#make no mistake I am Always thinking about jason and hazel

[bayetea]

jason and hazel's beef in hoo was always way more interesting than whatever percy and jason had going on sorry. the differences in gravity and intrigue in the jason/hazel beef vs jason/percy was only further compounded by the ways they're connected and the ways that their stories are similar

because 1. they have a HISTORY they knew each other before he went missing!!!!! they were in the fifth cohort together!!!! yes they didn't know each other well but I really think that was a bad writing choice rick made. can you imagine if they used to be friends/if jason had been a big brother figure to hazel only to go missing for months and then they have a very awkward reunion on the argo because he barely remembers her and then she's even more betrayed because he doesn't wanna save nico initially. the drama. we could have had it all man

2. beef between a son of poseidon and a child of zeus/jupiter from the grace family? yeah been there done that why are we doing this again. god I wish we had gotten a big fight between a son of jupiter and a child of pluto instead

3. their beef regarding nico was way more high stakes than the silly alpha male posturing rick was trying to force between jason and percy especially considering how mega nerfed jason is written in hoo because no one's allowed to be on equal footing with percy

4. the tacit layer of betrayal in jason being hazel's ex-centurion/praetor only to end up choosing chb (this is a more interesting conflict between jason/reyna but since hazel is actually on the argo and reyna isn't she can still be an opportunity for this camp jupiter/camp half-blood conflict to be explored with jason)

5. I'm just gonna say it - I think hazel ought to have complicated feelings about white authority figures in a military camp as a black girl from the freaking jim crow era (not that this would have ever been explored in the books because as far as rick is concerned hazel is colorblind and never thinks about race ever. which is crazy unrealistic but whatever)

6. something something about the parallels that jason and hazel have about making hard choices about their pasts in order to have a more fulfilling future

7. this isn't necessarily interesting in and of itself but I just think it's neat that they're both big three roman kids with greek siblings that they didn't grow up with. what could have been interesting is jason seeing how close hazel and nico are and feeling some type of way about everything he never got to have with thalia and some exploration into how that impacts his feelings about the rescue mission

8. they both have really awkward romantic conflicts in their pasts that intrude upon the present (whether he and reyna were ever even slightly romantically involved or not) because the jason/reyna thing is written as a initial source of conflict/uncertainty for jiper in the same way that hazel/leo (sammy) was a conflict for frazel to grapple with. hell even their mutual connection to leo could have added something (unrelated but having no frank or hazel pov in mark of athena sucks So Bad because it's the first time they ever have relationship problems and we only see it through someone else's pov. I am going to bring this up forever because I'm still mad about it)

9. they both died. this bullet is a joke but I just thought I should put it here

10. percy is a well-established character and hazel and jason are new in hoo. percy has 50 povs in hoo and hazel has 28. economically speaking it would just be a more effective use of your limited pages to spend more time developing important interactions and conflicts between two new characters (esp new big three kids) who already have a more interesting foundation than the one involving our previous protagonist of 5 entire books

imo hazel and jason are the most weirdly written new additions to the main cast but I strongly feel that rick severely underutilized the way that characters like those two could play off of each other. hazel isn't just a sweet little cinnamon roll she is passionate and contemplative and morose and guilt-ridden and jason isn't just a bland rule-follower he is kind and committed and loyal and conflicted and they're both painfully self-sacrificing and I just think it's such a shame that these two characters with great concepts on paper and so many obvious threads to connect them didn't get as much as attention as.... whatever happened in kansas did

(if you like the jason/percy conflict that's fine, but I think it's worthwhile to compare them because rick chose to centralize and build up to one more than the other when he had such perfect material to expand on the other instead. I think part of the issue is that rick struggles with strengthening tension and applying complexity to conflicts between male/female characters that isn't romantic or onesidedly antagonistic like clarisse/percy. he also isn't very good at giving two female characters conflict at all that doesn't have love triangle-romantic subtext (the main exception is clarisse/annabeth, but this is a barely fleshed conflict in itself especially because percy is made the main focal point of clarisse's ire). honestly the best we ever get in pjo-hoo are thalia/zoe (I guess) and hazel/marie which is saying something)

[scuotitrice-di-parole]

If you search "Percy Jackson analysis" on tumblr, one of the first post to appear will be about a very interesting topic. They say that with Hereos of Olympus, instead of creating a new conflict Rick Riordan undid the Last Olympian ending (the gods becoming better). Also I've always preferred the first series, because HOO has many problem. I also love the new characters, so what could Riordan possibly have wrote instead?

Then I got an Idea. STAY WITH ME PLEASE

While I was still reading the first five books, Mark of Athena was published. Being not bothered by spoilers when I was little (I don't know how) I used to go to the bookshop and read the plot written on the cover. Just from the summery and the cover art I had imagined the plot. I was sure it was gonna be something all about the two camps facing each other, having actual beef and fights. From an art cover I had also imagined some sort of games between the camp to decided who had the best demigods. BUT NOW I GOT A EVEN BETTER IDEA.

The plot in my opinion should have started with someone from camp halfblood finding camp jupiter or the romans (I like to imagine it was the Stoll brothers. It would also make sense since Herms is the good of travel and messages). During that time for some reasons Chiron is away from camp.

The demigods comes back to camp and tell everyone what they found. Here we have two options.

1. Hera makes the change BUT between Jason and Annabeth. (Not my favourite one).

2. Hera, who hates Annabeth, kidnapps Annabeth and sends her to Camp Jupiter (I don't know what to do about her memories). Meanwhile the Romans now know too about the Greeks, and they send some demigod to find CHB. Jason is on the quest, and gets kidnapped by the greeks, because they think Annabeth also got kidnapped by the romans.

Now Jason has still his memories and it's stuck at camp as an hostage (inserts funny scenes about chaotic demigods not knowing what to do with him because "they never had and hostage before". Also Jason being outraged because "You don't know who I am, I'm the preator..") . Chiron comes back and get angry at everyone, and insists to treat Jason as an human being. Jason at the beginning can't stand anyone ESPECIALLY Percy, but in the end of the book they have formed a delicate and difficult to acknowledge bond.

Know I don't know exactly how the story would proceed, but for sure Leo, Piper, Frank and Hazel stay as characters.

Changes:

1. Leo stays himself expect he doesn't fall for every girl he sees, and isn't obsessed about finding love too. Actually he doesn't really care, it's more interested in his passion as a mechanic. (Or you can make him mlm, I think it would suit him)

2. Piper has not all of that "I'm not feminine and dumb like my siblings going on". Instead she grows confidence thanks to her powers, and learns to appreciate her beauty not like something that other people sexualize her for (which is a problem that POC women ACTUALLY HAVE, WHY RIORDAN DIDN'T YOU DO THIS INSTEAD), but like a gift from her mother and a good part of her.

3. Frank doesn't get the random glow up, because in this version we teach kids that you can be a great person, having a girlfriend, and being a powerful hero even if you don't have an ideal body. (Litterally what was the point)

4. Nico is actually around and at the begging he likes to make fun of Jason with Percy (or in a second moment he appears at camp and gets what probably it's going on in reality). He's not appreciated by everyone but he learns how to not care. Also solangelo actually has a relationship building here.

5. I don't know if I would age up Hazel, or make her stay just friends with Frank, but many people would like that. For sure she would get more space because she's amazing.

6. JEYNA ACTUALLY EXISTS HERE. I don't care in what form. They can be together and being a power couples, or eventually break up and create drama. I just need this plot point to not be wasted.

7. No one falld into tartarus. Because Tartarus is a mysterious and scary element in the series. Discovering what's the big mistery ruins everything. (Or if someone like a secondary character fall in it, they die that way, end of discussion). The danger of someone falling into Tartarus is still there tho.

For the plot I don't know. I just know that at some point it would be cool to see where the demigods of Krono's army are now. Actually seeing demigods of the minor gods would be cool. The prophecy is still there but it takes more time to start. (ALSO. I don't think the seven are actually the greatest demigods around. So I think that maybe they end up being the seven after accidentally winning a sort of competition like I said before)

I would cut out the part of the statue of Athena. I don't know how but I would love to still see tha quest to Alaska (maybe with Hazel, Frank, and Jason and Percy?) and the House of Hades.

There would actually be a fight between camps, but the book ends with them team up to have the goods mentally sane again. The moral is that basically they learn to understand theri cultural differences

Basically having Gaeia as the villain isn't necessary, the villain instead should be the gods who are tied to Tarturus and the danger of the door's of death would still be there. And this would give more space for Nico in the plot

I wrote this at 3:00 AM. There are probably so many mistakes. But in my mind it was too cool to not write it down.

[drethanramslay]

A funny thing called Fate: Chapter 1

Pairing: Bryce X MC (Aisha Khurrana)

Word count: 2.6K words

Series Masterlist 

Masterlist

Warning: None really, just some cursing

Author's note: Hello!! I am back with the first chapter of "A funny thing called Fate" and this time this is in Bryce's POV

Like I said last time, there would be time jumps so you will be seeing both- 16 year old Bryce and present day Bryce

Just a word of caution, 16 year old Bryce (according to me) is your typical bad boy who is a jerk and upholds his reputation and prestige as the most important priorities

I decided to take part in @choicesseptemberchallenge20​ the prompt being- LOST

Also decided to take part in @choicesweeklychallenge​ the prompt being "I just... don't know. Honestly."

Both of them will be in bold

TERMS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

-> kanilehua: Motherfucker (I literally googled curse words in Hawaiian language so please forgive me if they are wrong 🤧)

-> okole: Butt/ Ass

-> budhiya: old woman in Hindi

Forgive me if I make any mistakes

10 years ago- Bryce's POV

"Aloha!!" Bryce's cheerful voice ran clear through the hallways as he approached his teammates, instantly capturing the attention of the people.

"Hey Bryce, my man." Jason, his best friend stepped forward and did a complicated handshake with him before patting his back.

"How was the summer?" Kai, his other best friend spoke up as he leaned against the lockers, his dark hair falling on his eyes.

"You know the usual. Practice and stuff. My parents did take us to Australia. The waves there are sweet." Bryce whistled lowly, remembering how he spent numerous days surfing at sea.

"What a lucky bastard. Do you think your parents would adopt me?" Jason asked causing Kai to chuckle.

At this point, they would want anyone but me as their son. A dark look passed on his face but he hid it behind the over cheerful and happy go lucky mask.

"So, what's up with you guys?!" He asked, smoothly changing the topic.

Jason began. "Well I for one, had a fun summer hanging out at the beach, enjoying the sun-"

"-having flings left, right, centre." Kai completed the sentence, snickering.

"As if you weren't the one who fooled around more. You broke so many hearts, Kai!!" Jason rolled his eyes.

"But I finally settled down, unlike your unsettled ass." Kai exclaimed.

"50 bucks you will break up with him in ten days." Kai narrowed his green eyes and smacked the back of Jason’s head. 

"Wow, seems like I have some catching up to do." Bryce smirked.

Kai turned towards Bryce, suddenly serious. "Glad you brought it up. We have a proposition for you."

Bryce incredulously raised his eyebrow.

"Your two o'clock. Short brunette with glasses. Don't be too obvious."

Bryce ran his hand through his long hair and his amber eyes fell on the girl.

He leaned against the locker near Jason.

"What's her deal?"

"Apparently, she joined the school last year and has been on the low. Keeps to herself, certified nerd, teacher's pet and super uptight."

Bryce eyed her and he recognized that she was in his chemistry class last year.

Aisha Khurrana.

"Wait... That's Aisha. She was in my chemistry class last year. Introverted and quiet."

Jason did a double-take. "Wait really? Well, that makes it easier for us."

"Good. I will make y'all talk to her-"

Kai stopped him midway. "Woah, woah, woah. We don't want to interact with her. You are the one doing this."

"Will one of you kanilehua tell me what the fuck is going on?" Bryce asked, getting annoyed.

"After the legendary prank Ano pulled last year, it's time we step up. So while you were tanning your okole in Australia, Jason and I were brainstorming to come up with a better idea."

Jason continued. "So we decided that you could get her fall in love with you before the finals and boom! We could pull the prank on prom."

Bryce's eyed widened. "Woah, don't you think that's extreme?"

Kai rolled his eyes. "Please, Ano humiliated a teacher and exposed that he was having an affair with a junior. I don't think it's that extreme."

"What is this prank you have planned on prom?"

Jason waved his hand. "We haven't worked out the details but we have the entire year to do that. You on the other hand... Are running out of time."

Bryce's eyebrows furrowed. "And why can't either of you take this up?"

"Because Kai here is surprisingly getting cosy with Kaeo the jock from Sunset High while I am on the principal's radar for the shit I did last year. I am this close to getting expelled." Jason enunciated his point by touching his pointer finger and thumb.

"Jas... you're touching your fingers."

"Exactly."  

"So will you take one for the team?”

Bryce sighed. "I just... don't know. Honestly." 

“Bro, this could literally make or break our popularity bro. You don't want to be the laughing stock of the school, do you?" They asked with puppy eyes.

The peer pressure and the need to uphold his reputation as the golden boy made him raise his hands in defeat. His eyes glanced at the losers down the hall, who people were blatantly ignoring.

Definitely don't want to fall in that category.

"Fine. I will do it. But you will owe me."

"That's our boy." The boys whooped as they clapped his back.

Bryce's eyes wandered to his new target, finding her brown eyes staring right back at him. The flecks of hazel shone with curiosity but her face was impassive as if she didn't want to let anyone in.

Well, this is going to be an interesting year, Aisha Khurrana. Bryce thought to himself.

PRESENT

When Bryce woke up this morning, he didn't think his day would turn out this way.

Who would have fucking thought that the one girl you could never get over shows up at the hospital you are a surgical intern at?

Not me.

He was looking forward to this fresh start. A new city where no one knew who he was and he hoped it stayed that way. To hone his craft and become one of the best surgeons in the country. Anything to get rid of the stains on his name.

After Aisha left at the beginning of Junior year of high school, things were hard. Not that anyone was going to believe him but he actually loved her and no matter how many people he hooked up with, no matter how much he drank himself to oblivion, there was just no getting over her.

He often wondered- no believed that he had lost his one shot at love.

You only get one great love and of course, I had to blow it up, and for what? Popularity? Reputation? That already went down the drain because of my beloved dad.

When he finally got his head in the game and things were bearable, the scandal happened towards the end of the Senior year. Sure, he could hide face during the summers, lounging in his gaudy compound. But he could hear the occasional shouts and protests out of the gates of his home, reminding him that he couldn't escape the truth.

To distract himself from his dad going to trial, his mom selling out to the feds and his baby sister crying from the stress, he dove right into his studies, hoping to score well in his SATs so that he could get away from Maui.

But there was still one year of high school left, and that was fucking awful. He was relentlessly bullied at every turn of the corridor, got the stink eye from the teachers and people jumped away from him as if he was a social pariah.

Technically, I was.  

Though his parents were very tight-lipped about the details of the case, it wasn't that hard to get to know more from the internet. And the fact that the people in his school always made it a point to remind him.

Aisha's dad was one of the people who worked for the company that got screwed over by his dad.

Bryce had given up after all these years that he will ever find her again. He often wondered what would he do if he were to meet her again. The apologies he would say and the monologue on how ‘he was never the same after she left’ had been practised over and over again.

But right there she was, half-naked in front of him, completely at the loss of words. His eyes wandered, making sure if it was the same girl from tenth grade. There was a nose piercing and he saw a little ink near a hip.

"Aisha?" He repeated, completely shocked, his jaw dropped. Never in his entire life has he felt the loss of words.

They stared into each other's eyes, chocolate brown eyes meeting his amber ones, completely lost.

But that moment didn't last for long because Jackie shutting the locker made them realize that this was indeed reality.

Aisha managed to snap out of her reverie. "Oh my fucking god, I don't have time for this shit." She rapidly threw on her fresh sets of scrubs and slammed her locker before making a move.

Bryce stepped in her path, blocking her. "What are you doing here?!"

Her eyes snapped up to meet his, the familiar fire and hatred flooding in those brown orbs. "Well, I could ask you the same thing Mr. I-will-become-a-lawyer. Now out of my way, I'm getting late for the orientation." Though she was short (5 feet 3 inches to be precise), she still managed to slam her shoulder against his chest and walk away.

"Oh My God!!" Jackie's voice resounded after a few quiet moments.

"Put a cap on it nose wipe." He muttered as he rubbed the area where Aisha slammed against him.

"I didn't say anything."

"Yeah but that expression says it all." He rolled his eyes as put his stethoscope into his breast pocket.

"But, for real. Who is she?" Jackie asked, inquisitiveness laced in her voice.

Bryce flicked her nose. "I found your nose in my business, why don't you take it right out?"

"Ugh. Fine. Keep your secrets. C'mon, let us get to the orientation before it gets over."

"Yap. Right behind you."  The duo headed towards the main atrium and made their way towards the front so that they could hear the hospital chief. The rest of the interns were already gathered in front of the stairs upon which an impressive, statuesque woman stood and spoke.

That is Dr Harper Emery!! Bryce thought to himself, as the very thought of standing in the very same room as his inspiration made him giddy. He turned to talk but the excitement instantly vanished because thanks to his amazing luck, he ended up standing right next to Aisha.

The universe, what games are you playing against me? Bryce let out a sigh which caught Aisha's attention. She just gave an annoying glance and stared up, as if to ask why was this happening to her.

Both of them turned away from each other and focused on what Dr Emery was saying. "... because as of today, you are no longer students, You are doctors."

Aisha turned towards Jackie and whispered. "Psst. Who is that?"

Jackie whipped her head towards Aisha's short build. "I don't know if you are joking or are serious."

Aisha's ears getting red was the only confirmation Jackie needed. Her jaw dropped and she was physically incapacitated, unable to speak before she finally managed to string together words.

"Seriously? Did you learn medicine in the woods or something?"

Aisha's eyes narrowed and Bryce just knew that if he didn't intervene Aisha would absolutely roast Jackie and her lineage.

So, in a low voice, he spoke up. "That's Harper Emery, the hospital's new chief." A smile made his way on his face as he continued to talk about her. "She's a total badass! World-famous head of neurosurgery before she got promoted."

He turned towards Jackie, smirking. "Guess she's just a scalpel jockey too, huh?"

Giving a Cheshire grin she responded. "She's the only scalpel jockey who deserves rights."

Aisha gave a stiff nod before turning back towards the Chief.

Someone is definitely a ray of sunshine. Bryce thought to himself. His conscience promptly snarked. Bold of you to assume that this isn't your fault.

