#nico says so himself to piper which is hilarious

[bayetea]

I'm gonna froth at the mouth over this in the tags so bear with me but reason #1278038 why the way rick went about breaking up jiper was bad: rereading her povs in hoo where she gushes over jason feels like even more of an unreliable narrator queer girl comphet psychological horror story

[autumn0689]

Lester Papadopoulos is a comfort character to me. I’ve been a huge Percy Jackson fan for years now, and I’ve loved many characters (Grover, Nico, Leo, Percy, etc) and when I first read TOA I loved it, but after rereading it…

I fell in love with Lester, this caring and complex character who had many layers to him, that came off as selfish, and yet just so happened to be one of the most selfless characters in the book.

He’s caring, he’s a former god, he’s selfless, he pees himself regularly, he loves his children, he drowned his ex that one time, he is a god of many things, he has had many lovers. He has so many aspects to him that makes him so interesting.

He has a redemption arc as he realizes that he has made mistakes, but also realizes that he has been abused by Zeus, that it most likely influenced how he view things, and how he may have picked up toxic behaviors from Zeus. He learns to be more human, which is such a beautiful arc to see him go through.

He cares SO MUCH about others. He grieves for Jason and Crest and Heloise and so many other people. He tried to sacrifice himself many times and has many heroic qualities, but he is an unreliable narrator and sometimes what he says doesn’t reflect what he does.

His and Meg’s relationship is one of my favorite friendships in the books. It feels like it’s the two of them against the world at times. Meg cares so much for him while also calling him out on his bad actions (like when they were on Sutro Tower) and Lester cares so much for her as he realizes that she has been abused, that she needs help, and that he wants to help her separate from Nero’s influence, that he is so proud of her for standing up to Nero. They both form such a strong bond with each other and I just- I love them!

He is also absolutely hilarious. I find myself laughing as he is just- so snarky sometimes? He also sometimes know random things? (Like the Goddess of Sewers Cloacina) He is also funny when he has no knowledge on how human things work (like not knowing the price of Tater Tot’s)

He also gets anxious and freaks out and cries and he just feels. He gets happy and laughs and gets sad and laments. He gets flashbacks and clearly has trauma but doesn’t let that excuse his bad actions as he feels guilt for his actions. He can also be quite harsh on himself, blaming himself often and sometimes projecting that onto others (like him saying that Piper is blaming him for Crest’s death??) He is such an emotional character and I love him for that.

I love whenever he gets his godly strength as it starts with small things and then it gets to the point that he can create fire with his hands just by simply mentioning cauterizing a wound and breaking Nero’s fasces and having enough strength to drag Python into the Underworld and is strong enough to hold on just enough to save himself from falling into Tartarus. He is such a strong person who has an incredible pain tolerance.

There are many other things that I love about Lester Papadopoulos/Apollo. I think I can positively say that he is my favorite PJO character. I often reread TOA more than the other books. I love the story and how dark it can get while also exploring the themes of how abuse affects you.

I just- I love Meg and Apollo. I need for fanfic of them!! I need more content of them! Their friendship is so underrated, so when I see people make fanfic of them I get so happy!

I also love the community. The fan-artists and the fanfic makers and anyone who just writes long posts, like me, are so talented and is honestly the best fandom I’ve been in.

I hope the PJO show becomes popular so that more people can read these amazing series. I hope there will be a day that TOA gets adapted, and even if it doesn’t, I still have the audiobooks to go back to.

Thanks TOA fandom, for still going strong, even years after the books ended and new books have come out and are still making fanfic about them. It feels like the books have never ended, like the TOA books are still going on and are still making posts.

I’m so happy to be part of such a passionate fanbase.

Anyways if anyone is willing to offer any good fanfics then let me know!

