son of the Underworld) (Son of Hades! Percy AU) (5/5) or (5/10)

Hey so, this is the last part of PJO - I follow into HOO, so before you read this, check on the masterpost - and read the warnings before proceeding :)) Good reading!

Annabeth comes to him, at the end of his fifteenth birthday party, and shows her Daedalus laptop. There's a document open in it, and it's labeled Achilles' Curse.

Percy doesn't read it - he hates reading, in any way or form or language - but she does, out loud.

"I'll think about it"

They have a year. Most of them, even those who aren't year-rounders, are going back to camp, to draw battle plans and stock on the armory.

He feels kinda selfish - for a whole five seconds before he remembers he'll probably die next summer, so he just shrugs it off - Percy deserves this year.

They all leave to go back to camp. Nico seems conflicted over something - but Perseus doesn't question it, there's enough bad blood between them.

Paola is really cool - and Sally really loves her. It's kind of bizarre at first, to see his Mom dating his teacher - and of a subject he hates - but Paola is calm and well-tempered and she laughs at his stupid ass jokes.

He visits Persephone afterward - and it really feels like he has three moms to fulfill his lack of a father - well, he is absolutely grateful for the women in his life.

Percy isn't truly in good terms with his father. The man doesn't really seem to care much for him as a person - he is much more of a trophy son.

Perseus loathes being a trophy son, but at least he has someone to help with his powers - not something a lot of half-bloods can claim.

So he goes back to school with Rachel, and they pretend everything is normal. He tells her about his quests - all three of them. He thinks she understands him better now.

He opens up to her. Tells her about Annabeth - the adrenaline-fueled kiss - and Rachel stops talking with him for a week.

She apologizes when she comes back. She needed to figure some things up - firstly, the redhead tells him she is probably asexual - and maybe aromantic too, but she is not certain because the internet wasn't really clear about that.

Then Rachel confesses that she is not jealous of him in a romantic way - she is envious of his friendship with Annabeth. Percy is her first genuine friend that really appreciates her.

This is the first grudge Perseus lets go for real before it even takes place - Rachel didn't leave him because of teenage drama, she ignored him out of confusion. Everyone is allowed space - he knows this better than anyone.

They don't kiss anymore. Not because Rachel doesn't like it - no, she is all for it - but because Percy is starting to think kisses should mean something - he is saving them.

They kiss once - when Rachel father calls for the first time this year - not to ask about her, but to tell Rachel he found this amazing all-girls school. To Percy, kisses mean comfort.

They cuddle a lot, though. These past few years of fear have made Percy very touch-starved.

It's sophomore year - and Percy is in five AP classes: Macroeconomics&Microeconomics, Statistics, Calculus AB, Physics 1, and Comparative Government and Politics.

He is planning on taking both AP Computer Science classes, Psychology, Physics 2, and Calculus BC next year; leaving only Electricity&Magnetism, Mechanics, Chemistry, and World History for his senior year.

If he lives, he is working on a tight schedule here. He doesn't know what he wants yet - and if he is in constant danger, it's already pretty lucky he can do high school - but probably something with Math.

Rachel says fourteen AP courses are ambitious - that he'll burn out. But math comes to him easily enough - it's in his blood.

She is also overworking: She is taking AP Environmental Studies, Art History, Drawing, 2-D Art and Design, and English Literature and Composition.

They complete each other. Rachel is planning on taking as many Art, History, and English courses as she can - he is taking as many Physics, Math, and Science as he can handle.

(She is also going to take on Japanese studies for some reason - probably for her GPA, but Perseus just teases her that she is getting too invested in anime)

Perseus doesn't care about languages anymore - the only languages that matter to him are C++ and JavaScript now.

They study together, they take naps together, they climb to the roof together, they flee school to visit Sally together - he is the Pinky to her Brain, the Scooby to her Shaggy, the Lois Lane to her Superman, the Robin to her Batman.

They look like troublemakers - They are honor roll students, but she is always with ripped pants dirty with paint, and he is always full of flowers everywhere, even in his muddy converses - a cliche to kill all cliches.

They're both nerds - he is the classic one, all polo shirts now, the first chair for every number-related class - and she is the artsy one - there's a brush behind her ear and her hair is so messy that half the time it covers her face.

Paola gifts him a pair of cheap frames without lenses once - saying it adds to the aesthetic - he totally uses them.

Persephone just makes him flower-crowns, and giggles when he matches them with his polo shirts.

When winter comes, he goes back to his hoodies and sweaters and gloves - to find out he doesn't miss them a lot.