Brain... Stop. as he shook his head to shake off the guilt that slowly swirled in his chest.

"More will be demanded of you that you've ever experienced. Some of you will buckle under the pressure. Some of you will quit. But some... some of you will thrive."

"Damn... She is so inspiring... I feel like I can do anything." Aisha whispered, her brown eyes sparkling with admiration.

"Well then, can I inspire you to pipe down? I'm trying to listen."

"Can I inspire you to get your ears checked, budhiya?" Jackie looked offended but you could see the glint of amusement and respect in her eyes.

"Girls, can this fight wait until after the speech?" Bryce muttered.

"This is not fighting. This is us bonding scalpel jockey. Get on the same page." Jackie whispered causing Aisha to smirk.

"I give up. But please for the love of everything good can we keep it on the low." He shot a pleading look and they managed to shut up.

"You've been entrusted with a sacred duty: the care and wellbeing of every man, woman and child who enters this hospital. Are you ready?"

The interns promptly burst into applause and they look around, sharing excited smiles with their new colleagues.

Harper Emery raised her hand, to silence the applause. "You'll be introduced to your senior residents tomorrow but for now, you'll be partnering up for your first patients. Your assignments are posted on the board. Good luck, doctors!!"

Bryce swaggered up to his board and searched for his name and found out that he was paired with a Samantha.

Wait for a second... that name sounds fami-

"You?" He swirled around towards the feminine sound and as soon as his eyes landed on her, the memories hit him.

Him running his hands through her hair whilst they kissed passionately against the door of her apartment. Her running her hands down his abs and pulling him by the loops of his belt. Both of them lost in the sensation of each other and Bryce still had the scratch marks on his back to remind him of the amazing night they had the previous day.

"Sam? I didn't know you worked here!!"

"Well fate is a funny thing, isn't it? So apparently we are partners?"

"Yap and we need to take our cases from the residents and be on our way. Are you ready?" Bryce asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

"I was born ready baby." Sam winked as she started pushing her way through the throng of interns and Bryce followed suit.

When they finally were free, Jackie showed up next to him followed by Aisha and another girl who had a striking resemblance to Chief Emery.

"See you later meathead."

"Try not to miss me too much." He winked before glancing towards Aisha. Their eyes met and she immediately looked the other way, chatting with her partner.

"It's a beautiful day to save lives. Let's have some fun, shall we?" Sam asked her eyes twinkling which just made Bryce smile.

-------------------------------------------------------------

It was going good so far. He had been allotted two cases that day. One with a routine appendectomy and the second one being a benign tumour removal from the right lung. With a cool, calm collected mind, the two of them diagnosed the patients, raising eyebrows.

"Dr Lahela, what is the treatment plan?" Dr Tanaka, the head of cardiovascular surgery asked.

"Well we are administering her with tumour shrinking drugs like bromocriptine so that we could decrease the size and then after a couple of days we will take her for surgery."

Dr Tanaka gave a nod of appreciation. Sam turned and held the young patient's hand. "Miss, you are in good hands and if you have any more questions you can always ask for us."

"Thank you so much, Dr Anderson."

They stepped out of the room and Bryce shut the door behind them.

"Keep an eye on her and do checks every four hours. Good job." Dr Tanaka turned on his heels and only when he was out of earshot Sam fist-bumped Bryce.

"The surgical society is back at it again."

"God Sam that was awful." He groaned as he pulled his pen out to sign the charts.

"Well, that just means I need to keep thinking of names for the dynamic duo. See you later byeee."

He shook his head and gave the charts to the nurses' station before whistling down the confusing corridors of Edenbrook when suddenly he heard a thud sound from the nearby supply closet.

Must be a doctor who is not having a good day.

He stopped before the door, contemplating whether he should enter or leave but his instinct to help overpowered and he cracked open the door to see Aisha leaning heavily against the racks, her back towards him. Her shoulders were shaking and he could hear her heavy breathing.

He was about to leave unnoticed when Aisha’s voice wafted over to him. “get in or get out. Don’t hold it open.” She glanced towards the door and Bryce knew that he could kiss his unnoticed exit goodbye.

Oh boy. 

Oh? so we have a new character 👀 And um that really wasn't the reunion Bryce was looking forward to lol

And now the supply closet yikes yikes yikes okay now i will shut up heheheh

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[shizzlinghotbrason]

ok so nearly everyone in the fandom is doing this and as sad as it is that we need to remind these simple things to people, I feel the need to talk about this too.

I won't make this too painfully long because I know y'all most likely already know this and I just wanna put out a basic list of shit you should always follow in the fandom. But for those who don't, a lot of fan content creators, be it artists or writers or just general fans trying to enjoy their time, have been leaving/quitting the fandom.

Why are they leaving, you ask? Toxicity. Toxicity nearly everywhere. People can't hold respectful debates or discourses on interesting topics regarding characters/the books/ships anymore without someone toxicly stating that only their opinion is correct, and going off on anyone who has different opinions carried with a lot of aggressive, rude and shallow behaviour. Fanartists have gotten death threats and are scared of drawing art for the Riordanverse without getting anxious af.

Now the thing is, having done those (eXcepT for the death threats) doesn't automatically make u an entirely shitty person. Maybe you made a mistake and came off as rude without rlly meaning to. That's okay. Here's how to identify if u ever did so, and to change that behaviour. Again, it's okay to make mistakes, but we rn as a fandom srsly need to try to turn things around.

Some basic shit you should remember being a part of the fandom:

• NO NSFW STUFF WITH MINORS!!! That means fanarts, fanfics etc. But here's the shocking thing- when someone does this, you can actually hold them accountable WITHOUT SENDING DEATH THREATS AND CROSSING THE BOUNDARIES! Cuz doing that only makes YOU stoop just as low. Pl e a s e remember that always and be respectful whatever you do.

• That being said, ppl are allowed to write nsfw stuff IF said characters are aged up, aka 18+. Ofc, it's a must that they put a content warning beforehand because many people may not want to read that. BUT, if you don't want to read it and if they've aged up the characters so nothing's morally wrong or gross, then please do NOT hate the author in the comments, do NOT report their post/account. Seriously dude, they gave warnings, if you don't want to read it just scroll past it's not that hard. Unless it's with minors, you shouldn't be reporting innocent ppl's accounts like that.

• one thing that I've seen a lack of in the fandom are trigger warnings. I've seen several fics whose covers are literally of blood. And entire chapters were written with intricate graphic descriptions yet with no trigger warnings or a tw wayyy down in the caption. you never know what may be triggering to someone if a lot of ppl see ur content but the least u can do is put trigger warnings on the most common stuff. I get that it may look aesthetically matching if it's a murder mystery sorta fic but isn't the well being of people more important?

• look I'm not saying you're not allowed to have opinions, but the problem is when you start treating your opinions like facts. I can't count the times I've seen someone state their opinion like it's facts and then trash on other's for having a different opinion. PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS. Stop attacking people for liking Jason more than Percy or vice versa, there's no rule that you absolutely have to like one or the other, ppl can like who they want. When you're stating UR opinion, it would be nice if you used stuff like "I personally think that..." or "... that's just my opinion" because again, Ur opinion is just that, not a fact.

• if you can't have discourses or discussions about certain topics respectfully and nicely then don't have them. if someone's done nothing wrong but state their opinions and you don't like it, don't go attacking them. if you don't have anything good to say, shut up and just scroll past. it's not that hard. we don't need any more negativity in the fandom. If you feel like you're about to snap, mute or block the account you don't like and move on with life. But for the love of GOD don't go out of your way to be agresive or hateful to ppl. They have feelings too and run fan accounts for fun, not to get upset and hurt.

• when a fan account owner has made a post saying what they think of a certain topic, and you comment saying you think they're wrong and they reply that you didn't get the point of their post, then chances are you most probably actually did not understand what they were saying. when this happens, pls don't go on forcing ur opinion onto them as if you got what they meant when you didn't. Maybe next time when someone says you didn't get what they were saying, ask them nicely to explain it to you instead of going off like that?

• firstly, shame on you if you've ever run a hate account. just why? how much more negativity do you want to add? if you come across a hate account please please report it and block it and tell your friends to do the same. if you're targeted in a hate post, I'm so sorry, please know that they're shallow ppl just trying to make you feel shitty, you're dont have a trashy fan account; what they say is false and done purely to spite. report and block them.

• I know Rick has written a lot of racist bullcrap and hasn't batted an eye when we complained about them, but that still doesn't give you the right to send him death threats. Again, no death threats to anyone, yikes.

• don't use fanart that's racist. don't repost them either. Piper has feathers in it? don't repost it. also if you can't exactly and properly credit artists, don't repost their art saying "credits to the artist". I've done that before too but now I understand that's not right.

• also, while we're at it, can we all please universally agree on non-racist fanon stuff and get rid of racist canon stuff? like Piper and feathers, and piper & hazel with colourful and golden eyes, Piper's stupid not like other girls behaviour, and all the other bullshit Rick has put into the books. We as a fandom don't accept it and pretend they do not exist, no racism in this place 🥰‼️

• ppl are allowed to have their own headcannons, it doesn't matter what's cannon. Don't go "but in the books it's.." because in the books there's a lot of shit, and besides, if someone wants to headcannon Percy as brown? black? totally alright! they're allowed to do so! don't go bUt pErCy iSnT pOc iN tHe bOoKs. same goes with sexualities and etc headcannons. as long as they're not erasing the already representation of a minority, it's okay to have headcannons of your own. Like Hazel is canonically black and we should respect that and bring out the best of that, yk what I mean?

That's all I have to say for now. I'm usually a very light-hearted cursed meme account on here but things are getting out of hand. I was wanting to make my 8 yr old brother get into the Riordanverse fandom but seeing the situation of the fandom rn scares me. We need to think about the kids in the future who'll be in this fandom, whose lives will be changed and shaped by these books. Surely, the older people in the fandom before us would be utterly disappointed at what it's become and it's our job to constantly look out for the fandom.

If you're leaving/have left the fandom, I'm so sorry that it got to that point, but ur wellbeing comes first, do what you feel is necessary to feel better, all of us send lots of positive vibes towards your way! and to the peeps who've still decided to stay in the fandom and use their account to talk about this issue, I cannot express how thankful I am of you for doing such an important thing right now. And to everyone - as Harry Styles once said - treat people with kindness.

[blue-banana-the-first]

So I've been seeing a lot of Rick Riordan hate pages and while some people point out problematic things the way we handle thses things need to change.

It's not acceptable to go on bashing the author when they are trying to do better

I've seen a lot of shit about Hazel's eyes and wanted to point out that this is an English literature book so symbolism exists. Percy's eyes are specially mentioned to be SEA green, Thalia's to be a shocking sky blue color along with Jason's being cold something along these lines.

Hazel's eyes are gold, she has power over gold and jewels, had her eyes been blue or green I would understand but they were gold an unnatural color cause she has godly blood in her, she's supposed to he powerful your eye color shows how powerful you are cause the more it resembles your godly parent the more power you have.

The Athena problem I just wanted to point out that due to evident racism in America it's pretty rare to find a POC working at a college (I am not trying to be offensive or disrespectful but from an outsider point of view I always see male white men teaching most college subjects especially history and war history) due to white privilege POC don't always get the jobs that they rightfully deserved and if I remember correctly fredrick chase was a white Male, no athena didn't make fantasy children and most of the time these children resembled their parent in some way and I think the portrayal of about one POC as an Athena kid shows the problem NOT ENOUGH POC PEOPLE GET HIGH PAY AND STATUS JOBS I am not trying to defend him but I am saying that instead if looking into what he did wrong can we look into what drove him to that conclusion cause Rick doesn't necessarily strike me as a Racist person and most of his POC characters were pretty amazing (for example Carter was probably one of my favourites as he was such an amazing brother)

If I ever wanted to write a book about magic and demigods you bet i am gonna experiment with their eye colours cause i have an obsession with shades of all eye colours and no that's not because I am racist but because I like trying different color combinations cause they're fun

The feather incident is something people still talk about and bash rick for eventhough he already wrote an article explaining it AND apologising for anyone who was offended.

I saw someone write that Rick was being as horrible person by giving the characters deemed scary brown eyes but like nico has brown eyes to symbolize his power of the goddam DEAD and the DARK shadows and reyna like are we seriously going to bring reyna into this

Brown eyes are hard to read their colours are dark and it makes it difficult to see the motion of the pupils and reyna is supposed to he a leader to not show emotions people call her scary because of how intimidating her aura of power is not her eye color and using her eye color as an excuse to fight is really shitty cause why are you assuming the reason she's scary is her eye color.

The Arranged marriage thing already has an article too and I didn't find anything problematic in it and if you do then maybe you've read too many toxic marriage and arranged marriage love stories though I think the reason samirah's arranged marriage was written was to discourage this cause while some arranged marriages can be bad some are cool when consent is given and in islam consent is a requirement from both parties (the female and male to be married) for a marriage to ensue so the the arranged marriage sub plot was pretty cool

Overall I am not saying that Rick is a saint but I am saying that there are better ways to handle things than making hate pages and bullying Rick especially when he makes and effort not to repeat his previous mistakes and is one of the least problematic authors I've encountered and I've been in plenty of fandoms thank you for reading my rant hope you have a great day or a good night

Peace out.

[greekgeek21]

Percy Jackson & The Avengers: Convergence - the secret it out

I'm not dead! I had a mental breakdown, but I'm not dead! I am not abandoning this story, I promise. Didn't you guys see the part of my A/N where I said that I would never abandon this story, just take a tiny hiatus. And I'm proving that now by uploading this.

Anyway, this chapter is pretty long, so I hope this makes up for not uploading for months. I'm in the middle of doing a bio final, which is my second to last one! I'm so excited to be done with this school year. I've literally been calling my school Hell.

Also, I'm adding disclaimers to each chapter cuz I forgot to do that, so yeah act like you're smart enough to know that I don't own Marvel or PJO. Please stay safe and happy pride month🏳️‍🌈!

- your author

PS if you didn't know, I'm pan so...not just an ally or something.

Ω ♆ Ω

The demigods were silent the entire trip back. The group hadn't wanted to explain why the Avengers were there, so they'd left before the authorities had shown up. The quinjet had survived the storm with the ability to still fly, so they took that back to the tower. Despite the multitude of people with ADHD on the plane, nobody had spoken a word. However, the Seven seemed to be silently communicating to Percy their confusion and anger. As far as they knew, they did not have permission to tell the truth of the gods yet! They trusted Percy, but he had been through a lot recently, and maybe his judgement was a little off.

But they couldn't risk slipping anything to the Avengers, so they settled for just glaring at the son of Poseidon. The boy in question, however, just sat there staring at his lap, where he was playing with Riptide.

He was trying to figure out the best way to break it to the Avengers that their entire world was basically a lie. It was a lot to take in. He could attest to that. He was half-convinced that he was hallucinating when he first got the explanation.

Tony was finding the silence particularly difficult to withstand. First, Percy tells them that he's finally going to tell them the full truth, and then he just walks away and gets on the quinjet without following up on that comment! Anticlimactic much?

"Alright, that's it! Somebody say something!" he yelled. "I can't take this anymore!"

Percy responded without looking up, "Wait until we're at the tower. Then, I'll tell you everything. It's time you guys know." He whispered the next part under his breath, "You're going to need it where we're going."

Unfortunately for Steve, he could still hear that last comment. "That's reassuring," he said.

"Sorry," Percy muttered.

He didn't have time to worry about the Avengers' feelings. He had already figured out how he would tell them the truth. The best way was to be completely open and make sure there weren't any chances for fighting to break out.

Right now, he was worrying about Annabeth. Every second they wasted was one more second the monsters had to hurt her. It was taking everything within him to not make Piper's water bottle explode.

Ω ♆ Ω

Percy was the first one out of the jet when they landed on Avengers Tower. He ran all the way to his room, where he grabbed as many godly artifacts that he could find. He had a feeling that the mortals would want some proof before they started believing anything. He grabbed a couple of drachmas, some ambrosia and nectar, a picture of Coach Hedge, Mellie, and little Chuck, and his trident (yes, he has a trident now). The trident folded into itself until it was the size of a water bottle. If he wanted to use it, he had to say it's name, ακουαρέλα (waterbringer). The greek lettering of its name on the side glows, and it shoots open. It was a gift from his father as an early eighteenth birthday present.

Godly parents are weird that way; giving their kids weapons as presents. But spend enough time in this world and you get used to it.

He rushed back to the living room, where JARVIS had told him everyone was gathered (a tiny voice in his head reminded him that it wasn't everyone. Not yet). They seemed to have resorted back into their first day together: opposite sides of the coffee table, mistrustful glances sent across, and a general awkward aura surrounding the place. If Percy wasn't in such a rush to save Annabeth, he would've laughed at the sight.

Tony was the first to notice him, "Oh, you're here finally! Great! Now can you tell us what the hell is going on?"

Again, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over Percy, but he ignored it.

"Yes. It's important you know the truth before we leave," Percy answered.

He turned to his friends and spoke again. "And before you try protesting, my dad gave me permission."

Jason's open mouth snapped shut.

He dumped his artifacts on the table, motioning for his friends to do the same with anything they had on them. It wasn't a lot; just a couple of drachmas and their weapons. Leo did take off his entire toolbelt, though.

"What's this stuff? Is this supposed to answer all our questions?" Natasha said.

"No, this is just proof. I'll be explaining it all to you." He paused, unsure of how to start.

"Oh for the gods' sake, Percy, just start with the simplest answer!" Piper exclaimed, jumping up, "We're demigods, sons and daughters of the gods."

A beat of silence passed.

Steve broke it, "I didn't know Thor had any children..."

Jason groaned, "How did I know you would say that? Honestly, open your minds a little bit. We're Greek and Roman demigods. Thor isn't even a real god! He's just an alien with superpowers!"

Percy stared, amused, at his cousin. Clearly the son of the lightning god was not happy with Thor running around and calling himself a god (especially when Magnus was proof that he wasn't).

Piper patted him on the back sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, are you saying that there are more gods?" Tony asked, eyes wide in shock.

"Yes," Percy answered simply.

"Oh. Ok. That's fine, I guess. Nothing unbelievable about that," Tony commented sarcastically.

Percy sighed, preparing himself, "I am the son of Poseidon. Annabeth is the daughter of Athena. Piper is the daughter of Aphrodite, and Jason is the son of Jupiter. Hazel is the daughter of Pluto, and Frank is the son of Mars. And Leo is the son of Hephaestus. We aren't lying. We wish we were, but we're not. This is the truth."