[wrongcaitlyn]

OMG, I KEEP THINKING ABOUT NICO AND EVERYONE'S TIKTOK ACCOUNTS AND I JUST REALIZED- There are probably so many edits of Nico floating around tiktok 😭😭

Like I just imagine that a popular genre of edit is like the sappy type with clips of Nico, Will, and Leo from like instagram livestreams and just general appearances with Ribs by Lorde playing in the back and AHHHHH

Ppl also totally do the same with Percy, Annabeth, Jason or Piper, Leo, and Jason 😭😭

Also, with the resurgence of Apollo and his music, people are probably making so many thirst trap edits of this man like it's ridiculous just how many edits ppl are willing to make of him and Apollo's kids hate it (especially with how FOUL tiktok comments are 😭😭) Apollo himself probably thinks it's hilarious

Austin is the only one who (thankfully) has never been scarred by such things (bro is so glad he never got tiktok)

There are probably similar edits of Nico floating around, but I can't imagine Nico being comfortable with that, so I'd like to think that his fans are nice enough not to post those kinds of edits 😭😭

Also with how famous Kayla and Will (Will doesn't know how but also he appears in like EVERYONE'S tiktoks) there are probably edits of them too, but Will's consist mostly of him and Nico while Kayla's are like badass edits of her archery competitions (and you best believe Apollo reposts them with sappy comments like "my daughter 🥹🥹")

THIS WAS WAY LONGER THAN I MEANT FOR IT TO BE OMG IM SO SORRY 😭😭 HAVE A GOOD DAY 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶

HDKSHDJS NICO EDITORS GO HARD (i say as an editor)HDKSJF

dude the edits would be CRAZY partly bc it’s so hard to find good content of him so you KNOW itd be impossible to get scene packs. goodbye to the artists that you have interviews of and tour movies, it’s nearly impossible to get a good quality video for an edit of nico

which makes everyone use that one interview he did at 16 over and over and over and over againHDKDN

i DEFINITELY think the majority of edits are him with his friends or fan interactions bc those are like the only videos that are out there (but also the angels fandom treats leo and will as their own little niche celebs)

the part about the foul comments on thirst trap edits of apollo is SO SO SO REAL. you just KNOW that there are a thousand people calling him a dilf in the comments, and a blend of current clips of him with his older content in movies and shows… tiktok revives the apollo craze in a new generationJDKD

i just know that kayla would go through those comment sections, comment “i need to bleach my eyes” and then go through every single one and block everyone who says a remotely dirty thing abt her dad she is TRYING to live in peace (but there’s no escaping it)

there’d be people being like WHAT WHERE DID KAYLAS ACCOUNT GO??? and then be like oh shit… i commented on that one apollo edit…HDKDJ

i do think there are definitely some thirst trap edits of nico but the hard thing is that there’s like. zero clips that would be good for that. like they go off this 2 second video from a fan and a blurry vid of a concert from the nosebleeds and the editors do their VERY BEST to make it look hot

and yet the comments go insane anyway

will saves them but that’s not important

more people make thirst trap edits of leo just because it’s very common for him to interact with them and commentHEKFJS i just feel like he absolutely would

and also will just bc. i mean. it’s will.

also there’d be a lot of content of him from lou ellen’s vids… there’s be a random viral vid including him and he becomes white boy of the month bc of one incredibly viral velocity. but then he just. it’s like every year he’s white boy of the month for at least one month. and he’s like wtf how does this keep happening

nico saves all those edits as well but that’s not important

and kayla’s are def more of her in archery like there’s a very very niche section of tiktok that are such fans of her (also probably velocities of her dancing tiktoks) and since she has so much content online it’s much easier to edit her

anyway the variety between those fan bases i could go on for AGESDJDK i LOVE to imagine these types of things and your hc’s are spot on!!

[bunkernine]

Do they curse, a discussion post

Percy: yes but not too much, NEVER in front of his mom. Has gotten in trouble for it once or twice before. Never curses when angry

Annabeth: yes but only to call people stupid and when she's frustrated. She got in trouble for saying something bad and got put in the corner and the whole time she was muttering curses the athena cabin had only read in ancient texts

Jason: no at first but then he adds damn to his arsenal, and eventually a despondent "what the fuck." when he is really surprised but this is rare. the Romans know he had a very rich swearing vocab as a kid but he doesn't acknowledge it. Curses more around his besties

Piper: absolutely. it sounds natural and is natural. Not the worst, she just happens to say it at times that feels right

Leo: every other sentence. In the books he says shit like "that's bull" and "are u freaking kidding me." When will the uncensored version be released... On the other hand it is 93% funnier to consider that Leo just talks like that and censors himself. Says corny shit that makes u wish he cursed. It can go either way

Frank: only when (Leo) stresses him. His head is filled with ares + mars cursing a lot tho so he knows the most words. Actually he swears a LOT in his head just not outside. A few words can slip tho when he's really pissed