Rachel introduces him to polaroids - and they look eerily pretty in the winter, her hair looking like blood spilling over the snow - and he loves it.

If he survives - he can feel Rachel slapping him - when he survives, his college credits will be remarkable. The idea of doing SATs makes him want to cry - reading always does - but he'll get somewhere good - he knows it. Perhaps Stanford. Or NYU. Or the dream of his life, MIT.

He is living his life to the fullest - he starts reading comic books, he gets really (really) into Tony Stark once Iron Man 1 comes out (even if he has to kill at least three monsters just to go to the movies), he plants trees and Rachel starts teaching him how to play her ukulele - but half his mind is still on the upcoming war.

Christmas vacation comes - and he goes to visit Camp Half-Blood, before heading back to his mom. It's quite memorable, if only by the fact that Nico Di Angelo freaking betrays him.

He tells Percy to come to the Winter Solstice with him. Most of the campers are not going - the war effort is in an all-time high - but Percy has never gone before. Hades will be there - it'll be great!

Perseus should absolutely be less surprised with the outcome - seeing that Nico is inviting him in Cabin 1, post-dinner, and they don't even stop to talk to Chiron about it.

But Percy goes. Because Percy wants to make amends.

There's no time to really talk to anyone. They travel in Blackjack for the Empire State Building - and it's fine.

They go up to Olympus, Nico shows him everything in the god's land, the temples are a work of art, if not kind of old, and the meeting is kind of okay, even if the gods are squabbling children.

Then the gods leave, and Perseus thinks they're leaving too.

"My father needs a word with you"

Perseus feels the betrayal claw on him. There are no shadows in the white hall, there's no way for him to escape. Nico looks apologetic - Percy wants to clock him in the face.

"He promised to tell me more about my mother" Nico pleads "He will tell me more about where I've come from. Please, Percy."

Nico is cute. He is, for a soon-to-be fourteen-year-old. But his pretty face and exquisite white eyes don't make him any less of a freaking liar. All his handsome male straight friends betray him - it's a worrying pattern now.

He muses for a second that they also all have a crush on Annabeth - gods, the blonde attract the worst types.

It's double-crossing - Percy ends up in an all-white cell that burns his retinas without any weapons because Zeus wants praise in the middle of this freaking war - doesn't matter if a hundred demigods die, if he only has the glory.

Nico ends up with barely any information - Zeus didn't promise anything. The god of the skies is a lying-ass motherfucker - literally.

And Zeus justifies it - He says Perseus is a criminal because he awakened Typhon. So Hephaestus issues a quest so he can save a hundred demigods, he destroys a powerful titan weapon of doom, and he is the villain? Sure, Jan.

Perseus writes this grudge in his heart - that's where trust will take you. To a cell. Betrayed by a "friend". Again.

He flinches when Nico comes into his cell, pins him to the wall and promptly begins to try and strangle him. He wants to melt in the boy's shadow - to go and never give him a chance to explain - but he looks so guilty Percy waits for his repentance.

The son of Zeus saves him, but Perseus is still pissed off. The god of thunder has threatened to kill him off at least two times now, what is to say he wouldn't have killed off Percy for the sake of glory?

He half hopes Zeus had killed him off. The war is close, too close - Nico wouldn't be the Prophecy's child. There would be no child. Olympus would fall - and Percy would have seen it all from his very comfortable couch in Elysium.

He wants Kronos gone - but he kind of wants Olympus to fall with the Titan.

Nico flies him down to the Earth - the elevator is monitored. Zeus has left, like many others - not to bother with the war effort against his main enemy, but to go to the human world mess with people.

Some gods are doing something - He has heard from Annabeth that Artemis is leading the widest hunt ever, with her brother by her side; Hermes (with Hephaestus help) is delivering Celestial Bronze, other metals, old schematics and a whole lot of fuel to Camp Half-Blood every few weeks; Poseidon is fighting his own war, in the ocean; Dionysus is at Camp - and this time, he is really helpful with the battle formations; Demeter is on the Underworld - Chiron seems to think his father is preparing for war, but Percy sorely doubts it.

Percy is taking some people with him to Sally's Christmas dinner. Just Annabeth, Clarisse, Rachel, Connor, Travis, and Charles - people who don't have a present family to celebrate it with.

Grover is coordinating the dryads up in San Francisco with his second cousin, Gleeson Hedge - they are the first to fall if anything goes wrong in Mt. Othrys.

"I think you should stay." He tells Nico.

"You don't trust me anymore." It's not actually a question.

Percy doesn't trust the boy. Not at all - it's the third time he does something shady to achieve his ends based on emotional turmoil. But he is a good person - it's just his father's cursed temper and his grief.