Clint said, "I want to see this proof you were talking about."

Percy nodded, reaching down and grabbing a drachma.

"This is a drachma. How do you think we have so many of these? They are the godly currency," he said, tossing the coin over to Clint.

"Okay, I'll admit that it's odd for you to own so many of those things, but I need some proof of magic," Tony said.

Percy gritted his teeth, wondering if it was possible to kill Tony with Riptide. The man had already seen Percy turn a pen into a sword, but of course he had to see something else. There was no way to convince him that magic was real, he would just try and find some scientific answer to anything he showed him. It was an impossible task.

"Fine," he ground out.

Percy grabbed the folded version of his trident and made a show of moving it around so Tony could see that there were no tricks. Then he said the "magic words" and it popped open into a trident. It was still a little odd for Percy to hold it. He wasn't used to the weighting of it yet. Of course, he knew how to use it, but it still seemed weird. It didn't help that the weapon only gave Leo more reason to call him Aquaman, too.

"Is this enough proof for you?" Percy asked.

Tony learned forward in interest, "What did you do to get it to fold into that tight of a space? It must be the same tech as the pen, but I'm still not sure how it gets activated by those words..."

"It's magic, Mr. Stark," Hazel informed him.

"No such thing," Tony muttered offhandedly.

Hazel rolled her eyes, giving up. He would be proven very wrong soon enough. You can't spend much time in their world without starting to believe it.

"So that's how you guys have all your abilities? You are half god?" Bruce asked.

He was always more open to the scientifically-unproven than Tony. He was living proof of what could happen. Some might say the Hulk is magic.

"Yes. We are constantly hunted by monsters who can smell the scent we put off. They wanted to take revenge on Olympus, but it just grew to enjoyment from there. There aren't many safe havens in this world for us. That's why we don't tend to live that long. I am the oldest living Greek demigod alive," Percy said, acting like it was everyday you basically stated that you should be dead.

"That's awful! Why don't your parents do anything about it?!" Steve exclaimed.

"They are forbidden. Plus, godly parents suck. Most don't give a crap about their kids," Piper answered. "We're just the result of their mistakes."

"Well, they should. It's not right to leave kids to die," Bruce said.

Thunder rumbled in the distance; a warning from Drama King himself.

Percy glared up at the sky, "Oh, don't act like they're lying! You know it's wrong! At least have the guts to admit it, Uncle Z!"

The Avengers paled at the thought that the gods were watching them. It was a truly terrifying thought, to learn that you aren't in control of your fate. And the fact that Percy was yelling and accusing the king of the gods was not helping one bit.

The Seven had gotten slightly more used to Percy's reckless ways, but it was still worrying whenever he decided to rebel and yell at the most powerful beings in the universe when they were in the same room.

There wasn't an answer to Percy's rant, but there was a significantly less amount of sulfur in the air, so they took it as a sign that Zeus was letting it slide.

"But why are you telling us this now?" Natasha asked, always the observant spy.

She had remained silent thus far because she wanted to learn more about these mysterious "gods" before she acted. By how serious Valdez was acting, though, she was leaning towards it being the truth (or, at least, what the kids thought was the truth). She would have to report this to Fury as soon as possible.

Percy turned towards her, "Because my dad told me where Annabeth is being held. It's a dangerous place, and you need to be prepared if you're going to come with us. I won't force you to come, though. I would understand if you said no after you hear what it's like."

The Sea of Monsters was not a place for the weak. It would take a lot of willpower to get them all through. He had to make sure that the mortals were completely sure they wanted to come before they took off.

"Where are we going?" Steve asked.

"The Sea of Monsters," Percy answered in a grave voice.

"That's a reassuring name," Tony commented, "This'll be a blast."

"You do not need to come, Tony! None of you should want to after you hear what it's like," Percy said.

Tony stood up in anger, "You know what, kid? I don't need you yelling at me! I am a hero, and just because you tell us you are part god doesn't give you the right to act all high-and-mighty! We can handle it! We're the Avengers!"

Percy glared at the billionaire, "Trust me, you can't. I am trying to get across how dangerous this quest will be. The last time I was there, I almost died many times. It is NOT a good place to be."

"Where is that, exactly? Where are we going?" Clint asked.

The only son of Poseidon sighed, "The Bermuda Triangle."

Tony seemed to be shocked out of his angry mindset, "Wait, that myth's real?"

Leo spoke up, "Let's just assume that all things are real. It's easier that way."

"Is there anything else we should know before we get ready?" Steve asked, deciding that it was best to just cut off that conversation at the head.

"Just one more thing. We can fill in the rest on the way," Percy said, "You need to know that the gang we are fighting is not a normal bad guy. They are mortals Hades-bent on exposing the gods to the rest of the world. Somehow, they partnered with monsters. Annabeth theorized that it was because it would be easier to find demigods if the mortals were already searching for them. Basically, the monsters are using the gang for their own agenda and have the mortals convinced that they are their partners."

"Bad guys double-crossing each other. That, I can understand," Steve said with a relieved smile.

Ω ♆ Ω

The team had dispersed to go get ready, which meant packing a couple things and suiting up for the demigods. Well, they didn't know they had anything to suit-up in, but they were about to.

"Oh, guys! I have some good news!" Piper exclaimed. "The Aphrodite cabin finished our suits!"

Leo's head snapped up. "How do they look? Were my designs okay?"

Piper nodded, "Yep. And we don't even have to wear masks or anything because the Mist will distort our faces for any cameras. The Hecate cabin assured me."

Now Leo was bouncing up and down in excitement. "Can we see them? Can we? I wanna see them!"

Hazel raised an eyebrow at her friend, still never completely used to his antics. Leo Valdez was one of a kind, that's for sure (even if he was physically identical to her old boyfriend).

"Of course. We need to use them for the quest, don't we?" Piper smiled.

"Yay!" Leo exclaimed.

Piper let out a laugh, "Follow me, guys. They're in my room."

Sure enough, when they walked into Piper's room, there was a clothes rack with seven suits on it. Even from a distance, they looked amazing.

When Percy went and picked his suit up, he was in shock. It had a celestial bronze chest and shoulder plate, while the rest was a wetsuit-like material. The shoes were connected to the suit, and they seemed to be designed after water shoes. There were fingerless gloves with it, too. The gloves had air pockets, but Percy wasn't exactly sure what for.

"The gloves create water for you to use at any time." Leo answered his silent question.

"Oh. Awesome!" he said.

Percy didn't really get it, but science and magic weren't really his expertise. As long as they worked, he was okay with not knowing how.

All of the boys' suits seemed to be designed the same, minus the water-gloves. The only difference was the color of the pants. Percy's were sea green (not unlike his eyes), Jason's was electric blue, Frank's was blood red, and Leo's was bright orange.

"These are amazing!" Jason told Piper and Leo.

Piper thanked him and Leo just did an invisible hair flip in response.

The girls' suits were similar to the boys', but also completely different. There was a celestial bronze breastplate and celestial bronze plating going all the way down their sides and to their ankles. There are grey knee and elbow pads, as well. They also had fingerless gloves, but they did not go up to their wrists like the boys' suits did. Half of the glove is their suit's main color, as well as some of their arm and leg material. Piper's coloring was pink, Hazel's was purple, and Annabeth's was red. Every suit had a black Avengers symbol on their shoulders, which must have been a last-minute add-on because for a while the Seven were adamant on not becoming part of the Avengers (they still were, but it was hard to fight it when they were literally about to go into battle together).

Looking at Annabeth's suit made Percy miss her even more, but he didn't let it show. He had to be strong for his friends and teammates. He was the only one who had been through the Sea of Monsters before, so he had to guide them through.

It was going to be a tough task, that's for sure.

Ω ♆ Ω

The Seven separated to change, and once that was done, they met in the corridor of their rooms. Jason had to admit, they looked BADASS. It was clear that they were all a team, but every suit had its own individuality.

"We look awesome!" Leo exclaimed, jumping up and high-fiving Piper.

Percy strapped his sword to the clip on his waist next to his trident. "Yeah. You really did a great job, guys. Thanks. But we have to focus now. We're the only ones that are even partially prepared for what we're about to walk into, so we need to be at 100%. The Avengers may think they know what's coming, but they are clueless."

The Seven steeled their expressions, their teammate's seriousness washing over them like a wave. This was an important mission, not just for them, but for the Avengers, too. They may be rescuing their friend, but they were also stopping terrorists. This was big.

"Your confidence in us is truly heartwarming, Hercules." Tony's voice popped their bubble.

The Seven turned to see that the Avengers were all standing in the hall, suited up and ready (minus Bruce, of course).

"Hercules?" Percy asked, dawning a disgusted expression.

Tony stepped up. "Yeah. You said your greek demigods, and he's the first one that popped up. Plus, you got that whole hero-complex thing going."

Percy scowled, "Hercules is a dick."

"Agreed," Piper said, mirroring his expression.

"I really want to ask, but we've gotta get going," Bruce said, "We need to get there fast."

"Yeah. Where exactly are we going, again?" Tony asked.

"First, Florida. Then, The Bermuda Triangle." Percy answered.

"Why can't we just fly straight to the place?" Natasha asked, crossing her arms.

Percy sighed and then ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. "Because we'd just die faster. The only way to even have a chance of making it in and out is to go in by boat. Flying to Florida is the quickest way to get as close as possible. From there, we'll go by boat."

Natasha nodded, accepting the answer. However, she was still nervous about all of the "gods" stuff. Sure, they had met Thor, but he was just a glorified alien. What she had seen in Las Vegas was not like Thor and Loki. That was...a lot.

The group remained silent, unsure of what to say or do next, for another minute. Then, finally, Leo broke the silence. "What are we waiting for?! Let's get going, gang! We've got a world to save! I'm not getting any younger!"

He gave them his signature maniacal grin before leading the way down the hallway. Serious pep talks weren't his thing. He much preferred the sarcastic, self-deprecating kind to anything else.

They went up to the roof, where a repaired quinjet was waiting for them. Percy and Hazel still looked a little queasy about the flying, but chose not to voice it and instead clutched onto their seatbelts for dear life.

Once everyone was situated, Natasha called from the cockpit, "Seatbelts on, kids! We're taking off."

Clint grinned, "Death and doom, here we come."

Ω ♆ Ω

Remember to comment, like, reblog, and follow me! If you wanted to see what the Seven's suits looked like, I posted that on my Tumblr, which can be found on my profile page. Happy pride month 🏳️‍🌈!

- your author

other chapters :)

[sonofsallyjackson]

Heroes of Olympus should have been in first-person.

@jo-march-is-a-lesbian​ wrote a really wonderful post about how “Percy Jackson and the Olympians is better than Heroes of Olympus…because it understood simplicity and character development.”  It highlights some reasons I also found HoO less rewarding namely that it was an overcomplicated story with limited character growth, lacked a common thesis, and was super jarring when it switched perspectives.  

And with that my little brain went: I can fix this.  Which frankly is ridiculous.  I can’t come up with a compelling thesis like “The idea that we should place our hope in our loved ones, our friends and our family, and if we do that, we won’t be tempted to give up hope again.”   But I can imagine a simple change that would have solved some of the issues and also played to Rick’s strengths as a writer:  Each book should have been written in first person and narrated by a different character.

With so many people on the quest, I often felt like I was watching a bunch of one-dimensional characters fight for their right to be the main character.  I didn’t know who to focus on but I was also dissatisfied.  There were all these new wonderful characters in front of me who I wanted to love, but I didn’t feel like I actually knew them.  I mean I don’t feel like I know the Stoll Brothers either, but I’m not concerned about that fact because they are side characters.  When everyone is painted as the main character,  I have certain expectations for growth, personality, and voice.  The story would have been better served if the characters took turns narrating the action, allowing us to settle into their perspective, see their growth, and better understand their personality.

Plus Rick kills first-person.  While I’m not particularly a fan of Trials of Apollo, it’s not because I don’t know the characters.  Apollo is so very different than Percy. Their voices, even though they can both be jokesters at times, reflect their different life-experiences, thought processes and provide massive insight into their characters.   If the Seven (and Nico and Reyna) got the same treatment, I would be absolutely giddy.  

I recognize that rewriting the HoO series in first-person is something a talented fanfiction writer with a lot of time on their hands could actually do.  But I am not talented like that and I certainly don’t have the discipline to actually write that much fic, especially if I was trying to keep the events vaguely the same just with different narration and pacing.  So instead I’ve included who I think should have narrated each book below the cut.  I’d love to hear any opinions people have regarding this idea, especially who they would have wanted to see to narrate each book.

In addition to picking the narrator, I’ve highlighted what should be the “quest” so to speak of each story.  Personally, MoA, HoH and BoO are kind of a blur to me despite reading them all recently.  It’s hard to distinguish what happens in each book because it’s all one massive quest with a whole bunch of mini-quests.    While the different narrators would obviously make the books more distinctive, splitting the series into seven books would also help simplify each book’s individual goal.  Eight books would have allowed for better integration of the plot to find the physician’s cure, but with the prophecy of seven, it seemed like seven books was the best option, if I was going to be doing something as blasphemous as splitting books.   

As a note, I ran out of steam as I went so not all opinions are fully fleshed out. 

Book 1:  The Lost Hero The Quest: Rescue Hera/Juno Narrator:  Jason 

Why this would be cool: 

He is literally Juno’s chosen sent on a quest to rescue her.  It’s poetic enough to give him the book.

Jason’s journey is just as much about rediscovering himself as it is about saving Juno.   Of the new characters, I feel like I understand Jason the least. Mainly because I felt like I was missing the entire first half of his story.  Jason, like Percy and Annabeth, is a hero of the Titan War. I know some of his accomplishments, but I don’t have any bearing on what his life was like or how he felt about it.   He doesn’t seem like the type to relish Praetor-ship since he doesn’t have the same intense need to get back to his camp as Percy.  Was he just hoisted on his comrades’ shields after killing the Titan without any real choice in the matter? Give me Jason’s memories coming back slowly over the course of the quest (with potentially a fractured memory of a mistake he made in the Roman’s final Titan battle that makes him doubt their ability to both rescue Piper’s dad and save Hero but he makes the decision to anyway because he can’t just hurt his friend like that.   Let me understand how Jason is the person he is today.  Give me glances of the Roman Camp with emphasis on the heavy expectations that have always followed him as the son of Jupiter and foreshadow why he eventually chooses to design all the shrines for the minor gods so he can have his own place in the world as a figure between the two camps.

Let’s dive into those feelings of anger/guilt/resentment when people at camp are disappointed with him for not being Percy or in Chiron’s case are nervous about what his presence means. 

I want to dig deeper regarding Jason’s feelings about reconnecting with Thalia.  He knows that if the gods hadn’t been determined to keep the two camps completely separate, he could have grown up with his sister. 

What does telling the narrative like this sacrifice:  

We miss some of the internal turmoil regarding the fact that Piper’s Dad has been captured and she must betray her friends. 

We also don’t feel the tensions of Piper’s relationship with Aphrodite. I don’t see Piper bringing up the conversation with her mom saying that her mist memories were so strong because she automatically sensed the potential of a romantic relationship with Jason.  

We don’t have any of Leo’s conflicted feelings regarding rescuing Hera or his fear of being made an outcast for his fire abilities.  Jason has to go with Leo to discover Bunker 9 and Festus.  

Leo doesn’t actively save the day with the Cyclops. 

We don’t know how Piper feels about her charm-speak or see her defeat Madea (as the boys are in their weird trance thing). 

Knowledge about Gaea’s involvement in wrecking Leo’s life will come later.  

Book 2: The Son of Neptune The Quest: Free Thantos Narrator:  Hazel

Why this would be cool: 

The stakes are so incredibly high. Hazel is literally risking her second chance at life by agreeing to go on this chance.  She’s going to the place she died to fight the monster she created. She also has to deal with the trauma of knowing she may have bought the world time with her first sacrifice but it now means nothing if she can’t succeed again.  

We get to see Camp Jupiter from the view of someone who loves it but doesn’t really fit in.  Hazel joined Camp Jupiter just after the final battle.  She enters a community that has learned to fight as a well-oiled machine but that has lost people.  Dakota or the others may remark to her about how things were before or the people who are missing.  Hazel sees a community that she’s not quite a part of both because she didn’t fight in the war and because she’s in the fifth cohort with a feared godly parent.

It would explore her relationship with Nico more (because I love their dynamic and I want more).   She knows she can’t replace his real sister, but she feels comfortable and happy at the opportunity to have a brother, especially one who is out of time like she is.   

What does telling the narrative like this sacrifice:  

Frankly, the largest pushback would be from the fans who expected this to be Percy’s book since we just watched Jason rediscover who he is.

Percy’s phone call to his mom doesn’t have the same intensity.  

Frank’s relationship with Mars and how desperate he was to be claimed but now he doesn’t think he can live up to his father’s expectations.  

Frank and his grandmother.  We aren’t in Frank’s head as he changes shape till later.  

Book 3: Mark of Athena The Quest: Close the Divide Between The Two Camps by finding Athena’s statue and Rescue Nico Narrator(s):  Annabeth and Leo

Why Annabeth: 

So I can have all the emotions at the reunion with Percy.  

Annabeth’s relationship with her Mom has never been great, but imagine beginning the book with Annabeth being given the Mark of Athena. They haven’t left for New Rome yet and her nerves are already all over the place.  Then Athena/Minerva comes, gives her an impossible quest, and breaks her hat.   Annabeth wants to prove to her mother that she’s worthy because despite everything she still values her mother’s opinions.  Also her fatal flaw of hubris makes her believe she will succeed where everyone else failed.

Much of the book already follows her in third person limited so we just get things with a little extra emotion.  

Why Leo:  

Leo has to grapple with the fact he started this war by being the one to fire the cannon even if he didn’t have any control.  He is motivated to fix it

If we’re going to include the Sammy plot, we need to do it now.   Leo doesn’t like being the odd one out on the ship but he certainly doesn’t like the feeling of being notable because of his grandfather.  

We still need to get into those feelings of abandonment and anger at Gaea for killing his mom.  

Nemesis 

Leo comes into his own with the discovery of the Archimedes sphere and the decision to value people over objects.  

What does telling the narrative like this sacrifice:

The aquarium shenanigans 

The fight between Jason and Percy in Kansas needs to happen differently so that the others are present and try to stop it.  