Hazel: yes all the time, she canonly gets in trouble for this. Favorite word is 'fucking bitchass'. That was two words but they are one when hazel says it

Nico: no

Reyna: she doesn't need to, u can feel it even if it's never said

Hedge: no EXCEPT for holy shit and hot damn specifically. he said fuck once and mellie lost her mind and begged him to say it again and he did, and she kept asking until chuck said fuck and while mellie finds it hilarious, hedge is embarrassed

Octavian: only says the slurs, doesn't discriminate who gets which one tho, they are all equal to him. that is his equality

[chironshorseass]

I was reading some of your posts and you had pretty good takes, so I wanted to ask what you think about the whole 'Percy is a mary sue/gary stu' thing? I see a few people saying that too many characters fall for him, he's overpowered, he has no flaws, etc. What do you think?

tbh i had no idea this was a thing until I looked it up, and yep. there are people who legit think that percy is a mary sue which is hilarious. also there r some others who claim that annabeth and piper r mary sues?? that's also a thing but im less surprised abt that even tho they r clearly very wrong as well lmaoo

so let's see what makes a mary sue: according to this dictionary "Mary Sue is a term used to describe a fictional character, usually female, who is seen as too perfect and almost boring for lack of flaws, originally written as an idealized version of an author in fanfiction."

ok so it’s true that rick wrote percy to be….similar? to his son? or at least represent him. i’m not sure and frankly idc bc in the end, percy can’t exactly be considered to be the typical self insert who could do no wrong unlike *cough* paul *cough* because, what-ho he has flaws. lol. in tlt it is established that percy has anger issues. he easily gets in trouble and again, his emotions get the best of him. (tho him being a "troublemaker” is usually bc he's the type of dude who is There at the wrong place and at the wrong time. he's a demigod and he's blamed for everything but that's another matter.) with this said, he talks back at gabe knowing that it just makes his mom's life harder. this isn't coming from malicious intent, obviously, bc percy loves his mom. he just cant help himself and his hatred (which is valid obviously) is overwhelming. he has no filter when it comes to insults (tho a lot of his internal monologue he still keeps to himself), his self-esteem is crippling (probably has a lot to do with gabe) and anyone with reading comprehension can tell that he’s a little shit!!! a little shit who is also three dimensional!!! im so confused abt why they will say that percy is written with “no flaws” as if they have the best take ever. he literally strangled nico during tlo, and sure his anger was warranted, but nico was like. ten. and percy just kept choking him😭😭. i’m sorry but dude has flaws. i think mainly people confuse being fundamentally good-natured and being powerful with having no flaws and therefore boring. these two don’t necessarily correlate, and a well written character can and will have many aspects to them, not just the cool flashy powers. a well written character won’t be boring, and therefore, won’t be a mary sue. i think people forget that. percy is more than just a son of poseidon, the hero of olympus. he isn't perfect and he isn't meant to be, because he isn't a mary sue!!! he isn’t BORING!!! truly i could rant all day and make some other post abt his flaws but frankly not today. these people clearly dont know how to read lol.

on the topic of too many characters falling for him and his looks….honestly all of that felt very natural in the books? one, nico’s crush on percy isn’t canon until waay later so we as readers didn’t know he had one while reading pjo. nico admits that he had a crush in the first place bc he began to idealize percy, for who he is (and honestly it’s realistic, given nico was young and the person who saved him and his sister was percy). two, rachel fell for the idea of percy. of the world that he was part of—she literally says this shit. and they started out as friends, so, developing feelings is easy thru friendship. obviously percy jackson is a good person, and obviously rachel saw the best parts of him and went with it. then she promptly tells him something along the lines of “bye not interested. i figured out that i don’t rly like u exactly. i just liked the idea of u being part of this magical world” and that’s that. three, calypso also falls in love with the idea of him (btw there r many things wrong with this, but u know, another can of worms. yikes). she implies that it was his character (bravery, maybe?). four, annabeth starts off as his friend. she gets to know all of him, the good and the bad, and it doesn’t rly feel like, “oh, he’s perfect and awesome and sooo good looking. that’s why everyone wants to be with him.” no. on the surface, maybe??? idk this is maybe sugar coating a lot. but all these ppl “fall in love” with percy bc of different circumstances, and not necessarily bc of his looks/all of them except for annabeth don’t get to know him well at all. they don’t exactly know abt his flaws, and….obviously percy jackson is good looking. later on, he’s described as such. lol he’s the son of a greek god??? and yet. for most of pjo he’s described as short and scrawny?? bc he’s a kid? lol. another thing: his looks aren’t the most important thing abt him. in fact, it’s barely stated in the books. us as readers infer that he must be good looking bc of some throwaway comments and how poseidon is perceived as “handsome” and percy looks like poseidon. this is later on when he’s sixteen or whatever

ig, but again, not the most important part of him. not rly mary sue material if barely anyone acknowledges his looks.