"It's not that. You're needed for the war effort."

Both of them know it's a lie. Percy doesn't care - he deserves to be bitter a little longer.

Percy goes back home. Christmas is amazing - even if Rachel asks him where Nico is because he is talking about making amends with the boy for a while now.

He goes visit Persephone - but she is occupied, so he wanders through the Underworld after Bianca di Angelo - someone he, for some reason, never been able to reach. It's a pointless endeavor by now.

He finds her. Or else, he finds a shadow of her - she is blocked from his view. Bianca doesn't talk to him - they weren't close - but she guides him to a girl.

Her name is Hazel Levesque.

She seems lost - like most ghosts - but something in Percy calls for her. It's the color of her skin and the sparkle in her golden eyes - Hazel remembers him of himself.

He promises to visit more - even though he doesn't think she'll remember it - and leaves to go back to the surface - he will finish the sophomore year.

And Percy does. After a very distressing break, he is doing his best. His grades drop a little in English because he can barely focus - half his mind is on the war and Nico's betrayal and Hazel Levesque's golden eyes.

Miraculously, his GPA doesn't fall - he still is taking a ridiculous amount of AP classes, and barely has time to breathe - dark circles grow under his eyes, and he looks like a mess - but now he is a Junior.

That's why, as soon as the year ends, Rachel takes him on a road trip with Connor. They go all the way to Boston, then Portland, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Syracuse, Baltimore, and Filadelfia, before going back to NY.

They are stopped five times by the police - because Percy is black, and it's Rachel driving the Camaro, because she has a learner's permit and Connor is, somehow, an approved license holder.

They are on a pier, enjoying the view of the beach. They did the last week alone because Connor wanted to go check on one of his cousins - at least, that's what he said, with an over-exaggerated wink that both Percy and Rachel ignored for the sake of their sanity.

She tells him about Clarion Ladies Academy - but that her father is at least mildly happy with her GPA this year, even if he disapproves of her Art focused AP classes. Percy thinks Mr. Dare would love him, with his APs on Economics and Politics, if only he was rich. And white.

This time, when Charles Beckendorf arrives in a Pegasus to tell him it's time, Rachel doesn't kiss him - she justs hugs him and makes him promise to call her.

Perseus doesn't go to the Andromeda Ship - he is needed in Camp. He is useless on the water - but they do need him to improve battle strategy.

Charles Beckendorf is dead. Thalia is the one to tell them - she was in her father's palace helping with a monster under her Lady's orders - he went on the mission alone.

Percy talks briefly with Beckendorf's ghost - is his worst developed power, and he can barely hold the "seance" for more than a few minutes. He does it with only Nico di Angelo for witness - the others are the way to close to the situation.

There's a spy passing information to Luke.

They look at him. Doesn't matter how much he does, he is always the first suspect - he is a son of Hades. He was friends with a lot of people on the other side. He was gone for a year and a half, who knows where.

Perseus wants to say that he has helped to save their asses four times now - that without him in the Labyrinth, they would all be dead right now - and that Charles was basically his older brother.

Then he points out he wasn't even here - he had no idea of any plans of anything - and he told him about the spy, so he is not the freaking spy, go point fingers at each other instead of him.

When they start yelling, he stops them - this is not the time, he was just angry at their accusations. They have to burn Charles shroud. Silena is inconsolable - Percy is not very far from it, but he is not a public crier. The last time he cried in public, Luke was dead on a cliff.

Percy speeds up the line for Elysium to Beckendorf - his brother deserves it.

They read the prophecy together - Perseus already read it last summer, he doesn't even care anymore. They look at him anxiously - no one has forgotten that he abhors most of the gods.

Clarisse and Michael Yew fight, but Lee Fletcher - with a mechanical arm built by Beckendorf himself, still re-learning how to shoot arrows and forever incapable of playing the guitar again (but the keyboard is not ruled out yet) - stops them: They can share the chariot. The war is more important - is not the time for petty fights.

Chiron shows them Typhon - and Perseus has a sliver of hope that they can destroy Kronos and be free of the gods at the same time - It's a horrible hope, because he loves Persephone and some of them are even okay sometimes, but he really wants Zeus to go to Tartarus for at least a century, so Perseus doesn't meet him again in this life.

But he also wants the gods to win, because there's a lot of dead people - innocents, people who have nothing to do with this war.

He dreams of Rachel. Rachel is painting Luke - and Percy wakes up crying, for the boy the gods took away.