Neither of them went ashore to meet Hercules.  

I think we might need to move up the Calypso meeting to this book, but that also kills some of the suspense since Frank will have the fireproof coating prior to his adventures in Venice when he gains faith in his abilities.  It also might mean Leo opens the fortune cookie from Nemesis unless for some odd reason he doesn’t have it.  There’s a lot more narrative weight for it coming later, but in order to get in as many book events as we can in, it might need to come earlier. 

Book 4:  House of Hades Pt. 1

The Quest: Survive Tartarus Narrator(s): Annabeth and Percy

The first time I read House of Hades, I read it out of order (reading all the Percy and Annabeth chapters until they were on the elevator out of Tartarus before going back and reading the others), because I couldn’t handle the back and forth.  I felt like the tension would build, I’d be invested in this plot and then we’d switch to the other plot. Plus I was very concerned for my children.  So I feel fully justified in saying that there is more than enough material to give the two of them their own book.

I just feel like all the feelings would be magnified.  

Percy’s commentary slowly losing its humor because he can’t anymore.

Annabeth’s guilt at having pulled him in being extra loud.  

Downsides beyond adding an entire book: Just imagine all the outrage at two cliffhangers in a row, because you know the book would end with them in the elevator remembering Bob’s words about the stars.   

Book 5:  House of Hades Pt. 2

The Quest:  Close the Doors of Death Narrator(s): Frank and Hazel

Frank and Hazel experience the most growth on the quest to close the doors so this book is all theirs.  Hazel learns to control the mist.  Frank experiments with his transformations.  I want nothing but them growing into themselves and their abilities.  

The good thing about turning the two warring storylines from House of Hades into separate books is that we lose very little plot.  

Book 6:  House of Hades Pt. 3/Blood of Olympus Pt 1 (Personally I would call this one Ambassador of Pluto)

The Quest:  Unite the Gods’ Personalities. Narrator: Nico

To clarify what I mean by HoH 3, I just mean anything done with the intention of trying to cross paths with Reyna, including the adventure with Cupid, in addition to the existing Nico&Reyna plotline in BoO.  

Nico dealing with all the emotions and his most recent near-death experience.

He kept the secret of the camps so the world wouldn’t end in chaos, but now that the world is in chaos he will be the one to fix it.  

In the short time he’s on the Argo 2, Nico realizes that even though this wasn’t his quest; this is his family and he needs to protect them.  

The reader has a pretty good idea Nico is gay, even if the word isn’t explicitly said from the descriptions (his guilty Percy thoughts - he let down the man he loves even if he won’t admit it.) This means that Cupid’s forceful outing is potentially less surprising so the reader can be properly outraged at Cupid.  

Downside: Reyna definitely has adventures when Nico is passed out, especially the whole waking up with the Hunters, but I think it’s excusable for a whole book from Nico’s perspective.  

Also, the battle between the camps and gifting of the statue needs to happen in this book, but we shouldn’t find out if the gods have regained control of their forms yet.  We alleviate some tensions because Camp Half-blood is likely to be overrun with Octavian’s monsters instead of the Roman armies and Gaea could awaken any second, but there’s an odd moment of calm and an uneasy truce.  (Octavian is potentially taken under custody to be held for trial only to escape in the next book.) 

Book 7:  Blood of Olympus Pt 2 (and the aftermath)

The Quest:  Like The Last Olympian, the final book’s focus is entirely on defeating the series’ big bad, in this case, Gaea.  Leo’s quest for the Physician’s cure parallels Percy’s River Styx visit.  

Narrator(s):  Leo and Piper

Leo has his death hanging over his head.  He has decided that he will be the one to die not any of his friends.  He got the cloth from Calypso so the “fire” portion of the prophecy applies to him and not Frank.  (Yes I know you can’t control prophecies, but do you think that’s going to stop Leo.)  

It’s the ultimate revenge for killing his mom.  We can have memories of both the happy times with Esperanza and the fear he felt for thinking he caused the fire. 

Piper’s perspective is necessary as we need to be with her during the fight with the giants.   

This series began with Piper, Leo, and Jason.  It ends that way too with the three of them killing Gaea and the two of them narrating.  

Downsides: 

The Percabeth I love you-the feud is over scene remains in Piper’s perspective.  

Since we’re not following Reyna’s delivery of the statue concurrently we don’t know when to anticipate the healed gods appearing in the battle with the giants.  

The book can still get away with not showing us Percy’s reunion with Sally or forcing Leo to tell the others he’s alive so they’re all grieving. 

[miraclesnail]

Writer’s Month Day 10: Dark AU

Fandom: PJO

Summary: So alternate dimensions exist and guess what! Turns out in one of those dimensions, I am on Kronos’s side. Who woulda guess? 

(Sorry, this is my self-indulgent fic for Kronos-side!Travis and Connor. I actually have a lot more ideas for this and once I’m done with the published wip I have on ao3, I’ll turn this into a multi-chapter! I used this prompt to kick start the first chapter which is always the hardest for me :P)

Content Warning: graphic violence 

Words: 3.7k

When you think of Travis Stoll, what comes to mind?

Powerful? Important? A main character in the grand scheme of things?

Hell no. 

Weak, insignificant, and a side character more like it, right? 

That’s who he is. A minor character, someone who doesn’t get quests, whose contributions barely make a ripple, and only remembered as that one guy who likes to prank. 

So why — why, why, why, why, why — is he being chased by a man in stupid black sweatpants and a stupid black turtleneck in a stupid black motorcycle helmet holding a stupid, blood-stained, 13 inch knife?

This is something Percy gets into. Or Nico. Or Jason.

But not him.

Never him. 

Travis leaps over rubble, feet catching on the granite, and tumbles forward. He curses loudly, but rights himself and continue running. He doesn’t dare look back (he heard the stories. You look back to see where the killer is and you end up tripping and dying), so he keeps his eyes train up ahead to the not quite darkness, but close enough darkness that objects are just a dark fuzz. 

Rain is pouring a thunderous downpour, a drumming so loud it’s like a waterfall. The occasional lightning gives him a clear snapshot of his surroundings and those few milliseconds where he could see the rubble, he engraves in his mind. 

A fallen cabinet, a broken desk, shattered computers, a houseplant, a family portrait, cracked tile floors, a hole-ridden hand hanging over a toppled swivel chair— 

Nope! Nope, nope, nope, nope. He did not saw that. That is not what he thinks it is. That has to be doll or a mannequin. Something fake and plastic. Not real and flesh, because if it is then that means there’s something wrong! Something is killing people! (plague, monsters, aliens) And Travis don’t have time to think about that just yet. 

There’s a turn up ahead. Left? Right? Right is always right so right it is. 

He slows only a little bit, if only to make sure to doesn’t crash into the wall, before running full speed again. He prays to his dad that there’s no rubble in his way. 

And like his prayer is answered, lightning flashes, thunder booms and Travis skids to a stop, sneakers barely gripping the wet tiles that otherwise would have sent him careening over the edge of the crumbled building wall. He clasps his shaking hands together and take a deep breath, commanding his pounding heart to calm down, that no, you did not die. You almost die, but you didn’t. So stop beating so fast.  

He takes in the surrounding, noting the clouds first. They’re dark grey and expands as far as the broken, tilted buildings allow him to see. It blots out the sun and explains the darkness even though just a few minutes ago, it was as sunny as Camp Half Blood could be. His eyes lower to the buildings, all with broken windows, missing sections of bodies, and most tilted too precariously to be considered stable. He lower his eyes even further and gulps when he couldn’t see the bottom. A heavy mist permeates a couple feet down that not even the heavy rain could dissipate. For all he knows, the fall could be 20 feet or 150 feet.

Is there a way to get to the floor below him? Maybe if he just cling to the wall and — nope, the moment his hand touches where the wall meets air, it crumbles. There’s no way he can descend to the floor below. 

Macaroni.

This is a dead end. 

He turns around, fumbling and tripping over his shoulders, but freezes. 

Someone is turning the corner. And the glint of that wicked knife in their hand tells him it’s not Chiron dressed as Santa Clause. 

Cheese sticks, he’s trapped. Maybe he could hide before the man sees him and wait till — the man turns to the aisle to him and walks right in the middle towards him. 

Oh holy sandals. Travis takes a step back and his heel pushes the rubble off the ledge, a grim reminder that there’s no exit behind him. He glances behind him, a who-knows-how-high-drop into the abyss, then back to the front, a cynical man with a loose grip on his knife. 

Which is the better chance? Should he just jump? Does he even know if the man is dangerous? 

He has a knife and it’s stained with blood! Of course he’s dangerous! Travis bites his lips. If Connor was here, he knows what to do. 

The man is drawing scarily close now, close enough for Travis to see the black, tight-fitting sport shirt with long sleeves and collar up to his chin. Close enough for him to see his belt ladles with all sort of pointy objects. Close enough to see the brand of his black pants. Close enough to see black, hiking boots and definitely close enough to see the ocean blue of his eyes past the tinted shield of his Motorcycle helmet.

They’re cold, terrifying cold. 

If Travis wasn’t so scared for his life, he would ask the man where he shops. He’s sure Nico would like to know. 

He glances over his shoulder to the abyss again and stiffens. He can’t survive a high fall. He’s not Percy or Jason. There’s no way he can buffer his fall, but he’s a good talker. He’ll talk his way out of this like he always have with his pranks. So he snaps his eyes back forward and steels himself. 

“H-Hey!” AH NO his voice cracked! “Pal, buddy, amigo, I don’t know if this is your idea of a joke or a prank or just a very elaborate plan to get me to pee my pants, but can you please stop?”

The man didn’t even falter, didn’t even miss a step. 

“Look, I applaud you. Your dedication to your role is amazing, like your costume is some A+ design.” 

Oh gods, he’s still coming. And he’s actually tightening his grip on his knife!

“Unless you really are here to kill me to which I say, please don’t. I don’t even have a weapon to protect myself! That’s not fair, you know?” 

And finally, finally, finally, the man stops walking towards him, only standing two arms length away. He raises his free hand and Travis jerks his body into defense, but the rising hand only rubs the man’s neck. He raises his chin and talks. “Are you done, Connor? I don’t have time for your jokes.” 

The response is automatic, years of being called the wrong name ingrained this reflex in him. It’s natural to him, something he doesn’t even think about. As soon as the man finished his sentence, Travis was already saying, “I’m Travis.” 

The man falters and so did he. 

Most people never hear their voice before, most probably can’t identify their voice. But Travis hears his voice every day and before he left for college, every second of his life. They all said he shares everything with Connor, even in voice. 

“You… have the same voice as me,” Travis says hesitantly. 

The man isn’t advancing, his wide eyes train on Travis. He could see shock, surprise in those eyes. Or maybe it’s mania. It’s easier to differentiate emotions with the mouth in view. He stares for a few more seconds, looking up and down his entire body although his stare linger most on his Camp Half Blood shirt. 

“You’re… Travis?” he whispers.

There’s no mistaking it. That’s definitely his voice and there’s only one person Travis knows who shares the same voice as his. 

“Connor, you donkey. This isn’t funny. You really scared me!” The man freezes at his words, but Travis didn’t really pay much attention to it. Serves Connor right. He should have realize his older brother isn’t that stupid he can’t figure out this whole situation is a prank. 

He kicks the rubble, all tension leaving him. “I have to admit though that this is so cool. Who did you bribe to make this? Hazel? Lou Ellen? Annabeth? Wow, this place is so realistic.”

He saunters over to Connor. “And your costume is so cool. Did you got it from Nico?” 

He’s standing in front of Connor now, but his grins falter. Something is off. There’s fear in his eyes. Connor fears nothing. 

“Connor?” he asks, worry creeping into his voice. “What’s wrong?”

He raises a hand to take the gloved hand into his.

It happen then.

Travis is falling backwards, feet kicked in from below him. As he falls, he sees the fear melds into panic, rage as his back hit the tile and an arm raising a dagger that is definitely not celestial bronze and he watches as the dagger comes closer, closer, and closer to his face. 

It stops an inch from his eye. 

He didn't move. 

The hand holding the dagger looming dangerously over his face is shaking. Shaking rather badly. He wonders if he could ask Connor if he could just move that dagger out of way a bit.

“Why.” 

He spoke again. That’s definitely Connor’s voice. 

“Why didn’t you run? What are you doing? What game are you playing, Connor?” The voice is shaking so badly, more bad than his hand that is holding the dagger too close to his face. His instincts kicks in. He’s not playing along anymore. 

He grabs the hand with the weapon and tugs it off to the side. He stands up and picks up Connor with him too. “Let’s stop with the pranks for the moment. Are you okay?” he asks. 

Connor shakes his head, backing away.

Now Travis is really worried. “What’s the matter then?”

He doesn’t get an answer. Instead Connor rubs his neck. He takes a shuddering breath. “Oh gods. Oh gods. Oh gods.” 

Travis takes a step forward. “Connor, come on. You’re really sca—”

“I’m not Connor,” ‘Connor’ snaps. “I’m — I’m not who you — I’m just a dream. You’re dreaming. Now you’re gonna wake up. 

Not-Connor shoves his hand through his plumber’s belt and takes out a clover leaf the size of his palm. He holds it by the stem, twirls it once and let if fall. The air ripples as it descend, shimmering and and waving until the gray canvas that was the wall became a patch of beautiful yellow and grass.

“You’re dreaming,” Not-Connor repeats. 

Travis didn’t say anything, because really, this burn in his side? This heart pounding from his near fall off the ledge? This pain in his chest from the worry? It all feels so real to him.

Maybe this is how lucid dreaming is. It doesn’t matter. The man in front of him is in pain. The man shares his and Connor’s voice. Dream or no dream, he can’t let his brother imposter suffer. So he lingers. He looks to the side. He opens his mouth. “Hey, are you really—” 

Then Travis is falling for the second time that day. The man grunts and shoves him to the side with a hand. His other hand raises a shield, Athena’s Aegis shield, the shield with Medusa’s face that could with one look turn anything to stone. No sooner did he realize that and tries to avert his eyes (Annabeth’s lecturing voice always coming to haunt him with Greek lessons), did he sees  an arrow fly past him. It hits the shield with a thunk and Travis looks back to see the man recoiling from the impact. He’s falling back, falling right into the shimmering canvas with the pretty grass and sunkissed trees. 

That moment, their eyes met. One in shock, the other with fear.

Their hand reaches out, grasping at nothing, the blue in their eyes gleaming with despair and he was gone. The shimmering canvas is gone. The man is gone. Travis is all alone sans the crunch, crunch of boots stepping on broken tile. 

Travis turns his head sharply to see who’s coming and winces at the sudden voice from the end of the aisle shrouded in dark. “Listen to my orders or I’ll shoot again.” 

He listens, head down and a sick feeling in his stomach. This isn’t a prank, is it? This is real. This situation is real. “Hands up, all the way up.” 

As Travis complies, he could see leather boots in his peripheral vision. Even though he’s scared shitless and just as clueless, his curiosity beats over every emotion he has. And with his brother’s voice yelling in his voice about how he’s stupid and dumb and reckless, he raises his head up slowly. 

Past the brown, leather boots.

Past the tears-riddled jeans.

Past the cloth-covered arm and the crossbow in that arm, arrow notched and pointed at his face.

And to the scrunched up face that’s really familiar. 

He didn’t change much at all. He’s still short. His hair is still black. He’s still scowling. His face is still scrunched up like he stared down the shaft of his arrow for too long. The only thing that’s different is the bow — he always justs a traditional bow, not a crossbow — and the hostility. 

His friend never looked at him like that. 

Michael Yew glares at him like he’s Kronos himself and says with hate Travis didn’t know Michael has, “Travis. I swear on my left arm that if you move one more time, I’ll make sure you won’t be able to walk.” 

////////////

He’s tumbling back. It strikes him that the portal site is behind him. 

But it’s too late. 

He can’t plant his feet in time. [no.] 

He’s falling. [no.]

His eyes meet the boy’s with the painful orange shirt and they’re wide, clueless, still bright with life, not dead like his are. 

He’s passing. [no.]

Not the kid in front of him. 

Not the kid. 

And he’s out there. 

And shit. Fuck. shit shit shit. [do something!]

He reaches out, praying, hoping, that his fingers snag on his.

But it didn’t. 

And he’s falling.

.

falling 

.

falling.

.

The ground comes faster than he expected. 

He groans, ignoring the throbbing pain in his head, and opens his eyes.

Blinding yellow, that’s the first thing he notices.

Speckled blue and swaying green are the next. 

Colors. Real colors. He’s seeing real colors. 

[what is this? what’s going on?]

He leans forward, hands crunching — no, something crunching when he uses his hands as leverage to stand. Green, he sees, and brown. Soft green, hard brown. 

He stares at it, knowing what they are, but the names… their names aren’t coming to him. None of this are. It’s been so long since he saw them, or even uses their words.

But he eventually recalls what they are. Leaves and sticks and the sun, the sky, the trees, the — 

[we shouldn’t have these]

He bolts to his feet, stumbling heavily. It’s too hot. It’s too warm. It’s suffocating. He rips the helmet off and tosses it aside. But it isn’t better. He can see more, could hear more, could smell more.  (The clouds, the wind, the birds, the chirping, the trees, the swaying )

Someone’s breathing heavily and he spins around out of instinct, expecting a stumbler but only seeing more trees (pine trees, birch trees, willow trees) 

[calm down you need to calm down]

It’s him. He’s breathing too loud and he stops gulping air, holding it in. And then letting it go. He can’t panic here. He needs to find a way back over. He’s in danger. He’s out there. He saw him, saw them running. He knows they’re there. He needs to get back now.

He fumbles with his thigh pouch (the ground, it’s so dry) his hands won’t stop shaking (he could see the the sky) he could see the inklings of the green leaf among the black inside of his pouch (the sun feels so warm) and he grasps it in his gloved hand. 

They crumble into pieces that the wind blew away.

He stares at the crumbled pieces, not comprehending, not understanding.

This is a dream. It has to be a dream. There’s no possible explanation.

His neck twinges and he cups it. 

It hurts. 

It hurts. This isn’t a dream. It can’t be a dream. It hurts.

So this is real? [it’s real] Is all this real? [it’s real] Or is it just another twisted image the Gods are giving him? [i can’t believe this is real.]

He starts when a branch cracks behind him and before he could turn around, a man’s voice rings out,

“Travis! There you are!” 

It’s familiar. But also not. 

“Where you been? We’ve been looking for you for over an hour.” 