tl;dr: percy jackson can’t be a mary sue bc he’s not boring: he has flaws as well as good qualities to him. his “good looks” aren’t important like they r in actual mary sue characters since they r barely mentioned. characters fall for him bc of different aspects of his character, not necessarily bc of the previous thing abt the “good looks.” PERCY JACKSON CANNOT BE A MARY SUE AND YALL CLEARLY CANT READ

[lunarrumor]

i just think that valgrace. so much potential. so much chemistry

we have:

- best friends to lovers

- height difference

- jason being very strung up and leo being the exact opposite so they balance each other out

- leo always stealing jason's clothes even before they're together because they're really comfy and jason's not the most fashionable but leo's never cared about his clothes much (except he does care about these ones because they're his "best friend's" and it reminds him that he has people now,,, people that love him)

- and he wears one of jason's shirts to his workshop one day and he accidentally gets grease on it (because lets be real he has never owned a single item of clothing that didn't somehow get a grease or oil stain on it)

- and he's really upset because it's like he ruined one of his most precious items and jason let him have it (he took it one day while they were up late playing video games and he wanted to get comfortable and jason refused when he tried to give it back for ~totally straight and only friendly~ reasons)

- and he thinks jason's gonna be mad because what if he did want it back and he's gonna change his mind and never let me have anything of his ever again but he goes to the dining hall trying to subtly hide it but of course jason notices it because he's got a great vantage point on leo and he's always staring at leo but especially today because he's wearing his shirt and he always looks really cute after coming back from his workshop because he has dirt on his face and his hair is all messed up and he always comes back looking proud of himself for finishing a project or all jittery because he wants to get back so he can keep working or frustated that something went wrong (but that isn't very often jason thinks because leo's kind of a genius with machinery and he always manages to make the most amazing things)

- anywayy so jason notices and he doesn't say anything but he can see him staring and his eyebrows do that cute little furrowy thing that always happens when he's thinking about something and leo's just waiting for him to mention it

- meanwhile jason is looking at leo's shirt his shirt with grease stains on it—leo's signature look and he's trying so hard to keep from smiling like an idiot because now it looks like theirs—like it's a part of them both and leo's looking absolutely amazing in it in the light of the dining hall, highlighted gold by the sun going down and the torches set around for light

- he looks at his crisp purple shirt, now slightly wrinkled, with oil stains and he thinks it reminds him of their own friendship—how he's always neat and precise but leo relaxes him, he's not afraid of getting messy and he's not afraid to pull jason along with him and he never does say anything but he gives leo a random hug after dinner before he goes back to the workshop, which isnt that unusual because ever since jason realized that leo and piper didn't mind casual affection—in fact piper was always one to just drape herself around her friends and hang off of them because as much as she didn't like being an aphrodite kid she's always been a sucker for little ways of showing people you love them—jason hasn't stopped hugging them since

- leo was surprised at first when he started doing it but now he welcomes them because jason's hugs are so warm and it makes him feel home and so when he does so after dinner leo's only really shocked because this one is extra suffocating and he was expecting actually the opposite reaction but then he supposes he shouldn't really be so surprised because jason has always been the most understanding person he's met and he never gets annoyed with leo like others do, he's always just there waiting to help him or to hug him or to give him one of his oh-look-at-me-im-so-attractive-people-probably-make-paintings-of-me-just-to-capture-my-beauty smiles that is always so bright and soft and leo doesn't know how jason can always look so content when he's got so much weight on his shoulders (this definitely doesnt have to do with the fact that just being around leo makes him happy and he forgets all his responsibilities except making sure leo is doing okay)