Annabeth takes him aside and reminds him of Achilles' Curse. He is off to May Castellan's house - the last place Luke has been - for it's his best and only chance, its what Annie thinks. And she is scarcely wrong.

Perseus hates the gods. They wrecked a family - and for what? May Castellan - forever waiting for a son that will never come back, haunted by visions of his future, plates of burned cookies everywhere.

Perseus doesn't pity her - he rages against the gods, who brought madness upon this woman and then left her to it. Where was Apollo, the god of health? Dionysus, who is supposed to control mental health? Artemis, whose job is to protect women?

Hestia is kind - but she is still a goddess. She could've prevented this - but she hides in her hearth and abstains - and that's enabling. Hestia enables the other gods to do as they please, even when she is the oldest. She says they ignore her - oh well, she ignores them right back! He has no time for the laments of another all-powerful being.

So he goes to his mother and asks for her blessing. Then, just to be sure, he asks Persephone's too.

He thinks about his anchor - where does he want it to be in his body. He doesn't want somewhere in his back - where he can't see it - or in his gut - where anyone can stick a sword. He settles for the bottom of his back - where he can at least touch it and it's well protected by armor - and dives.

Perseus hates water - and he has an uncanny fear of drowning. He feels pain - everywhere, horrible pain.

His vision now doesn't have Annabeth's face - the blonde is his link to the demigod world, Persephone is his link to the Underworld and his mom is his link to childhood - but the person who grounds him is Rachel.

He is stronger. He feel his powers at his fingertips - Perseus feels the Underworld as a whole, and it's overwhelming.

Green flames explode from his hands. Flowers made of shadows curve around his ankles - he has been training since he was 12, but now his body can sustain all of his power. This is all his.

He goes meet with his father - Perseus manipulates him. He tells Hades he'll be the hero, but the god himself can be praised for more than being his father. That he should join the battle against Typhon - That's his chance of proving himself. Also, there's less paperwork for him if there are fewer dead people.

His father is amused with his blatant bribing, but he thinks about it, Percy can tell. In a way or another, he excuses himself and goes back to the surface where he is needed.

Persephone stalls him. She asks him to stay, just for this night. He can go back in the morning - he sleeps, and dreams of Rachel again, drawing in the sand. In greek.

He is scared for her - she is having demigod dreams, but she is mortal. Something is wrong.

Typhon is getting worse - and Kronos draws closer to NYC. It's time - he calls for Blackjack and leaves - Mrs. O'Leary, who has become more or less of a mother to his own hellhound, follows. Persephone promises to convince Hades.

They have about sixty campers able to fight heading for the Empire State Building, and five healers. The ones too young to lift a sword or string a bow stayed back at Camp with Argus - fifteen children between 5 and 9 years old.

Percy knows he looks different - he looks just like his father. He has gained a godly aura - he has no scars anymore, no imperfections. Perseus looms over all of them - he went from 5'7'' to 6'2'' - it's a weird view, from up there. It's still strange when they look at him with a mix of fear and admiration.

Perseus Jackson is officially their leader. He hates Olympus - but he will give his life to defend every single one of his demigods.

The vision Hestia shows him just makes him want to tear this throne room with his bare hands - Luke was a kid. He was a kid - and the gods corrupted him. Thalia was a kid - and the gods took her life, twice. Annabeth is still a kid - they all are - and she is here planning battle strategies.

Annabeth missed an extra year of formal education - while Percy is a Junior, Annabeth barely qualifies for a Freshman - because the gods took this from her too.

Percy rages. The ground of Olympus trembles beneath him - he wants to kill something.

Then Hermes appears - like this whole war is not his fault in the first place, the literal bastard - just to relay a message from Athena that gives them a plan that Annabeth was already putting into works and tells Percy to stay away from Annabeth.

Like she cares. Like Athena has ever, ever, done anything for Annabeth.

Perseus can't punch Athena, so he punches the messager (also, because he freaking guilt trips both of them about Luke). He has nothing to lose - he is going to die by the end of the day anyway, and they need him too much.

He has punched a god before - Ares, in a desert in the middle of Los Angeles - but this time, it's satisfactory. He feels good after it.

Hermes seems strangely resigned - He feels guilty about Luke too, but Perseus doesn't think it's enough. It'll never be enough, not while the gods leave their children to rot in a cabin of rejects and May Castellan bakes cookies for a son that will never come back.

Hermes leaves, ashamed. It's only fair, Perseus thinks. They all should be ashamed.

They see the city asleep - the prophecy is in the works.