A remnant of a memory from so long ago floats to the surface. 

“Come on, I have arts and crafts with your cabin. Tyson is stoked for it.” 

And he turns around to see him. The one that haunts his dreams. That terrorizes his sleep and stalks his conscious.  The one with black hair (caked with blood) that hangs over sea-green eyes (fill with bloodlust) and a grin (a glower) on his face with a 6 (6?) beaded necklace over a sickening bright, orange T-shirt.

Son of Poseidon, Perseus Jackson.

His blood freezes.

His heart stops. 

His throat closes. 

[kill him.]

And a hazy, belligerent red washes over him. 

[don’t. you need to run. you’re in danger] [no. you should kill him]

[get out of there. he’ll kill you] [kill him. end this life]

[run away now][get your revenge]

“Travis? What’s the matter?” Perseus asks, his voice infuriatingly friendly, light-hearted.

Perseus takes one step towards him [run] [attack] and another and one more till he’s within arms reach.

[within stabbing reach. do it. do it now.] 

[don’t. run. please. just run.]

[aim for his torso. let his organs trail.]

[stop it.]

[you’re going to run like a coward? after everything he did to you?] 

[don’t listen to him. run away.]

[don’t be a coward.]

[you need to survive.]

“Travis? You okay? You look like you’re out of it.” And a hand touches his shoulder. 

He made his decision then. 

He pulls the knife from his thigh and lunges forward with every intention of stabbing the face clean of skin, muscle, and bone. 

Perseus leaps back, stuttering, “Hey! What are doing?”

He shot forward. The chest is just as good as the face. Probably more painful too. 

“Travis! What the heck! What’s wrong? Hey!”

He didn’t answer. All that matters is getting his dagger into (unmarred?) flesh and twisting it free and thrusting it back in. Again and again and again. Till he’s dead as much as the others. 

Perseus turns tail and runs. 

He follows. 

“Crap, crap, crap!” 

He catches up in seconds, kicking his feet out under him so he’ll tumble to the ground. He’s on him the next second, pulling the arm behind Percy’s back and across to rest against his hips. He pushes down at the wrist. The yelp that follows didn’t quench the red haze. Maybe if he sees actual red, actual blood. He raises his knife. Perseus bucks and tries to throw him off  and he nearly did, but he locks down more. A knife in the spine should stop his struggling. He tightens his hold on his handle, lift it higher and — 

someone rips it from his hand.

Another pulls him back by the shoulder till he’s off completely and on his back. 

And a third is trying to restrain him by digging their knee into the cavity of his throat.

He slips his dagger from behind his back and jabs the knife right above where the kneecap should be. He slices out. Blood splatters across his face and screams break out in multiple directions. One in pain. Several in terror. Zombies don’t scream. Zombies don’t bleed. The knees retracts and he rolls out from under the restraint and onto his knees. 

But a hand is already on his upper arm the next second. He grabs the owner’s arm and their ugly orange shirt, sweep his leg out, and tugs down. The fourth person fell. 

But a fifth and sixth person already have hands on him and they shove his face into the dirt and pin his wrists behind his back. 

He struggles for all he’s worth, but there’s more hands and more force and more yelling. So he struggles harder. 

“Shit, what the fuck is wrong with you Travis!” 

He kicks a shin.  

“Clarisse! Clarisse!! Oh my god. Oh my GOD!”

He bites a hand. 

“Get out of my way. I’m going to kick his teeth in!”

He headbutts someone in the balls. 

“Dude, calm down! Piper, charmspeak his ass!”

[Piper?] and he stops struggling. 

Hands are locking his wrist together. But the only thing he can think about is 

[Piper? But Piper is—]

“Forget charmspeaking. Someone get Connor! Wait, I see him. Connor, get over here! Your brother went off the radar.” 

“Travis.”

He raises his head an inch and stare at the monster. At the man. At the horse. A centaur. A familiar face. A face from before the apocalypse. What was his name? 

“Travis, will you please tell us what is ailing you?” 

Gods, what is his name? What is his name? 

[a bastard]

“Travis? Can you understand me?”

What was it? Cylas? Chance? Camdyn? Caelan?  Charon? Chiron? 

“What are you wearing, Travis? ”

Chiron. It was Chiron.

“Travis, can you speak?”

Chiron Chiron Chiron Chiron Chiron. That’s Chiron. But how, why, what?

“Tra… vis?”

And he trace it to the source, eyes landing on the face he sees everyday. The ocean blue eyes he etchs down to memory. The unruly, unbrushed brown hair he knows down to the last curl. But the orange shirt. The brown khakis. The 9 beaded necklace. That thin line running across his left brow. The surprise, the worry, the unsureness is all new. 

That isn’t his brother.

The beads don’t match up. The scar don’t add up. Something’s wrong. 

Another man comes up beside Chiron. He looks familiar too. But he recalls his name in an instant. Dionysus.

Dionysus waves a hand and his eyes fall shut without permission. Before passing out, he hears Chiron, in his scold he haven’t heard for so, so long, “Mr. D!” 

[whumpbby]

I need help with a fic

I am writing some ABO JayDick for Titans and I have a half done, but I’m feeling it like, 50/50. Anyone would be interested in it? 

The kid was gasping into his ear, again, so Dick moved him back – not by much, just a bit lower, so the feverish forehead could rest against his throat and the kid’s nose was back in close vicinity to his scent glands. Jason whined slightly at the change – or maybe because he could inhale Dick’s scent straight from the source again; or because of the touch. Didn't matter, Dick did his best to ignore the sound.

He did his best to ignore most of this situation, but it wasn’t going exactly great.

He was an alpha, after all, his whole makeup and every little single one of his instincts were built from the ground up to make sure he recognised and responded to situations exactly like this one. What he was trying to do now ran against the very evolution of mankind and Dick knew that he wasn’t strong enough to keep it up for long, but… but he had no idea what else to do.

Because the kid was seventeen and, from the looks of it, didn’t have many heats until now.

Dick could only imagine the look of disappointment on Alfred’s face if the butler ever heard about his grandson losing his head and – well, fucking his other grandson, because they were both idiots.

He wanted to blame the kid, he really really did. He wasn’t one of these assholes who blamed the omegas for their own harassment, he was smarter than that, knew that omegas could hardly help the way their bodies worked and there was way too many people willing to take advantage of them. As a policeman, he was doubtedly aware how rotten the world could be for some. He didn’t want to be one of these people, but… But was it an outreach to expect a certain degree of personal responsibility from others?

Dick sighed, breathing slowly though his nose, regretting that he didn't have the presence of mind to get a breather before he decided to lock the bedroom door in blind panic and confusion two hours ago. The air in the room was already heavy with biting sweetness of an adolescent heat and every breath was a fight to refuse the explicit invitation it carried. It was insane how difficult it was, even with all his training, to withstand temptation of an omega in heat.

Heat. Jesus.

He wanted to blame the kid, but he was too much of an honest bastard to ignore his own part in this shit-show – the part where he was the one who brought Jason to his old safe house.  

“Shh, come on, calm down.”

He was using one hand to keep the kid’s head in place at his own neck and the other was wound tightly around the surprisingly slender waist; he was  keeping the omega from moving too much and himself from slipping his hands lower, to where the strongest scent was coming from – Dick just knew the kid’s thighs were warm and slick. Jason knew it too and was doing his level best to make it happen, to direct Dick’s hands there, to find friction and more contact, no matter that they were already pressed front-to-front.

“Calm down, shhh,” Dick murmured in the lower register, in his alpha voice. He dared to stroke his hand through the dark tangled mane and cringed slightly when his light touch caused another high-pitched whine. “Shhh…”

He knew the kid was uncomfortable and there was not a part of Dick that didn’t regret it – Jason’s skin was oversensitive and keeping him bound was as close to torture as one could get. Omegas in heat needed to be surrounded by softness, they needed to be in a familiar environment marked by their own scent, with their pack members close at hand… for the heat to end without a hitch, they needed comfort above all else.

All Dick could offer was a bare room smelling of dust and strangers and a vague promise of safety. It wasn’t even remotely enough, he could smell the distress-scent raising off the boy in waves. It would be easier without the handcuffs, but… but it turned out that Jason was distressingly good at undressing others and very bad at fighting his base instincts.

He also had the filthiest mouth in the city. Dick always prided himself on having a good grasp on his reactions, but it took only three minutes of the kid propositioning him to get him from zero to teeth-achingly hard.

The gag was a makeshift effort, but it did the job.

It was not right, at all, but it was either this or leaving Jason alone and expecting a heat-deluded, sex-starved and highly trained escape artist not to run and let himself be fucked by the first alpha on the street…

Dick ground his teeth at the sole idea and a low growl started to push its way from the bottom in his throat. Jason stilled at the possessive sound, momentarily limp and quiet, panting against the alpha’s neck, and Dick was at once grateful and disgusted with himself. He had no right to the young omega, he had no right to make decisions for him... but there was a part of him that still considered himself a part of the pack – and above the new kid in all the ways being the first son suggested. Dick was first to join the family and now he had to take care of Jason, no matter their differences or the anger, or the rivalry…

It was so stupid, now – the idea of them being rivals for the place in the pack - when it was clear that Jason as an omega will never be a danger to Dick’s position. He might be Robin now, but – fucking Hell, what was Bruce thinking to give him Robin!? To send an omega on the streets to fight with the psychos populating Gotham and trust that fronting as an alpha will be enough to protect him!

Dick stroked a hand up and down the kid’s back, a sure, strong caress, partly to calm him down, partly as a response to his own distress at the idea. Jason arched into the touch, his bound wrists shifting, fingers stretching to touch Dick’s hand behind his back – Dick let him, allowed their fingers to tangle together and lowered his head to nudge Jason’s temple with his nose. A short, gentle scenting, the kind reserved for the family, it was enough for Jason to release a happy little whine.

God, the kid was so affection-starved it was heartbreaking.  

“It’s okay, Jay, it’s alright. I’m here, you’re safe.” He muttered little white lies, hoping for them to be enough – alongside his scent and touch – to make the heat more bearable, knowing it was only a half-measure. But the only other option was to give into his instincts and knot him, and that was something Dick wasn’t willing to do to either of them. No matter how his blood sang and how tight his trousers were getting, sex was out of question. He couldn't lay a finger on a kid that two days previously called him a “brother”.

Heh, he was such a fucking hypocrite, wasn’t he? To put so much stock into something that made him cringe from the get go, that made him so resentful towards the pup that dared to put himself on the same level… God, he was an idiot. He should be calling Bruce at the first whiff of slick! Great detective he is, really amazing, to miss something as vital about his successor as his goddamn secondary gender!

He was angry, yes, distracted by the new development, by Jason’s very presence, but that didn't mean that he could just stop paying attention and let the kid be dosed with an inducer by some asshole at the bar that also got tricked by the tough act. It took him altogether too long to notice that what was happening wasn’t an unplanned rut – an inconvenient thing to happen, sure, but not the end of the world. And it took Jason altogether too long to admit that his sudden fever, shivers and anxiety were the effects of drugs wreaking havoc in his body.

By then it was too late for anything else so Dick did the only thing that could save the kid from a cardiac arrest that was a very real possibility, because omega physiology was that ridiculously fragile – he slammed on the breaks, pushed Jason to the backseat of his car and preformed a textbook example of May’s Maneuver to force his body into a dry heat meant to flush the drugs out.

That’s where the problems started, because it has been over four hours and the dry heat looked well on its way to turn into a real one. Just his fucking luck!

Jason stirred again, slowly emerging out of the momentary haze and went back to trying to rutt against the alpha’s hip. Dick growled softly, not moving away – the omega needed to have at least some relief and their position allowed him for little movement as it was, pressed tightly together, with Dick’s leg between his bound ones to prevent escape. There wasn’t much he could do and soon enough even the simple movement exhausted him.

Jason whined again and Dick once more tried to shush him gently. He made a mistake of looking down and his stomach dropped when he saw the tears rolling down the flushed cheeks and gluing dark eyelashes together. Jason looked at him with painful yearning, eyes glossy with fever and tears, and for a while Dick got lost in trying to discern their colour. It was the kind of curious hazel that edged on green, with a thin stripe of yellow around the blown irises, and chips of blue thrown in here and there - if they looked this pretty in the gloomy shade of the bedroom, they had to look stunning in full light.

Uh oh, Grayson, a thought swam up from the depths of hormonal haze. Down boy, get a grip. It took him a full minute to realize how low his head dropped, how close his lips were to Jason's. Panicked, he attempted to move back, but just then Jason surged up and their foreheads met.

Dick froze. The omega closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, every breath ending in a tiny hitch, and Dick didn't dare to move. It was intimate, way too intimate; it was a demand for comfort form an omega in distress and his lungs seized on him. He couldn't move, because if he did, it would just escalate things, as his instincts demanded of him…

But then, wasn’t he trying to turn a river around with a stick? They were already far enough along and he was just deluding himself that it will end differently than what their nature demanded - after all, Dick already had his fingers inside of the omega, back in the car, already felt him soft and slick at his core as he struggled to stop what the older tried to cause… it was just delusion brought on by pride, wasn't it?

He was a stubborn bastard, they both were, Jason was also fighting the heat, Dick could see it clearly, the flood of hormones demanded things of him he wasn't comfortable doing. If he didn't fight, his scent could be so much harder to resist.

Dick rewarded the struggle with a slow nuzzle, rubbing his forehead gently against Jason's, nosing at his cheek with a low throaty rumble. Comfort - he kept telling himself. Comfort.

They just - they just needed to weather the first wave. Then it's all going to be okay. At least that's what he hoped for.

[dyde21]

Cafe Half-Caff 3: The Incident

Thank you everyone who enjoyed my previous chapter! I’m really loving this AU, and though I’m extremely busy, I try to write when I can. I will get to the prompts you sent in this weekend hopefully now that this chapter is finally done! Please enjoy!  One thing, I did a slight ret-con that I will edit chapter 1 soon. Percy still lives with his mom, his car being in the shop was the reason he was there early. Living with his mom is actually a pretty big detail with some new chapters I’m planning.   WIthout further ado, enjoy!

XxXxXxXxX

Percy headed up to the cafe, pausing just outside the door. He could hear the noise before he turned the corner. It was busy. The line for the registers stopped just inside of the door. It was far worse than the rush yesterday on his first day. Any confidence he has built up for this shift, suddenly vanished like a gust of wind.

Quickly sliding in the door, he managed to shimmy his way around the last customer in the line and tried to make a b-line for the break room. Passing Annabeth, he saw her offer him a strange smile that was a cross between a welcome and an apology.

Nodding, Percy quickly found the break room empty. Ditching all his spare stuff, he pulled off his hoodie and stuck on his name tag. Checking his phone one last time, he saw a text from his mom wishing him luck, and that he had a minute left before his shift officially began.

He quickly tied his apron around his waist as he ran a hand through his hair trying to mess it up a bit. Glancing at the small mirror in the room, he frowned, before he tried to comb it back. That looked worse. He quickly tried to mess up the hair again before he let out a sigh and moved towards the door. His hair was a lost cause, he wasn't sure why he tried. Quickly entering the pin he was given, he punched in and stepped out the door. Immediately the chaotic sounds of the cafe stepped up a few notches.

Immediately Annabeth waved him over, never looking away from the customer she was in the middle of assisting. As she finished the order she was slowly stepping away from the register, leaning forward awkwardly. With a final click, she finished the order and stepped back. “Hi. Welcome back. Hop on this register please? I'll help Piper with the machines, and when the lines are tame again I'll have you running orders.

Piper perked up at her name, turning her head momentarily to offer Percy a dazzling smile before turning back to her customer. Jason just nudged Percy with his foot as he continued helping customers.

Taking a deep breath, he turned back to his line and saw a young college girl there who was luckily still deciding on her order.

He quickly logged onto the kiosk with his number, and prepared to take her order. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself as he glanced over the long line that was waiting in front of him. He could do this. Glancing over, he saw Annabeth shoot him another supportive smile and he felt a surge of confidence. Looking back at the customers, he did his best to keep up with their orders.

As the first hour of his shift passed, Percy was amazed by how much money he had handled. It was still a little nerve wracking, dealing with the pressure of keeping up with Piper and Jason, while also handling change. He wouldn't know till the end of the night when they counted the till for sure, but he was pretty sure he hadn't messed up yet.

Percy wouldn't admit it openly, but he had actually spent the few days before his first shift practicing with his mom. Over dinner he had mentioned he was nervous about handling money, as none of his other jobs had really required it before. It had mostly just been him rambling, he always found it hard to keep stuff from his mom, but she had gone above and beyond like usual. When he had come back from skateboarding the next day, he had found her waiting with a mini till made up, with enough cash to practice. She gave him orders, and had him practice handing out change. Honestly, it really had made a difference.

Percy was never the best when it came to quick mental math, but he had gotten pretty quick at breaking down change thanks to her help. He was utterly convinced that he had the best mom in the world. Then again, it wasn't like that was a new fact to him. For as long as he could remember, it had just been his mother and himself. At least until Gabe had entered their life. Luckily, he was out of their lives now. So for the past few years it had just been him and his mother. She was why he had found this job.

When he had returned home yesterday after his first shift, she greeted him with a warm hug and a proud smile. She always had a way of giving him encouragement and staying positive, no matter what trouble found its way to him. That's why Percy wasn't too worried, if it meant keeping his mom happy, he could endure any job they'd let him keep.

Luckily though, despite the utter chaos of a packed cafe, Percy found things going pretty smoothly. The rest of the crew worked like a well oiled machine, Percy was honestly impressed. He had only had the chance to peek in the kitchen once, but he saw Frank and Leo working side by side as they worked through their orders, and Hazel was chatting happily with another girl in the back as they produced an impressively steady flow to sweets to keep stocked what was sold. The one time Percy was about to apologize for being out of chocolate croissants, Hazel had walked out of the back with a tray and offered them one with a warm smile. Trays were flying from the kitchen window as one of the morning guys delivered them from table to table swiftly.

Eventually though, the rush had slowed down ever so slightly so Annabeth told Percy to help deliver dishes, as they now had more people waiting for food than ordering coffee. Honestly, Percy found it more relaxing delivering food than taking orders. Most customers were easier to deal with when you're delivering the food they were waiting on, you're like a messenger from God to them.

Only getting the wrong table one or two times, Percy was considering the morning a solid success. He had managed to survive a busy morning yesterday, and an absolutely packed afternoon today. Surely, this was a sign that things were looking up.