- and when they are together jason sure as hell takes advantage of his staring privileges because now he can look at leo in his clothes and smile like a goof and it's completely normal boyfriend behavior and he absolutely never shuts up about how much he loves leo and ~maybe~ leo recognizes this and starts wearing more of his clothes just so he can get extra tight hugs because he's always been one for manipulating the system and damnit if this system of how he could possibly get the most love from jason is not the best thing he's ever gotten himself into

- and now i've gone on a very long rant about valgrace (oopsie) but im going to continue (with some nico !!!) because @transjasico has me thinking about valdangelace

- so nico doesnt have the same habits as leo does when it comes to taking all of jason's clothes because he hates looking small and he has a reputation to uphold and a ~style~ to keep (aka an emo teen that shops at hot topic)

- and jason totally doesn't start buying more black clothes because maybe he perhaps notices this (after all who is he if not constantly obsessing over his boyfriends and analyzing all the cute habits they have)

- and piper sees this change of clothing and gets a little worried because she just got jason to branch out a little from purple t-shirts that he somehow makes look like he's ready for a business meeting? and oh no what if while she was training him and telling him to ~find his own style~ she accidentally encouraged him to go goth

- so she's like /what have i done/ because while she teases him about it, nerdy jason is her jason and what if he decides to get a bunch of piercings now because that simply wouldn't look right (i mean of course he could pull it off but goth!jason would look simply off to anyone who had met him for more than two seconds and seen what a mom friend he is)

- so she asks him about it because she can not be responsible for jason breaking all of the goth little hearts in america with his new look (yes he just started wearing more black but piper thinks ahead okay she's smart like that)

- and he admits it to her and she just cackles in his face (and then suddenly gets serious because she's like okay i know you love your boyfriend but seriously this is not the style for you)

- but who's laughing when his plan works??? one night at the campfire nico forgot his aviator jacket and he's about to shadow travel to get it but jason is like no no no you're not gonna wear yourself out just to get a jacket and you can't just leave (a brilliant excuse if you ask him, because jason's a quick thinker like that,,,, and being around leo he picked up some of his scheming habits)

- but he's like *puts hand on nico's arm and activates his Serious Yet Loving boyfriend face" and goes: noo nico why would you do that when i have a jacket *whips hoodie off his lap with a flourish* right here :)))

- and nico's like ....okay sure :)

- and jason has an accomplished little smile seeing nico bundled up in his hoodie because not only is he warm but phase one of his mission is complete and now he just has to ease nico into stealing more of his clothes and he thinks he was really subtle but nico definitely knew what he was doing and he brought it up to leo who thought it was very cute to see conspiring!jason and hilarious that he was so determined for somebody to steal his clothes so when jason pulled out his jacket he made a little motion to nico like *go on take it* and nico rolled his eyes (without jason seeing of course) and activated his amazing acting skills so he could see his boyfriend look all proud of himself

- and now i've gone on another very long rant (i still blame you @/transjasico) but nico starts wearing them more because jason always does everything he can to make them happy and he thinks its worth it to see jason all smiley and they're very comfy and he does enjoy the extra bear hugs and the smirk leo gives him every time he sees him wearing jason's shirt but that's not the point

- okay now im done

the point is.... LET JASON LOVE HIS TWO BEST FRIENDS BOYFRIENDS OKAY

[phantaloon-books]

Things about Tower of Nero that I want to highlight to remember them forever:

Lu being an absolute badass woman, I just love her too much

Piper McClean being canon wlw, she was actually kissing another girl, we really fell in love in october

Chaos being canonically female (just chaos being mentioned as a deity rather than what's below tartarus)

nobody DIED, like no one on the good side at least?? yes plenty of beings have died throughout TOA, but nobody died in TON?? so many died in TLO and BOO, I expected to mourn someone and I didn't have too??! it made me so happy

solangelo. that's it. solangelo makes me happy.

will being incredibly supportive of nico, and instead of stopping him, going with him on dangerous adventures because he doesn't want to leave him alone. also them treating Nico's PTSD for what it is

WILL SOLACE CANONICALLY GLOWS IN THE DARK. HE'S A GLOWSTICK BABY.

also will just appearing at the gates of the throne room, glowing in rage because someone touched his boyfriend (and tried to kill his dad), and him just marching through everyone (everyone else letting him), just to pick up his hurt precious boyfriend and take care of him.