Perseus executes their strategy - every cabin is covering a tunnel, with the exception of Dionysus, because Pollux is with the Demeter kids, and the Hecate kids stay behind to use spells to overlook the city. Lincoln Tunnel is getting covered by Ares - who, this time around, is actively participating.

The undetermined who didn't desert are with Hermes - and the minor god's children are divided by specialty - most Hypnos and Morpheus children follow him directly, but the two sons of Iris go with the Apollo Cabin.

Annabeth executes Plan 23, automatons, mounting on Mrs. O'Leary (who has strict orders to take Annabeth anywhere she wants without stopping to play around) - she doesn't need his help with this, and Percy has a tunnel to defend.

That left the rivers uncovered - until Thalia appears, with magical sand money, and made the rivers cooperate.

The hunters join the Aphrodite kids - who are half a dozen children between 11 and 19 - the oldest being Silena Beauregard, who uses a crossbow that looks exactly like her immortal half-brother's one.

His bridge is completely covered on skeletons - but no monster comes, even if he hears explosions. He leaves an English Lieutenant from the Battle of Yorktown in command of the bridge - with Tyene, the oldest daughter of Morpheus, to be in alert and don't let Clovis sleep through the battle. Because he did it before - and while it is funny, it can't happen right now.

Perseus mounts Blackjack - and go see where the noise is coming from. It's the Williamsburg Bridge - where are most of Apollo's Cabin.

They fight - and Percy almost cries when he sees Luke, who is not Luke anymore. Luke, who is a puppet controlled by Kronos.

Perseus kills the Minotaur and the weight of his stone spikes collapse the bridge - and Michael Yew dies. This time around, the bridge falls silently into shadows, and he doesn't bother about searching for the corpse - he saw the boy falling, and his screams will haunt all of them, forever.

This time around, Annabeth is not there to protect him - Ethan also doesn't try to kill him. The Son of Nemesis doesn't leave Kronos side for a second - but there's regret in his eyes.

After the bloodlust is gone, Perseus collapses - Will has to bride carry him back. Overuse of his powers - he summoned skeletons and produced shadows, melted enemy swords (with the bonus of incapacitating them without killing), and sprouted stone spikes everywhere - there's even a vine or ten that he used to hold his friends from falling.

Perseus doesn't sleep quickly enough to not hear the yell of anguish that comes from Lee Fletcher - the pain of losing a brother and not being able to fight beside him.

But he does sleep - and he dreams. He dreams of Hades killing Maria Di Angelo, not Hera, like Zeus told Nico. He dreams of Zeus cursing the Oracle - and he seethes, because he also sees what happened to May Castellan.

He keeps getting angrier and angrier at the gods - it's building inside of him. But his friends are still here, still fragile. He can't let them suffer more.

Perseus wakes up, checks on everyone - most everyone is either injured and/or exhausted, but he checks on every camper. He knows all of their names, their ages, their cabins. - and promises to sit up to talk with Thalia and Nico - war makes him prone to peace - and promptly goes back to sleep.

He dreams of Rachel. He wants to scream for her not to come: but she'll anyway.

Perseus dreams of a boy. He is his age - maybe a little younger. His hair is blonde and his skin is whiter - but Percy glances at his eyes, and there are waves in them.

There's a girl by his side - she is familiar to Percy, somehow. They're climbing a mountain.

The dream ends and Percy can't make heads or tails of it. He asks Thalia if she has a brother, but she says that she doesn't, looking wistful.

Prometheus is tempting - but he knows there's no Luke anymore, there's only Kronos. And the gods are horrible, vile and immature - but they never killed any of Percy's friends. Some of them died for the gods - but never by their hands, so for now, Perseus would toe the line.

He does want to punch Hermes again. He takes the Pythos - if everything goes wrong, he will not hesitate in going down for the sake of his friends - but there have been six deaths, and it's enough.

"Was it worth it?" He asks Ethan.

"Alabaster is alive" And it's all the answer Percy needs.

He dreams of Ethan and Alabaster. Alabaster is alive, yes, but he is missing half a leg - courtesy of Clarisse herself. Luke - Kronos - is indifferent, and Ethan curses the daughter of Ares - "The sword that took from us will take from you"

He contains Hyperion with his shadows. Then he helps Grover (who was half asleep, because of Morpheus) to make the Titan into a tree. It's a pomegranate tree - then he sets hellish fire to it and sacrifices it to Hades and Persephone.

A pig is in the sky - this time around, Annabeth and her frightening army of automatons kill it with Nico's help.

Perseus laughs - because Annabeth has about two hundred automatons under her command, Martin Luther King and Alexander Hamilton leading the charge with a giant bull being ridden by the Mad Hatter behind them.