Eventually, long after Percy had lost track of time, Annabeth had grabbed his shoulder and stopped him from grabbing another order.

“Percy! Take a break.” She said, wearing an amused smile. “It's good to see that you're such a hard worker, but you're long overdue for your break.” She explained. She nodded once in approval to herself. “I was worried about you having to jump into this rush, but you handled yourself well.” She praised, before reaching into her pocket. “But you might want this back.” She said, pulling out his name-tag and handing it to him.

His eyes widened as they flew to his chest, finding it empty. “When...”

Just laughing, Annabeth shrugged. “About half an hour ago. I saw it fall off, but you were too busy so I held onto it.”

“Ah! Uh... sorry. I didn't notice.” He said, flushing red slightly. Right when he thought he had his stuff together today, of course he screwed up something like this.

Annabeth just smirked. “Don't worry. Happens to the best of us. Now get something to eat and drink.”

Percy nodded, turning to walk away. “By the way, you might want to put your tag on right side up.” She offered, clearly holding back a laugh.

Hesitantly looking down, Percy saw he had indeed pinned his name-tag upside down. Clenching his jaw, his gaze shifted towards the door. Surely he wouldn't get in too much trouble if he just walked out the store and never came back, right? Deciding he couldn't lose yet another job, he just chewed on his lip as he refastened his name-tag. “Thank you.” He muttered in a small voice.

This caused Annabeth to laugh unrestrained as she just waved him off, stepping back to finish up some more drinks while she saw a defeated looking Percy go around the counter to stand in Piper's line.

Looking at the menu again, Percy did his best to relax. He was fine. He could practically hear his mother's encouraging words in his ears.

Everyone makes mistakes.

You only learn by failing.

You care far more about your mistakes than others do. If they can forgive you, why can't you?

Running a hand through his hair, he glanced at Piper who was just patiently looking at him with an amused smirk. “Good work today, you kept up, and it's only your second day. I'm impressed.”

Returning the smile, Percy shrugged. “You guys did all the work. I just pushed a few buttons.”

Piper nodded. “True, I am pretty awesome.” She said, before winking at him, earning a laugh from Percy. Seemingly satisfied by his smile, Piper shifted her weight. “So what'll you have?”

“Just a hot chocolate. And a chocolate croissant.”

Nodding, Piper moved to start making the drink. Standing there a bit awkwardly with his wallet in his hand, Percy just stared at Piper. Wasn't she going to ring him up?

Piper returned a minute later with the drink and croissant, quirking an eyebrow. “Don't you know the rules? One free drink, and one pastry a shift.” She said, handing him the stuff.

Percy turned to Annabeth, looking for confirmation.

Shaking her head, Annabeth pouted slightly. “That's not true. Piper just likes repeating that rule because she thinks it'll be true.”

Laughing, Piper nudged Annabeth in the side. “Please. I asked Chiron last time he visited. He says it's perfectly fine. Went on about how we “all work hard, and deserve a treat on the house.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. “Just take the snack and drink Percy. You earned it, and annoyingly, and unfortunately, Piper is probably right this time. Chiron would say that.”

Piper just beamed triumphantly. “She acts all proper, but she's had just as much coffee from here as the rest of us. Heaven forbid you have to open with her during midterms or finals before she's had her coffee. Poor Hazel almost didn't survive last time.” Piper said, bowing her head.

Flushing red slightly, Annabeth slapped Piper's shoulder. “That's not true!” Turning her head, she pouted. “Go on your break! You have 10 minutes left.” Annabeth scolded, clearly trying to hide her embarrassment.

All Percy could do was laugh as he thanked them both before finding an empty table to relax at for a moment. Closing his eyes, he sipped his drink as he let himself drift from the world for a moment. It was a little cliché, but the sounds of a busy cafe was really an oddly soothing background sound.

There was enough noise to avoid the quiet white noise, but not loud enough to feel overwhelming. There was the near constant clink of cups being set down, spoons hitting the side of teacups, the hiss and bubbling of the coffee machines back behind the counter. Above all that was the was constant chatter. Both the sound of the registers taking orders, and the various conversations being held by the patrons. Too many to properly listen to any individual one, but still isolated enough to pick up bits and pieces of a sentence here and there, before your focus shifted to an entire different conversation. Now Percy usually didn't dwell on stuff like this, he didn't often sit still, but this was just nice.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

Percy jumped as his eyes shot open and he saw a sheepish looking Annabeth across the table. “Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you.” She said, meeting his gaze for a moment before hers flicked off to the side somewhere.

“S'okay.” Was all he said, finally returning his heartbeat to healthy levels. Though, he found whenever he talked to Annabeth it always seemed to beat just a little bit faster.

Coughing nervously, Annabeth fidgeted with her hands. “I didn't mean to interrupt. You just had an... interesting look on your face, so I got curious.” She paused. “Which I ruined by interrupting you.” She continued, bowing her head. “Sorry. I'll go now.” She muttered.

“Wait!” Percy said, leaning forward. “You don't need to.” He muttered, desperately fighting the blush creeping up his neck. “It's fine. I enjoy the company.”

Annabeth regarded him with an expression he couldn't understand, but he thought it looked a little warm.

“I take it you're found out the joys of cafe ambiance? I actually like studying here, it helps me focus.” Annabeth offered, hoping to leave the awkward tension behind.

Percy nodded. “I can see what you mean. I might have to try it sometime.” He said with a noncommittal shrug. “It's just all the chatter I think, it's like the ocean.” He said absent mindedly.

After a moment, he looked over to see Annabeth regarding him with a confused expression. Realizing what he had just said, he struggled to figure out how to explain. “I mean.. it's the conversations, you know? Like, with everyone talk you can't focus on any one conversation. Your attention is constantly pushed and pulled in all these different directions, kinda like the waves in the ocean. It's nice to just let it move you around and go with the flow. It let's you stop thinking and just relax.” He offered, trailing off at the end. There was no way that made any sense. Scratching the back of his neck nervously, he managed to glance up at Annabeth. Once again she was staring with an expression he couldn't quite figure out. It was almost like she was trying to solve a problem by looking at him.

“That... made a lot of sense.” She said after what felt like an eternity. “I never thought of it that way.” She offered, still studying him.

Shrinking back slightly, he found he couldn't meet her gaze. It was too intense to look at properly. “I haven't really either. It just kind of came to me. That's how I see it. At least, I think. Maybe I've just spent too much time in the ocean.” He back-peddled slightly.

Annabeth laughed. “Why am I not surprised that you've spent a lot of time in the ocean.”

The grin was impossible to suppress as Percy shrugged. “My mom always says it's because I always look like I want to go surfing. Apparently I got that from my dad. It's kinda true though.”

Laughing again, Annabeth nodded. “I can see that.”

Quirking an eyebrow, Percy saw her start to fidget with her hands. “I take it you're close to your mom?”

Once again felt that annoying blush creeping onto his face. “Uh, yeah. My dad left when I was young. So it's just been the two of us. At least aside from the time with Gabe.” He confessed, before he realized she had no idea who he was talking about thankfully. Coughing once, he tried to compose himself again. She didn't need, or probably want, to hear his life story. “Anyway, yeah I'm close with my mom. Still living with her.”

Annabeth was just resting her chin on her palm as she leaned forward, watching him and clearly listening with a lazy smirk. “That's actually really sweet. I'm a bit jealous.” He could practically see the curiosity she was hiding, he figured she had picked up on the name Gabe and was curious, but that would be a conversation for another day. He wasn't exactly one to air all his dirty laundry so easily.

“I'm sorry to hear about your dad. A similar thing happened with my mom. I only get a letter once or twice a year.” She said gently.

Percy's gaze shifted back to her as he studied her for a moment. He wasn't quite sure what he thought her home life had been like, but this wasn't it. Someone as smart and confident as she was? He would have guessed she had an easy upbringing, but it didn't sound like that.

Percy just nodded once, he knew that hollow words like “I'm sorry” and “That's awful” didn't mean much. Sure the sentiment was sweet, and appreciated, but they weren't kids. It was the hand they had been dealt in life, and it was their job to deal with it.

As the air between them became heavy, he noticed a familiar pair enter the shop. Both Ashe and Tyler paused to wave at Percy and Annabeth. Ashe then leaned over and said something Percy couldn't hear that made Tyler laugh and nudge her side, while she snickered and winked at Percy. Shaking his head with a small smile, Percy turned his attention back to the rest of the shop.

Looking around, he saw Jason and Piper sharing some remark as Piper made a drink next to him. Through the window in the back, Percy could see Leo dancing around the kitchen, and frank working on a stove while Hazel leaned against the wall next to him chatting happily. Looking back at Annabeth, he couldn't help the small grin that crept on his face. “It looks like you found a pretty big family here though. Everyone seems close.” Percy offered.

Looking at him for a moment, before looking at the rest of her staff, before she turned back to Percy. “We found a family, you mean.”

Percy was confused for a moment. Then Annabeth flashed him a smile that made his heart explode. “You're a part of this family now too. Don't forget that.”

Percy's jaw dropped for a moment, as he felt a warmth slowly spread throughout his body. Glancing over, he saw Piper give him a wink as Jason smirked. Slowly closing his mouth, Percy nodded, finding words failing him. “I'm glad.”

Annabeth downed the rest of her drink, finishing off the last bite of her doughnut before she just smirked. “So am I. Now come on, breaks over. Looks like things are picking up again.” She offered, before she tossed the remains of her snack and hopped behind the counter again.

Scrambling to clean up his own mess, he quickly hurried back to the counter. He felt refreshed and ready for another stretch of work.

For the most part, it was pretty enjoyable. Time flew quickly, he was getting the hang of orders, which table was where, and was better about paying attention to keep track who ordered what. Riding a bit of a high, he was pretty sure the rest of his shift would pass quickly. He wouldn't dare admit it, but he was actually starting to feel a bit confident in himself again. Maybe he would be able to manage actually do pretty well here.

At least, that was how he had been feeling until everything spiraled out of control.

Looking back on it, Percy probably should have been a little more nervous when he saw the girl motion towards him. Most customers hardly paid him any attention. They were polite when they had to interact, most left a tip, and a few just utterly ignored him. None had really gone out of their way to speak with him so far though.

Perhaps a bit naively, Percy had quickly made his way over to her. It was a young woman, must have been around her early twenties by his guess.

“How can I help you?” He asked politely, flashing her the best salesman smile he could muster.

“Did you make this?” Her voice was chillingly cold.

Immediately Percy felt his throat feel dry. It was abundantly clear that she was not happy. “I'm afraid I didn't. Is there something wrong with it?” He asked, attempting to keep his tone friendly and light-hearted.

“It tastes like SHIT. How could you serve me something like this?” She said, setting the cup down rather forcefully on the table.

Eyes widening, Percy tried to keep his smile on his face. “I'm very sorry for that. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to make you a replacement. May I ask what you had?” He said, racking his brain to try and remember the brief suggestions Reyna had given him on how to deal with angry customers.

The girl stood up, causing Percy to take a step back. “Judging by the taste of it, I ordered sugary toilet water. I want my money back, and a free drink.”

Percy's heart was racing now. Normally he was used to getting in trouble for something he caused. He was better about dealing with being scolded for stuff he deserved, but he was pretty sure he hadn't even taken her order. Jason had, and Piper had made it. He also seriously doubted that Piper would have served something that tasted like “sugary toilet water”. Everything that he had tried that she had made tasted absolutely wonderful. Percy also was vaguely aware of the chatter around them dying down as the girl seemed to get angrier and angrier.

“I'm not sure if we can refund you. Let me get my ma-”

“Excuse me!?” The woman butted in. “I said I want my money back. What kind of customer service is this?” She asked, her voice raising louder and louder as she silenced the rest of the cafe.

Practically dying on the inside, Percy once again tried to come up with something.

“If you let me know what you ordered I'll get a replacement started while we figure out the-” He was cut off as a scorching drink was splashed all over him.

“Why don't you try and figure it out yourself.”

Percy just stood there, the front of his shirt soaked as the drink dripped down his face and from his hair. He was utterly shocked, he couldn't process much other than the fact that it was really hot, but luckily didn't seem hot enough to actually burn him.

The entire cafe had turned dead silent, aside from a few shocked gasps. The sound of silverware clattered as Percy saw Ashe suddenly stand up across the cafe, only to have her arm caught by Tyler who kept her in place.

Raising a shaking hand, Percy wiped off some of the drink from his face. He felt his temper raising in him, but it was suppressed by a wave of shock and disbelief. “I'm afraid I need to ask you to le-”

*smack*

Percy's cheek was now burning red, as he just stared off to the side. Tears threatened the corner of his eyes as he stepped back. A whirlwind of humiliation, anger, frustration, and pain was swirling around him.

“What did you say to m-”

“Percy!” Annabeth's voice cut in as she stormed across the cafe. She was downright furious. She turned to the customer, fist clenched like she was about to throw out a blow much stronger than a slap. “You have 10 seconds to leave, and we might not call the cops.”

The girl was about to say something else, but Jason and Frank stormed up behind Annabeth. Jason stood tall, arms crossed and eyes furious, while Frank flanked the other side. The massive guy seemed to intimidate the girl enough and she just scoffed and stormed out of the cafe.

Meanwhile, Piper had pulled Percy aside and was dabbing at him with a clean cloth as she tried to get as much of the drink off him as she could, muttering repeated apologies. Percy just sat there quietly, trying to hold back the ever-so-annoying tears that threatened his eyes again. “I'm fine.” He muttered out in a shaky voice.

In the background, Percy saw Ashe break from from Tyler's grip and storm outside of the cafe, eyes blazing.

After a moment the cafe seemed to return to life as the sounds of conversation picked up as Percy was lead to the back break room. He just stared silently ahead of him as Piper went to look for a proper towel somewhere.

The adrenaline was starting to leave his body and he let out a shaky breath. Closing his eyes, he tried to figure out how he could possibly talk his way out of this.

“Percy!” Annabeth's voice snapped him from his thoughts as she entered the backroom, squatting down as she tried to examine him as he sat. “Are you okay? God, that drink must have been burning. We're lucky it wasn't hot enough to leave burns.” She fretted, hands hovering like she wanted to help in some way but couldn't find one.

“I'm okay.” He repeated, unsure of who he was talking to. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tried to reign in his emotions. Too many thoughts, emotions, feelings, and desires all flew around his head. He wasn't sure if he wanted to scream, cry, smash a wall, or quit.

A moment later the door opened and Piper walked to see Annabeth looking worried as Percy had his head in his hands. Offering her the towel, Piper just offered a sympathetic smile to Percy. “We'll keep the front running. Just... take your time.” She told both of them before patting Percy on the shoulder once before she vanished back to the front of the shop.

Grabbing the towel, Annabeth gently rested it over Percy's head before she began to towel it off, trying to get all the coffee out of his hair. Luckily it had mostly been his front that had been soaked, but she couldn't stop the bile she felt in her chest.

“I'm sorry Percy, I guess your warning about bad luck is true. We haven't had a customer like that since I've started working here.” She offered.

Feeling the towel around his head, Percy to admit it helped. The pseudo-massage helped ease the tension. “It's okay.” He repeated, still not able to properly form a sentence.

Percy was used to angry people, between Gabe and the scuffles he had a habit of getting into, or at least had gotten into, it wasn't new. He was even kind of used to being embarrassed because of his horrible luck. The event had just been so unexpected, it had caught him off guard. A tear or two might of escaped him, but he'd never admit it. Any trace of them had been toweled off by Annabeth's help.

Pulling back after a moment, he saw her apologetic look.

That's when it struck him. He knew what was coming. That smile was the same smile he had seen a bunch before. About five times this year actually. It was the smile of someone who was about to deliver bad news they didn't want to give. Nodding his head, Percy was pretty sure that was to be expected. With the way this day was going, it only made sense that he'd lose his job. He was pretty sure he probably royally screwed up trying to talk to the customer. Surely it was his fault that things had escalated so much.

“Percy...” Annabeth started, clearly struggling to find words of her own.

Honestly, Percy wished she would have kept her sort of blunt honesty he had come to expect from her. He just wanted to hear the words, so he could go home, tell his mom he screwed up again, and figure out how to move on from there.

Pausing, his mom's face flashed in his mind. Her gentle smile hiding the disappointment he knew she felt every time he had come home after being fired. Her endless positivity trying to mask her disappointment for his sake. Clenching his fists, he knew he couldn't give her that news again. He couldn't lose this job. He didn't want to lose this job. Out of all the jobs he had gotten, he was actually really excited for this one. Then he had gone and blown it with the first angry customer he dealt with.

“Percy, I'm really really sorry this happened but-”

“Annabeth.” He spoke up suddenly. He had to make his case. He'd do anything to keep this job. He looked up at her, seeing her worried expression. It was one he hadn't really seen on her before, and he realized he really didn't like seeing it on her. “Annabeth. I know I screwed up. I know I should have gotten you faster, or stepped away, or something. I don't know. I just know I really need this job. I can't disappoint my mom again. Please, give me another chance. I promise I'll learn! I'll do better. Anything. Just... don't make me go home with bad news again.” He finished his plea, carefully studying her expression.

It was just... confusion.

“Percy...” She started, pausing as if she was utterly baffled by something. “You're not quitting?”

Percy looked up shocked. “What?”

“What?” Annabeth echoed, equally shocked.

“No! Of course not! I... what?” Percy fumbled again.

Annabeth just let out a massive sigh of relief, her shoulders visibly relaxing like a massive weight had been lifted off of them. “You aren't quitting.” She repeated to herself, chuckling slightly. “I was trying to come up with some speech to keep you around. I figured after being yelled at, having hot coffee spilled on you, then being slapped on your second day you would surely quit. I might not have even blamed you.” She confessed. “Really though, that is not common here. Most of our customers are great.” Annabeth took out and fixed her ponytail nervously.

Percy let out a sigh of relief this time. “I'm not being fired.” He muttered, leaning back in the chair as once again a rush of adrenaline left his system. His job was safe.

Annabeth cocked a hip as she studied him. “You're weird. You were assaulted by a customer verbally, physically, and caffinically, and you think you're in trouble. Most people would have been tearing up the break room in anger. I know I would have been.” She confessed.

With a lop sided smile, Percy shrugged. “I was pretty angry. But... it was just a lot to process. I guess the surprise kinda overruled it.” He confessed, being a bit lame.

Annabeth just shrugged. “It's a good thing it did. You did everything right. If you had retaliated, then there would have been some trouble...” She offered.

There was a beat, before she hung her head. “I'm sorry though. It's my job to prevent situations like this, to deal with customers like that. By the time Piper had gotten me from the office, she had already hit you. I dropped the ball.” She muttered, looking uncharacteristically shy and nervous. Percy had a feeling she wasn't used to feeling like a failure.

“It's okay!” He said a little too quickly. “Neither of us did anything wrong I guess.”

Annabeth nodded. Regarding him for a moment, she frowned. “Would you like to go home? After all... that.” She said making a vague gesture with her hands. “I wouldn't blame you. I can explain it to Chiron.”

Standing up Percy shook his head. “I'll be fine.” He offered. It was true. Talking with Annabeth had helped more than he thought. His nerves were gone, and he felt back at peace.

Gray eyes studied him carefully, as if they were studying every possible detail about him. Percy was glad he wasn't lying, because he was pretty sure she would have just seen through it if he had been. “Well still, it's time for your lunch. Take thirty minutes.” She finally decided, before moving over to a locker. Fishing around inside of it for a moment, she pulled out a shirt and tossed it to him. “Here, your current shirt is soaked. Just keep it, it's always good to have a spare anyway.

Smiling gratefully, Percy held the shirt. “Thank you Annabeth.”

He wasn't sure, but he swore he saw her cheeks tint just the slightest bit pink. “Anytime.” Was her reply before she gave him once last once over before she went back to work.

Staring down at the shirt for a moment, Percy just took a deep breath. Everything would be okay.

Moving towards the bathroom, he quickly changed his shirt and tried to wash some of the coffee off his arms and face. Satisfied that he had done the best he can, he grabbed the lunch his mom had prepared him before he moved towards one of the tables in the cafe that was out of the way.

During his lunch, Percy had realized he really did like the crew here. All of them had taken the time to check in on him, which both flattered him and made him a little embarrassed. He was a young man, not a kid. He could move past a customer being rude to him. Piper had been first, taking a moment during her break to walk over. She checked him over for any signs of burns, before she chatted him up a bit, managing to have him laughing. Seemingly satisfied, she had gone back shortly before Jason had wandered over. Jason had asked how he was doing, then their conversation had switch to the upcoming sports events at their school. Jason didn't look at him like he was a fragile kid, which he appreciated. Jason understood. He had a rough day, he'd shrug it off and keep moving forward.

Frank and Hazel had been next. Hazel had brought him another treat, insisting she had made it for him and that it had nothing to do with the store. Percy wasn't convinced, but he appreciated the gesture and took the croissant with a smile. Frank had been a little quiet, but was glad to see Percy doing okay. He had also mentioned something about calling him if things got difficult. His job was also to partially keep the store safe as a kind of unofficial security. It only took someone one glance to figure out why. Frank was surprisingly built. A military brat, Percy still hadn't talk to Frank too much but he knew he was incredibly kind.

Leo had been the last of them to show up. He was drinking something from a coffee cup with no label on it. Leo was in the middle of drinking some strange concoction that reeked of caffeine. Their conversation had been a bit hard for Percy to follow, talking about a variety of topics, but it was true that Leo's smiles were infectious. Before long Percy was smiling and laughing along with him, at least until Annabeth had called Leo to get back work.

Some of the rest of the crew had also taken time to check on him.

Honestly feeling rather moved, by the time his lunch was over he was in high spirits again. Compared to the first half of his shift, the rest of his shift had been quiet. Almost painfully quiet. Ashe and Tyler had stopped him on her way out to offer their apologies, and mention that Ashe had scared the utter crap out of the lady after she had left, and that she wouldn't be a problem again.

As he was leaving Annabeth had stopped him. She leaned against the door to the break room with a soft smile. “Thank you for sticking around today. After such a difficult day for your second, sticking around and working as hard as you did really says something about your character.” She praised.

Nodding, Percy really couldn't find appropriate words to thank her with.

“We'll teach you closing in one of your next shifts. Now get some rest.” She said with a smile, a wink, and a small wave before she vanished to go back to the registers.

After saying his goodbyes, Percy had quickly made his way home. He had only made it a few steps before Sally had given him a big hug, then immediately realized something was wrong.

A bribe with a few blue cookies later, and Percy had recounted all that had happened for her. Sally's face had darkened when he explained the incident, but she had just pulled him into a tight hug, talking about how proud of him she was for him keeping his cool, and sticking out the shift.

Percy had just hugged her back, feeling the tears once again attacking his eyes. His mom was never shy about being supportive of him, but hearing her say she was proud made the whole day worth it.

Here they were now, both bundled up in their own blankets on the couch as they watched a Disney movie and split a bag of popcorn. Percy felt like a kid, but he couldn't be happier.

Of course his mom had steered their conversation towards this mysterious girl “Annabeth” a few times, but Percy thought he did a pretty good job at avoiding the question.

Percy certainly had a lot on his mind, but at the moment he was just happy to have the second day under his belt. There was certainly a lot he had left to learn about that place. He wasn't quite ready to admit to himself yet, but he was pretty sure a certain blonde there was at the top of the list to him.

XxXxXxXxX

Thank you for reading! There is A LOT left of this story planned in my head, and new chapters are always being added. Until next time! 

[chelsorz07]

i wonder how many of these i’ve done multiple times

2011/2018

So be honest, do you have a girl? as a matter of fact i do not. I mean, no? Unless girl kitties count. Then I have two.

If your best friend needed somewhere to stay could they live with you? if it were up to me, absolutely. She has two separate times and I wish she still did.

Your mom kicks you out, who do you call? i wouldn't really have anywhere to go. I haven’t lived with my mom since the last time I did this survey. 

Is confidence cute? to a certain extent. Yeah, till it crosses over into arrogance.

Are you a jealous person? no. well kind of. a little bit of jealousy shows you care but it gets to a point where it becomes controlling, and i've been on the receiving end of that so i'd never want to cross that line. You betcha.

Do you enjoy facebook? evidently. I don’t enjoy it but I can’t stop.

Have you ever been led on? sure. Most of my life.

Do you think someone is thinking about you right now? highly doubtful. Maybe.

Will your next kiss be a mistake? couldn't tell ya. It will not.

Is there anybody you wish you could be spending time with right now? oh yeah. Several people. Sadly, this is where life has trapped me for the time being.

Have you ever kissed anyone whose name started with an A? no. I still think no.

Is love really a beautiful thing? i wouldn't know. all it's done is hurt me. It has the potential to be.

Do you think you will be in a relationship three months from now? probably not. I’d like to hope so.

Who should start the kiss, the girl or the guy? doesn't matter. Really does not matter.

Are you listening to music right now? nope. watching teen mom 2. I am watching the ID channel but it’s on mute because I was also just watching youtube videos.

Is there anyone you wish was still in your life? yeah. Not so much still in my life, just a bigger part of it.

Have you ever changed clothes in a vehicle? who hasn't. A few times.

Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? not everyone. no way. Only people who’ve earned it.

Do you feel like anyone is playing mind games with you right now? i feel like there's always someone doing just that. Probably but what can you do.

Have you ever told someone you hated them and meant it? at the time yes. but i'm over it. the past is the past. I guess but mostly I’d have to care to hate someone.

Think to the last person you kissed, have you ever kissed them on the ground?no. Hehehe...yes.

Last person you kissed calls you, what are they calling for? better be to apologize for being a dick and lying to me for the past six months. If he’s calling and not texting, then something is wrong.

Has someone of the opposite sex ever told you that you're beautiful? yeah. I get told I’m beautiful all the time. I only believe it maybe 60% of the time.

Have you ever walked around your house pretending you were on cribs, talking to yourself? haha i don't pretend i'm on cribs, but i do talk to myself. I’m always alone so I’m constantly talking to myself. Or the cats.

If someone liked you right now, would you want them to tell you yes. They could tell me all they wanted but it wouldn’t change the fact that I’m married.

Is there someone you don't ever want to be out of your life? many someones. I’d prefer it if everyone that’s in my life stayed there.

Are you generally a happy person? ehh. Nope.

Explain what triggered your last kiss? um...we wanted to? idk. Dave was leaving for work so he kissed me goodbye.

Have a best friend? i do. Two.

What color are your eyes? hazel. More green.

Have you ever fallen asleep in someone's arms? yeah...i miss it. I have a hard time sleeping in any situation but yes.

When was the last time you threw up? this afternoon. Um...threw up in my mouth probably like a week and a half ago. Actually vomited, not sure. Sometime in the past three months.

Have you ever been to another country? canada. Canada doesn’t count.

Have you bought any new clothing items this week? yep. some penn state sweatpants for me and a shirt for randa. Not clothes. I’ve bought makeup, food, and the new Jason Manns cd.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? greece. Still Greece. And Ireland.

Do you have a tan? not remotely. I haven’t had a tan since like Warped Tour 2013.

Are you someone's best friend? i am! I am two people’s best friend.

What are you doing tomorrow? working out, then just plain working. possibly blowing shit up afterwards. Tomorrow as in Saturday because I’m still up so to me it’s still Friday, I’m going to clean the house and continue to watch the ID channel. Actual tomorrow as in Sunday I’m gonna hang out with Faith and make her a gluten free version of my favorite meal. Probably get her addicted to Safiya Nygaard because they’re so similar it’s scary.

Is anyone jealous of you? there's nothing to be jealous of. Probably about some minor things.

[dorkydemigod]

Once Upon a Dream

in which Annabeth was dared to kiss a green-eyed stranger just when the fireworks start

Words: 2,142

Warnings: None.

               She’s going to regret this.

               Annabeth is so going to regret this.

               She’s in Disneyland with her friends, it’s night time, the fireworks are just about to start, and she did the stupid mistake of telling Piper that she’s always wanted to kiss someone in Disneyland with fireworks and Cinderella’s castle in the background.

               So now Piper dared her to do exactly that – kiss someone just when the fireworks start. And if there’s one thing Annabeth hates even more than doing dares, it’s backing out of them.

               To make matters worse, Piper gets to choose which guy Annabeth gets to ask (and kiss). It’s not that Piper has bad taste in men – it’s just that Piper, well. She’s Piper.

               She is so going to regret this.

               “Piper, I –“

               “I know you’re not backing out of this, Annabeth. I know you. Right, Jason? Annabeth won’t be backing out of this. Right?” Piper turned to her boyfriend, smiling sweetly enough to scare him.

               “Uh, yeah,” he scratches the back of his neck, trying to avoid Annabeth’s glare. “Annabeth doesn’t back down.” He shoots her an apologetic look before looking away once more.

               “What’s happening here?” Leo walks up next to Annabeth with a curious glimmer in his eye, licking a Mickey-shaped popsicle.

               “Annabeth dreams of kissing someone in Disneyland and we’re going to help her fulfill that.” Piper beams, practically jumping up and down out of excitement. She starts to sings Once Upon a Dream, which Annabeth doesn’t really deem appropriate for the situation.

               “Well, you can always kiss me, Annabeth.” He spreads his arms wide open, smiling brightly and wagging his eyebrows up and down, his popsicle melting and dripping to the floor.

               Before Annabeth can even think of where to hit him – stomach or groin – Piper butts in. “She’ll only be kissing a stranger, Leo, and besides – I already know who it’ll be.”

               All eyes turn to her and Piper smirks in response. “Him.” She turns slightly to her left and, as subtle as possible, points to a guy. Annabeth’s gray eyes follow Piper’s finger and she finds herself looking at a black haired guy wearing a blue hoodie, laughing with his friends. Oh, and he’s wearing a Nemo hat.

               “The one with the Nemo hat?” Annabeth asks just to make sure she and Piper were seeing the same guy. The look in Piper’s eyes answered her question. “Are you sure?” Annabeth doesn’t get nervous often but, well, asking a complete stranger to kiss her is something to be nervous about.

               “Too chicken?” she has the gall to smirk, looking triumphant. “Come on, Annabeth. He looks like a nice guy, and he’s pretty okay – slightly unimpressive but he seems like your type.” She shrugs. Annabeth tries not to feel offended. “Besides, the Nemo hat is cute.”

               “Yeah, Annabeth – the dude looks decent. He’s even smiling and he has friends so I’m sure he’s no axe murderer.” Leo adds, not really helping in convincing Annabeth.

               “You’ve got, like, less than 5 minutes before the fireworks start. You got to approach him now.” Piper continues, already pushing Annabeth towards the guy and his friends. Leo joins in. Jason, well. Jason’s already walking away, trying not to be seen with them. Piper is humming to Once Upon a Dream, and Annabeth would have strangled her if she wasn’t struggling from her friends pushing her.

               “Wait, guys, come on. Wait, give me a sec –“ she stops talking when she bumps into someone’s chest (it was a hard, broad chest, Annabeth noticed).  She hears the scurrying of footsteps and the hands pressing onto her back disappeared. Great.

               “Oh, sorry.” The guy says, looking at Annabeth with curiosity. She feels her face burn – this is not how she wants her night to go. “Was I in the way?”

               “No, no. My friends, they were pushing me and –“ Annabeth turns to find her friends all gone, although she’s certain they’re out there somewhere, looking at her. She runs a hand through her blonde hair and sighs, ignoring the guy’s look of confusion. “Hi, I’m Annabeth.” She smiles brightly, offering her hand for him to shake.

               To say that the guy is confused is an understatement. He reluctantly shakes her hand, eyebrows scrunched up together, and Annabeth can’t help but notice that the entire sea was trapped in his eyes – she’s slightly entranced by it, but only slightly. “Percy. Hi.”

               Annabeth likes the name – it was unique. Different. She repeats it in her mind until she realizes that she was taking too long to continue the conversation. “Yeah, okay, so can I, uh, talk to you? For just a while.” She glances at Percy’s friends, who have been silently watching their encounter, then back at Percy. “Just us.”

               “Uh, sure.” He’s still confused, Annabeth can’t blame him. Who wouldn’t be? “Frank, Hazel, Grover, do you mind, uh, leaving us for a while?”

               His friends oblige, just as confused as he is, and one of them – she thinks his name is Grover (he looked like a Grover) – grabbed Percy’s Nemo hat off his head and walks away. Percy didn’t even have time to react before his friends were gone.

               “I liked your hat.” Annabeth lamely attempts conversation. Very lamely. She internally flinched.

               Is it possible for this man to look even more confused? Not that she can blame him – this whole thing is very perplexing. “Thanks. What do you want?”

               “Okay, I understand if you’d want to run away. I would, if I were you, but, see, my friends sort of dared me to kiss someone when the fireworks start and they chose you to be the one I kiss so now here I am, asking if I could kiss you.” She says all this without stopping for air, the words merging together that she fears she has to repeat herself. She doesn’t want to say that sentence ever again in her entire life.

               “W-what? Fireworks? Kissing? Me?” His response may seem stupid, but for once, Annabeth isn’t judging. She can see where he’s coming from – hell, she put him in this situation. Besides, if there’s a better word to describe Percy other than confused, Annabeth would be using it.

               She lifts her hands up, palms facing Percy, in an attempt to calm him down. “Yes, I know it seems crazy, and I’d understand if you’d say no to it but, see, I really don’t like backing out of dares. It’s a pride thing.”

               Percy takes a couple of seconds before answering. “Sure.”

               She nearly chokes on her own saliva. “S-sure?” Did she hear that right? He’s agreeing to this stupidity?

               He blushes, and Annabeth thinks it’s cute. He’s embarrassed about it too, at least. “Yeah, sure. I wouldn’t mind kissing you.” His eyes widen when he says this, and if it’s possible for his cheeks to redden even more, they did. “Wait, no, that wasn’t what I meant. No, I mean, kissing you would be great, I’m sure, but what I mean is that –“

               Annabeth’s laugh shuts him up, and he eventually laughs, too. The whole situation is funny; if you can look past the awkwardness, that is. “It’s okay, Percy. I know what you meant. I think.”

               “Yeah.” He breathed out, running a hand through his hair. He stares a bit too long into Annabeth’s eyes before blinking himself out of his seemingly daze. Annabeth snaps out of it, too. He turns to look at Cinderella’s castle, and she follows his gaze.

               “We’ve got around a minute before the fireworks start.” Annabeth tries to go for casual but the nervousness in her voice can’t be hidden.

               Percy glances at her before answering. “Yeah, maybe we should uh, get in position?” She can see him physically wince at his word choice. Annabeth hides a smile. He turns towards her, and she mimics his movement. They face each other, only inches apart. She thinks she hears him gulp.

              Percy gingerly holds on to Annabeth’s wrist and moves her arms so that they encircle his neck. “Is this, uhm, okay?”

               “Yeah.” Breathing suddenly seems like a difficult task. She isn’t sure why. It’s just a stupid kiss. (A stupid kiss with a cute boy, but a stupid kiss still.)

               He nods before wrapping his arms around Annabeth’s waist tentatively. On instinct, she tiptoes so that they’re lips can meet easily, and she tightens her hold around his neck slightly. Percy tenses in response.

               “I guess that’s okay, too?”

               Her face heats up and she curses Disneyland for the bright lights they placed around – surely, her face is as red as a tomato, and Percy can see it clearly. “Yeah, it is.”

               “Awesome.”

               They stay like that for 6 seconds (Annabeth isn’t counting. Nope) before both decide that looking at Cinderella’s castle would be a lot less awkward than looking into each other’s eyes.

               “You think it’s going to start soon?” Percy asks, his voice quiet, contrasting against the noise of the crowd around them.

               “Excited?” She teases, not thinking it through, regretting it instantly.

               He pauses for a while then looks back at her. There’s a small, shy smile on his lips, and Annabeth’s overcome with an urge to kiss it. Soon, she thinks. “Yeah, I am.”

               Her breath catches in her throat and she forgets to breathe just when the fireworks start. Percy stares in awe for a split second before lowering his lips slowly down to hers. Annabeth didn’t respond at first, slightly in shock, but then she’s moving her lips against the soft ones that belong to boy with the sea green eyes.

               She can taste chocolate chip. He must have had a cookie recently.

               They continue to kiss, Percy’s arms tightening around her waist, slightly lifting her up. Annabeth’s toes are on their very edge, her wanting to be as close to him as possible. One arm is firmly locked around his neck while her other hand is running through his black hair.

               God, his hair is soft.

               She’s kissing a total stranger and she’s enjoying it. It seems wrong but, god, she doesn’t want to stop.