It's weird to see historic figures Percy admires - like Jane Bolin, Sylvia Mendez, or Abraham Lincoln - fighting alongside people he downright despises - Thomas Jefferson and the goatfucker, herpes-ridden, Colombus. His Comparative Government teacher would have a field day.

Annabeth and Nico's pair up is amazing - They fight alongside like they have been doing it all life.

Nico is a force of nature, flying and commanding the winds to do his bidding - His eyes shine in the midst of the stormy clouds. His specialty is weather manipulation - he hasn't had much success with direct energy or electric discharges.

Annabeth has her mother's tenacity for war - and her clever mind for strategies. It's clear in her eyes - she is racking the weaker points of the Clazmonian Sow in her mind and destroying it. The automatons hold the pig in place - and she makes bacon of it.

Hercules couldn't do it. Nico and Annabeth can, because they have the power and the mind.

Perseus is still fighting off monsters - but they're too widespread, so they retreat to the doors of the Empire State Building.

Percy does a mental tally: of sixty-two campers, six are confirmed dead, twenty are injured and nine are out of commission on exhaustion. There should be 27 orange shirts here - but there's only twenty.

Percy wonders if the seven missing are injured, or dead, or under a pile of rubble somewhere with no one to help them. Is there someone being slowly eaten by monsters? Is there someone alone and injured and abandoned? He doesn't know.

He prays that those seven deserted them - at least that means they probably are alive and well.

Perseus looks at Phoebe's grief-stricken face, and he knows it's not probable - she had almost three dozen hunters with her, and now there's barely fifteen still fighting, Thalia nowhere to be seen.

They prepare for their last standing - Percy keeps conjuring skeletons, but they're no match for the sheer strength of the hyperborean giants. Nico is shoulder to shoulder with the Stoll brothers against a group of telkhines - Clarisse is bringing down a whole giant by herself.

After the Party Ponies save them - Chiron leads the charge against his own father, and Perseus is so proud of his mentor he can't even put in words how much - he goes to sleep. Fighting gets him tired quickly, and they'll come back.

He dreams of Dionysus. Perseus is not fond of any god who is not Persephone, but Dionysus is mostly okay sometimes. He seems to care about his children.

Perseus couldn't care less about the Western Civilization - but he'll care for Pollux. It's one of his demigods, after all, and Underworld people are possessive of theirs (i.e. Hades and Persephone).

He dreams of Thalia, in her father's palace, begging Poseidon to leave the underwater war and help with the invasion - His wife is none too happy with the presence of his immortal bastard daughter.

He wakes up to Rachel's helicopter falling - how is Rachel even awake, is a mistery.

The improbable pair Nico and Annabeth strike again: The girl knows how to fly helicopters, and the boy can fly himself. They save the redhead and the pilot - everything is fine.

"You're not the hero"

"Why did you risk yourself to tell me something I already know?"

Rachel doesn't explain - she can't. But she has a vision that says that he is not the hero. The hero of what? Perseus has no idea. But there's no way any of his cousins is dying for this stupid prophecy.

Suddenly, there's a drakon there. Rachel has another prophecy - Perseus fears she will walk the path that led May Castellan to destruction - that only a child of Ares will be able to kill it.

Bad news: All children of Ares are otherwise out of battle.

Clarisse is resting after a nasty concussion - and her brothers and Apollo's children are fighting yet again because Lee Fletcher is in no condition to stop them and Michael Yew is dead. Ares' side refuses to fight without the chariot - which Cabin 7 has hidden somewhere.

The best they can do is fend the drakon off until a miracle occurs. And it does: Clarisse, in full armor, manages to lead her brothers into battle.

Clarisse is dead. Something shatters inside of Perseus - and he leaves the drakon for the Ares' children to solve - he can't kill it anyway - and starts to vaporize the army behind it.

He is so caught up in bloodlust, that he almost misses Clarisse slaying a dragon. Clarisse, who has no armor. Clarisse, who is alive.

Ethan's curse rang true - Clarisse's weapon took something from her.

Silena is a traitor. She is also dead - which makes her a martyr, and probably going to reunite with her boyfriend in Elysium.

He remembers how easy is to fall for Luke's charm - he was - is - still in love with the guy. Percy thought the son of Hermes could do no wrong - and he wonders how much of his rage against the gods sprout from his influence.

Something evil inside of Perseus's mind tells him she deserved it. It tells Perseus that better her than Clarisse - but he shuts it down, and concentrates on his shining red friends.

He hates Ares. But he might just have an okay side if he can produce such a magnificent daughter.

Silena is the Patroclus to Clarisse's Achilles, and the Drakon is Hector - and the daughter of Ares is sure to parade its dead body.

It's the first time they feel like they are winning. It doesn't last - but as he hugs Clarisse tightly, he thinks he might cry of relief.

Clarisse looks tough - but she is a wonderful human being. She loves Silena with her whole heart - even more than she loves Chris, her best friend. Silena might've been in love with Charles - but she and Clarisse? They are soulmates.

The damned Pythos is following Perseus - and he is done with it. He knows where hope will survive best. Rachel wants him to give it to Hestia - but he owns the fire goddess nothing.

She has never interfered, not once, to help the dozens of demigods with no family that is abandoned in Cabin 11, and he won't forgive her for it.

He sacrifices hope to Persephone because that's what spring is. Spring is the hope of a new life. Maybe, Perseus thinks, it'll convince his father to come.

They go down to make their final stand against the forces of Kronos. There's not a lot of them - but they're not getting through those doors.

Well, his father doesn't come. But Poseidon does, with his whole army, Tyson and Thalia behind him, and the scales seem to turn.

And then Kronos cuts the barrier. Perseus can see his Mom (why is his Mom here with a handgun?!) and Poseidon fighting against the monsters under the eyes of extremely confused mortals.

Some are trying to break the barrier - but it's futile. Kronos has corraled them like sheep for the slaughter.

It's just him, Grover, Annabeth and Nico, fighting against Kronos vanguard - which is big, but not as strong as they are.

Kronos passes him without resistance - Ethan follows, but there's anger in his eyes - not for Percy, but for the monster he is leashed to. Alabaster is not there.

As soon as Kronos powers stop working on them, the four follow the titan - and some things never change, no matter the universe.

This time, it's Nico who falls because of Hera - it's her curse over all of her husband's bastards.

Ethan takes one look at Perseus, and they don't even need to fight. They have been friends for longer than they have been enemies - and they both loathe the gods, but Kronos is as much of an all-powerful controller being as any of the Olympians.

They battle against Kronos - Perseus has only his ax against his scyther - a true Underworld fight.

Ethan dies. And Perseus bloodlust consumes him - it clouds his eyes and he can only keep fighting.

"If... if we've had cabins... and they had thrones"

It's true, and more than ever, Perseus wishes Kronos wasn't such a bastard. He wouldn't bother killing the gods - but the titan is a way worse option.

"LUKE, PLEASE" It's Annabeth. He doesn't have her faith - she didn't saw his transformation. But he tries anyway because he loves Luke just as much as he hates Kronos.

"Luke, remember our summer" But his words are caught up in his throat when the titan throws him against the wall.

But the amalgamation of his friend and an all-powerful being looks confused, so props for his genius best friend.

Kronos shows them a rainbow message of Typhon - and that's where Perseus it's pretty sure he starts liking his father.

Because the Lord of the Dead opens up the earth and gets out in a black chariot guided by skeletal horses like a king. By his right side, is Persephone, in armor battle as a queen should be. By his left, is Demeter, who looks every single bit like the matron she is supposed to be.

Behind him, a hundred thousand dead roars. Charon is mounting Cerberus - and literal hell is unleashed upon the Father of Monsters.

The gods strike down Typhon, sending him back to be locked away - this time, in the depths of Tartarus instead of Mount Etna.

Kronos gets mad. Utterly, undoubtedly mad. He talks about burning Luke's body. Then he hurts Annabeth and breaks two promises in one fell swoop.

"Luke.... remember family" It's what Annabeth utters, but Perseus, already certain of their own demise, is crying now.

"That summer Luke, you promised to never hurt her again. You remember it? YOU PROMISED LUKE!!"

Annabeth's promise was already broken - he had hurt her, all those years ago, in Mt. Othrys. But the promise he made to Percy - that he would never hurt her again - is new and broken, in the river Styx no less.

Luke regains his own body, for a minute, and Perseus runs to him like a man in a desert with no water.

"Please, please tell me there's a way to undo this, Luke, please, please"

"There isn't one, Percy" And it's the first time he hears Luke call him Percy, Percy and not Perseus, in his own voice, in two years. Percy cries.

"We... we don't have much time, hellebore. Give me Annabeth's dagger. Before he... before he takes back"

Luke calls him hellebore and it makes him start crying all over again. He gives him the dagger - and Luke kills himself, taking Kronos out with him.

Luke doesn't need to ask if Percy has ever loved him - Percy kept loving Luke, one-sided as it was, even when Kronos was there.