               It’s been a couple seconds and they still haven’t pulled away. Their eyes are closed, but they can see a flash go off, directed right at them. The fireworks are still ongoing, but the flash certainly came from a camera. Both of them pause, eyes open, glancing to their side.

               There, a few steps away from them, stands Leo, a camera in one hand, and a goofy smile on his face.

               “Say cheese, you lovebirds.” He takes another picture, and Percy and Annabeth blink a couple times after the flash goes off again. Behind him are Piper and Jason, the former subtly singing “I know you / I walked with you once upon a dream” – making sure to wink at Annabeth whilst doing so – while the latter is grinning widely, as well as Percy’s friends, Frank, Hazel, and Grover, who were smiling with only a hint of confusion in their eyes.

               “Leo!” Annabeth’s lips pull away from Percy and she swears she hears him groan a little. She unlatches herself from him, and he reluctantly unwrap his arms around her. “Quit it!”

               “Sorry, were you enjoying yourself, Chase?” He smirks at her, wagging his eyebrows just like before. He takes another picture. “Go on then, sorry to disturb you both.” He winks at them before he turns to leave, their friends following after him.

               Annabeth and Percy remain silent for a few seconds, faces red, looking anywhere but at each other. She thinks about what could happen next, and it always ends up with them parting ways. She just had one of the most amazing moments in her life, with a cute boy nonetheless, and she realizes that she might never get to see this boy again. She tries to think of ways to not let that happen.

               “So,” It’s Percy who breaks the silence. “That was good.”

               “Yeah,” She clears her throat. “It was. Thanks.”

               Thanks? Did she just say thanks? Somebody please, kill her now.

               “My pleasure.” Percy answers instinctively and his face reddens. “I mean, you’re welcome.”

               Annabeth lets out a short laugh. The conversation is back where it started: awkward. She ransacks her brain for something that will break the tension, but, once again, it’s Percy who speaks up.

               “So, our friends sort of left us behind.” He’s rubbing the back of his neck, one hand in his pocket. “I’m getting sort of hungry. Want to grab a bite with me?”

               The smile on Annabeth’s face is too wide to be normal in this situation, but she doesn’t care. She just kissed a random stranger – the whole thing isn’t normal at all.

               “Sure.” she says and Percy grabs her hand and starts leading the way.

               Turns out, Annabeth isn’t regretting this after all.

[crisscolferfanforever]

10.6 LGBTQP

Jock

10.6

LGBTQAP

Written by smoothie smith 

Fade In: we see Albert and Zach fighting still we see hazel and Luke coming to break up

Luke putting his hands in

Hazel

“stop”

Albert looks at his best friend and leaves

We see Zach leaving the sense as Luke and hazel walking

Luke (signing)

“what the fuck is going on “

Hazel looks at him

Hazel (signing)

“albert is still emotional after what happen “

Luke stops her

Luke (signing)

“why is he lashing out them he knows Zach is his best friend “

Hazel (sign)

“so, your saying we should have them talk one on one”

Luke (sign)

“yes”

Hazel walks to the gym lobby with Luke

Hazel (sign)

“let me talk with my father and Dr. Olivet ok I know but I just don’t want a fight to break out”

Luke (sign)

“understand “

Hazel starts to leave

Luke gets hazel attention as she looks at him

Luke (signing)

“you don’t suppose this has to do with both men “

Hazel (sign)

“for some reason, I believe it is “

They kiss on the cheek

Luke (sign)

“I will see you at the center “

Luke leaves as hazel goes to the locker room ready for practice

Fade out

Fade in: we enter the coaching offices we see john and josh walking together on scouting match up for the next game David comes in along with Diana

Diana

“so, what is the game plan for riverside “

David walks and sits down

David

“well it’s senior night and we are 11-10”

John looks at the paper and then looks at the sectional lineup

Diana

“what is it “

John

“why did we get a 2 seed “

Josh

“look at the half of sectional to begin with”

Diana looks at john as she is eating

Diana

“what’s the problem “

John

“I think we will win against New York Hamilton but John Hayes that is no joke “

Everyone looks at each other

Fade out

Fade in: we see the center we go inside the center see everyone working we see a lgbt place we see Zachary inside

The group sits around circle

Zachary

“where is my ITP Personal”

They look

Slugging

Zachary (signing to the deaf and hard hearing)

“I will be right back “

Zachary goes by gunner who is working on the computer

Zach

“gunner where is my ITP”

Tracy comes by

Tracy

“do you need anything “

Zach

“I am starting my LGBTQ talk and I have Adam and Daniel in there and I am waiting for ITP”

Tracy reads his mail and hear his voice

Tracy

“I can do it “

Zach looks at him

Zach

“thank you “

Tracy

“but under one condition, you and I have a talk “

Zach nods

Cut to Jake office as he sits with Morgan

Morgan

“hey, I am kind of worried about something “

Jake looks at his wife

Jake

“what’s up sweetie “

Morgan

“what’s going on with albert and Zach “

Jake throws down his book gentle and looks at his wife

Jake

“I think albert is still effected by the murder a little bit “

Morgan

“I know I am a business woman but I do think Olivet needs talk to albert again “

Jake looks at his wife then at team picture we see albert and Zach standing next to each other

Jake

“I will make some calls “

Morgan

“thank you I have to get back to work “

Jake gets on his phone

  We see Zachary at the center with the lgbtq group

Zach (tracy signing)

“now does anyone know what pansexual is anyone “

We see Mario who is a transgender female to male beautiful boy

Mario (tracy signing)

“your Attractive to all genders “

Zach (tracy signing)

“that is correct “

Dean who is deaf ask a question

Dean (Tracy talking)

“I am bit confused still I don’t mean to judge ok but why do people get confused between Bisexual and pansexual “

Zach (tracy signing)

“I know what you are saying but the word is All “

They hear the bell ring

Zach (tracy signing)

“we will resume tomorrow same time I want thank tracy Anderson for being our ITP Specialist “

We see Zachary getting the papers into the office we see his phone we see him responding

Zach(grinds)

“Date”

He looks up he see hazel standing at the door

Hazel

“I have someone here to see you and albert in morning don’t be late “

Zach

“who is it “

Hazel

“Sandra and Jason Randall’s “

Zach looks at the window and turns to hazel in shock

Zach

“Eric’s parents”

Hazel

“yes”

Zach looks still in shock

Zach

“I will be there 10 am “

Hazel

“thank you “

   We see Zachary at his house waiting for his brothers and parents to leave

Jim

“bye Zach”

They leave

Zach phones Joey

Zach

“get over here bring Stacy and Giri “

Joey

“you got “

They come over

Zach opens the door

Zach

“You ready “

Joey

“you bet “

 We see the coaching staff

John

“I talk to Hazel”

Josh looks at john

Josh

“and “

David writing his grades looking at papers he’s trouble

David calls Curtis

David

“Curtis, I have paper turned in by Marica “

Curtis in his office working on scouting reports

Curtis

“yes, what do you want me to do about it”

David

“can you come over here”

Curtis

“yes sure”

Curtis gets up

Curtis

“gunner cade I have I too go to coach Jeffers office you will be fine here?”

Gunner (sign)

“yes”

Curtis arrives at David office

Curtis

“what do you want “

David gives the paper to Curtis

Curtis

“Marica is in ur English 10 B class”

David

“yes”

Curtis

“wow “

David

“I can’t give her high then a C”

Curtis

“how is she doing overall “

Curtis reaches for a pen

David

“she comes in for help but gets frustrate with her papers she is getting a B right now but it’s become a habit I tell her things and she is still not getting it “

Curtis

“what about you how do you think she can fix this problem “

David

“I know the voacb of deaf people I know that what is at the end of each of their sentences but I am just frustrate that I can’t get my message across “

Curtis writes down something and gives it to David

Curtis

“who’s with her when she meets with you “

David

“I can sign Curtis “

Curtis

“ok but be patient with her”

David

“you got it I want her to do well”

Curtis

“I know “

David

“Bob and Shannon are favoring us by 1 over riverside “

Curtis

“Bob and Shannon are betting “

David

“yes”

Curtis looks shock and confused as he leaves

 We go back to Zachary house we see joey and the two others have come over they are watching tv and eating

Joey

“I am bored”

Glenda comes over with a soda and chips

Stacy

“same “

Zachary comes over

Zachary

“want to go to the bed “

Everyone looks at Zach

They skip to the bedroom

We see Zach in clothes about to get on the bed the four of them make out as we see Zach is being tied up

Zach

“show it to me”

Music played in the background

We see Zachary getting his clothes taken off by Joey and Giri

Giri

“I want him to fuck me “

Stacy

“I will suck him”

Joey

“what come on “

Zachary

“I am attracted to all of you now blow me “

They keep it up as Zachary moans

Fade out

we see hazel in her office working on the special needs program with cade and Connor we cut to jerry running into her office

jerry

“Albert is crying and he wants you “

Hazel stands up

Connor

“do you want us to finish “

Hazel

“just mark in what is what ok I’ll be back in 15 mins”

Hazel runs out with Jerry

They go to albert office we see albert crying with a picture of him and hazel in arms we see they are lead in by Dr. Olivet

Olivet

“he told me he wanted to see me and then I came and he started bawling “

Hazel comes over

Hazel

“what’s wrong sweetie “

Albert looks at his soulmate

Albert

“I made a huge mistake “

Hazel looks at him then orders Olivet to leave they sit by the door

Olivet (signing)

“get Curtis and Rebecca in here now and notify Jake Schalow “

Jerry leaves

Hazel  

“talk to me “

Albert snuffs up

Albert

“I am screwing up my friendship “

Hazel

“oh, dear you’re not “

Albert

“I don’t know what to say too Mootz “

Hazel

“you need to focus on your friendship when you talk to him trust me it will work out “

They hug as albert counties to cry

Hazel

“I know why your acting like this don’t worry you’re not alone “

They kiss

We go back to Zach home as we see joey naked and Zach naked close to Sarah Giri and joey

Stacy

“I got it to get home”

Stacy dress herself

We see giri getting dress as well

They both leave

We see joey and Zach kissing we see joey tying up Zachary

Zachary

“what are you doing”

Joey

“having fun”

They kiss

They grim

End of sence as they fade out Zach and joey touching each other

We go back to hazel office we see hazel with albert who is still running tears Curtis Jake and Rebecca come in and watch the soulmates

Rebecca

“why did you send us down here “

Olivet

“he is not dealing with this the right way “

Jake looks at Albert

Jake turns back to Olivet

Jake

“Rebecca, I know why she called us down here “

Curtis

“albert is suffering and we are not there like we should be “

They go in the room

Curtis

“Hazel can you let myself and coach scahlow talk to albert “

Hazel

“yes “

They kiss

Hazel

“I will be right outside “

   We see albert working with Marcus in rehab Zachary comes in

Albert

“hello “

Zach and albert embrace a hug

Marcus just looks as hazel comes in

Hazel (sign)

“good to see them together again as friends “

We see the door open

Hazel (sign)

“I got to go do this “

Marcus grabs her by the arm

Marcus (sign)

“who is that”

Sandra and Jason come in

Hazel (sign)

“that’s Eric Randall’s parents “

Hazel wheels Marcus over

Albert

“hey we got company “

Zach looks over at jerry who has a couple

 Zach

“who’s that “

Albert

“Eric parents “

Zach

“oh shit”

They walk over there with hazel and Marcus

Jerry (sign/talking)

“this is Sandra and Jason Randall’s, this Marcus this Hazel Anderson and these two are Zachary Mootz and Albert Halpert “

Hazel

“why don’t we go up to my conference room”

Sandra and Jason agree

We go to hazel office

Sandra and Jason are seeded  

Hazel

“where do you want to sit so I can sign for Marcus”

Jason

“he’s deaf right “

Hazel

“yes”

Jason

“right here is fine”

Hazel

“is it ok if I sit behind you”

Sandra

“sure”

They began

Jason (hazel signing)

“my Wife and I just want to thank you guys for everything you have done for our family Eric always smiled when he got into the car ready to go see you “

Albert and Zach are crying

Zach (hazel signing)

“can we ask you a personal question “

Sandra (hazel signing)

“sure “

Albert writes something on a piece of paper

Albert (whispers)

“get J.K and Olivet in here ASAP”

Jerry nods

Jerry goes by J.K office

J.K

“what’s up”

Jerry

“Zach and albert need you in hazel office we got Jason and Sandra Randall’s “

J.k gets his jacket on

We go back to the office

Marcus is asked to tell his story first

Marcus (hazel Talking)

“I can’t speak for you but I can for myself and what happen on that night and what Javari and DJ did to us I have been scared mad I have been in panic for three weeks I have friends around me something that Eric had with us being around us “

J.K comes in

J.K

“hello Zach “

Zach

“Mr. and Mrs. Randall’s this J.K Simmons he is one of Psych for grieving he did albert myself and Marcus for hours after the shooting “

J.K

“now I will say this to what I said to these three boys you can say whatever you want it’s how you feel I will be right there “

They go inside

They sit down

J.K(hazel signing)

“all right they will tell you guys anything just be careful with the details of the crime “

They give them the thumbs up

Albert (hazel signing)

“What was Eric liking at home “

Sandra

“just a happy kid always smiling always laughing playing full of life “

 Zach (hazel signing)

“I can I ask you how did you deal with his special needs “

Jason (hazel singing)

“can you clarify “

Zach (hazel signing)

“yes, what I am trying to say is how did you deal with cerbal palsy “

Sandra (hazel signing)

“our family has been bless to have Eric in our lives there were good and bad times with him and his special needs but we always kept a positive impact on his special needs when we sent him here about two years ago to be with others like him and get treatment for his walking we knew we made the right fit I knew Curtis Anderson and consider him as friend and even though I am a special education teacher  at Long Island Bay High School a person that I can go for if I need a help with an IEP “

Jason (talking/signing)

“I work at Wagner College with the ARC and I deal with kids who deaf and hard of hearing I knew what Curtis vision for this place from day one and I can see what you guys have done and he has done for the New York city community for everyone “

Hazel gets albert attention she walks around to face to face with the parents  

Albert (Zach signing)

“hazel wants to ask a question “

Hazel (Zach signing)

“I’m hazel Anderson-gosz I am the daughter of Curtis and Matthew Gosz-Anderson “

Sandra (Zach signing)

“Curtis and matt raise one great daughter that is for sure”

Hazel (Zach signing)

“thank you I just wanted to ask when did you first meet my dad “

Sandra (Zach signing)

“we were college friends with the other we were also in the same department of studies so that was a plus when he built the college center for the students with disorder and other special needs “

Hazel sheds a tear knowing what her father did

Jason (Zach signing)

“we better get going, are you going to college “

They all nod

Jason (Zach signing)

there is something that we want to give the three of you “

They hand each of them an envelope

They all open them

Zach (signing)

“you have to be kidding me “

Hazel (sign)

“I am so blessed by this “

They all accept

They hug

 We see Sandra walking down the hall to Curtis office

Sandra

“Jason wait outside “

Sandra walks into Curtis office

Sandra

“they call you smoothie Anderson for a reason “

Curtis looks up

Curtis

“what are you doing here “

He gets up they hug

Curtis

“you want to sit down”

Sandarac

“I don’t have a lot time but I do want to ask you, has this place gotten backlash because of my son death “

Curtis looks up at her

Curtis

“the only backlash it got was the students that shot ur son came to the center for treatment but I order a judge to remove them from the center about a year ago “

Sandra

“don’t worry about it “

Curtis

“I don’t “

Sandra

“call me on Monday I have an IEP on a hard of hearing student that I need advice on “

Curtis

“my phone is always open”

Sandra

“one more thing “

Curtis

“yes “

Sandra

“go to Rebecca office after I leave please I have a present for you “

Curtis

“I will nice to see you say hello to Jason for me “

Sandra

“will do “

She leaves as Curtis turns his office light off walks down to Rebecca office sees Cade and ben working

Curtis

“where is coach Fisher “

Cade

“she is in there “

He goes into her office

Rebecca

“we got this “

Curtis gets the note

Curtis

“a check for 1,000“

Rebecca smiles

Fade out

We see the school hallway where Zach and albert are walking with Luke and tracy

We see Dylan and Joe come up their pricks of the school

Dylan comes by Zach

Dylan

“hey Panda bear want to suck my dick like a real bi sexual “

Curtis and the staff see this

John

“I got this, Call soderberg “

Diana gets on the phone

John goes to mike who is a body guard

John

“you ready “

They go over to the boys before it’s too late

John

“come with me “

The boys walk over

Albert

“what the fuck “

Hazel comes by

Hazel

“what happen “

She looks at her boyfriend as Zach walks away upset

  We see Olivet and the coaching staff

Olivet

“I have never heard of this type of bullying on pansexual before I mean gays and bisexual get all the time but pansexual nobody knows “

Jake

“I know that but pansexual is not confusing at all if they get educated but that doesn’t mean bullying is thing to go “

Josh

“I agree “

David

“same “

Diana

“what do you think Soderberg “

Soderberg

“I have been the dean for 10 years and I’ve seen a lot of crap I don’t know what coach Anderson had to deal with but I will say this I agree with both you I think it’s not confusing at all and bullying part is out of line I am putting a motion to suspend Dylan and joe for 3 weeks until the board reviews it “

Diana agrees

We see the lighthouse we see the gang having a party

Albert

“well that was a blessing “

Zach

“I agree, we are 11-11 “

Albert  

“unbelievable “

Hazel comes in with Luke and tracy and even

Evan

“so, you guys good “

Cade and gunner come in as well

Albert

“we are much better “

Giri

“that’s good “

Zach sees him

Zach

“hey you “

They kiss

Albert

“you want some enteriment “

Everyone nods their head

Albert starts to sing I dreamed of a dream with Zachary doing the guitar

Albert

“I dreamed of a dream in time gone by when hopes were high and life worth living I dreamed that love would never die , I dreamed that god would be forgiving then I was young and unafraid when dreams were made and used and wasted there was ransom to be payed no song unsung no whine untasted but the tigers come at night with their voices soft as thunder as they tear your hope apart as they turn your dreams to shame she slept a summer by my side ,she filled my days with endless wonder ,she took my childhood in his stride but she was gone when autumn came and still I dreamed she’ll come to me we’ll spend the years together but there are dreams that cannot be and there are storms we cannot weather ,I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I’m living ,so different now from what it seemed now life has killed the dream I dreamed  “

Everyone watching

We see hazel and the rest of the girls crying

We see Zachary just about to bawl his eyes out

We see Zachary and albert hug as the gang counties the party

End of 10.6