He still crying over Luke's body when the gods arrive. Luke is dead. Ethan is dead. Silena is dead. Michael Yew is dead. Charles is dead.

He lost three of his best friends in two days. Ethan is dead. Luke is dead. Luke is dead.

Perseus can't stop crying. They take Luke's body away - but he can't stop. Annabeth explains what happened to the gods - most of it, anyway. Apollo says he is in shock - his father says he is a hero.

Perseus doesn't feel like a hero. Was this all worth it? Was it worth it the pain and the death and the suffering?

Persephone touches him - and he has no tears to cry anymore. She can't hug him here, but she'll do so later.

He stares at the walls, listening to his friends being awarded - compensated by their siblings and friends' deaths - with a blank stare. Perseus wants his mom.

They call for him. He raised his head but doesn't bother getting up. He just saved their asses - for the fifth time in a roll. He deserves to grieve.

They offer him immortality. A place between the gods.

He laughs. Zeus looks murderous, but he can't stop laughing.

"My apologies, but I have to refuse," he says. But in his mind, he is thinking about how could they even think he might want to sit between them and be an all-powerful being, be another god ignoring his children and messing with mortal lives while thousands die for him.

"Promise me, on the river Styx, that you'll give me the wish that I want."

They promise him, that if it's within their capabilities, they shall grant him his wish.

"I wish for every child at the age of twelve to be claimed. I wish for cabins in Camp Half-Blood, for every single minor god, and my own father. I wish for Calypso to be free, and to the demigods from the opposite side of this war to be given amnesty. It's not their fault. It's not any of our faults."

"You dare to-" Zeus begins, but Percy is really tired of Zeus.

"We fought your war, we won your battles. We, the unclaimed and rejected stowaways of Cabin 11. We, the children of minor and Underworld gods. We deserve respect. Just like my father deserves a throne, just like the minor gods deserve justice."

"Don't you fear us?" Athena asks, something weird shining in her eyes.

"I thought I would be dead today. At least if I die now, I'm dying for something I believe in."

It stays unsaid that he doesn't believe in them. The other demigods look at him worried - but he is not afraid of the gods.

They grant his wish. Some of them aren't happy with it, but they have to do it. He meets Calypso at the front gates of Olympus - and her smile can brighten the pits of Tartarus. He sees Alabaster talking with Lou Ellen - they are both crying.

He thinks it's the end - it's not. Thalia tells him Rachel left for Camp in her Pegasus - and his father has lift the curse, the Prophecy is gone, but he fears for his best friend.

Perseus is too tired for shadow travel - he does it anyway. He flickers, but anyway, he is too late.

It works. Rachel - his best friend - is the new Oracle. Someone jokes they can't be together anymore and Rachel lifts an eyebrow.

"We never were. Didn't you see the last few hours?" Well, he did out himself. Mostly - they might say it's just friendship, and he will hate the way they twist it. Luke wasn't a villain, and Perseus isn't a pure hero with a heart of gold.

Perseus is healing from lost love - and Annabeth is too. His crush on her was only a crush, he thinks - She is his best friend first and foremost. They cry together at the bonfire that burns away the shrouds of 43 demigods - from both sides - and 16 hunters of Artemis. Their souls all rest in Elysium now.

Alabaster comes back to Camp and helps his siblings to build the new Cabin for Hecate, full of spelled blocks and magic chimneys. Clovis and Tyene have their hands full with their own cabins - it doesn't help they keep getting sidetracked with naps.

Somehow, Nico, Thalia, and his bond over helping construct Cabin 13 - They are both way too invested in the goth vibe, mostly because Cabin 1 looks like a temple, and Cabin 3 looks like a beach cabin. And both of them are so over it.

Perseus doesn't want a goth cabin - he is fighting against the aesthetic for years - but sometimes, there are no arguments. His Cabin is made of black marble, and there are skulls everywhere, with torches shining with green fire. Outside, at least. Inside, it looks like Persephone's garden, with input from the queen herself. It's ready just shy of the end of summer vacation.

Rachel tells the next Great Prophecy. Perseus isn't such a positive person to think it won't affect him - he hopes at least it'll wait until he is done with High School.

That night, he dreams of the blonde boy again - it's his first night without nightmares since the battle. He has a scar in his lip, and his green eyes pierce Percy's soul. Perseus wonders if they'll ever meet, wonders if this boy is one of the Seven of the Prophecy.

But alas, Perseus lets it go. The summer is over - he is sixteen, somehow. He is alive and going to go back to his mortal life and his junior year, and grief. Not everything is fine - but eventually, it will be.

It's not the end. Not yet.