meg McCaffrey got her happy ending. she's baby, she deserves her family and her happy ending. also Lu being the mother and the 12 children being siblings?? that's one hell of a way to tell nero to fuck off and right his mistakes. we love meg.

dionysus being the best olympian after apollo. the duo content we needed, and now will never get

nico mentioning bob and how he wants to go look for him, because he can still be in tartarus

rachel still being a Total badass and hitting people in the eye with her blue hairbrush thus being iconic

meg acting as lester's anchor and only reason why he didn't let go of the ledge, not falling into chaos, is top tier 'reasons why I cried reading', because if you think about it, Meg is the first ever friend apollo ever had, and them being best friends is everything to me

also apollo choosing to go looking as lester rather than apollo because lester feels like home is on top tier 'reasons why I cried reading' too

again, the only thing apollo did in the end (once he was god again) that could be described as 'godly' was be in several places at once, fly his chariot, and get meg her unicorn

but apollo shooting fucking fire out of his hands is crazy asf, it was so cool. he really got amazing godly powers this book.

rick being bold enough to showcase abusive parenting knowing that a huge porcentage of his readers are minors, helping many realize that they could be in abusive households, and giving them a tool to reach out for help

apollo defeating nero was so satisfactory, because you realize in the end, that nero wasn't really a monster, he was monstrous, but still very much human (if only with some godly power), and pretty useless once he couldn't hide behind props and weapons, his being wasn't powerful, he was just under layers of protection

the jackson/blofis scene was so warm and loving, they really are willing to put their family in danger, baby estelle in danger, to help 'percy's friends' even tho she knew percy didn't like apollo, but she still takes in everyone who needs help, and paul being a loving and accepting husband

sally working on her SECOND novel, she really is having her best life

none of the big heroes from other series having protagonism, besides nico and will, instead giving the other kids from camp halfblood their chance to show they're just as worthy as the "heroes of olympus"

(still I would have loved to see a scene with everyone else, like the heroes of olympus guys, fighting together one last time, just for nostalgia's sake - I legit hoped to see percy and annabeth arriving with chiron in triumvirate tower, but yeah)

the arrow of dodona may have been a dumb, cringey, and slightly ridiculous thing at first, and I personally rolled my eyes everytime it said anything, but it knew what would happen from the start, and without its sacrifice, apollo would have achieved nothing. we stan one arrow

nico wearing a white cowboy hat. idky but it makes my heart swell with joy. he a gay cowboy

y'all know I love Apollo's arch, and I just gotta point this out. his trials, his time as lester, started with him falling to earth, and ended with him getting up after purposely throwing himself off the earth, towards tartarus, almost falling to chaos. that's really clever writing.

the olympians watching over him, and some actually being concerned for him rather than his progress.

poseidon not really giving a fuck about the world or council meetings anymore because percy's not there anymore

athena being the only one apart from artemis who trusted apollo could do it makes me warm fsr

lester deciding that the best way to retell his adventures is by singing is hilarious to me, he really thinks it'll solve everything

Grover not telling percy and annabeth jason died seems so funny to me, he really said "nah it doesn't matter much, field trip, yes"

"hey man" my heart broke in twenty million pieces. like I don't know where I expected to see jason. but that wasn't it. and it hurt me as much as it hurt apollo man.

(also I kinda hoped we would see nico summon his spirit or smth, but I'm actually happy nico realized that jason went by his own choice, and he was in peace, so he decided not to summon him, because it was alright. that hurt too)

kinda love how lester passes out after literally every battle. it reminds you that even tho he's apollo, his body isn't. I'm sure we all would pass out too if we did a quarter of what lester did in the span of 4 days. his body isn't made to endure that, it doesn't even have a halfblood endurance, it's a weak mortal body

the trogs were fucking hilarious. their screeches and grrs, idk there's something ridiculous and so childish about them, it's so fun

really happy that apollo never had a /real/ love interest (reyna doesn't count), cause that wasn't what his story was about. instead he got to make so many friends, and have quality time with them and his children, it's amazing

apollo being thankful people were telling him he'd grown, and was more human, because he realized that was the best thing he could have learned from his time as a mortal

also him saying fuck you man to zeus and his speech, like "no asshole dad, I did learn, I'm not going to see this as punishment, it was a great time in which bad things happened but I enjoyed it." yes, we love apollo not letting zeus win

getting to see what everyone will do now. nico and will figuring out rachel's prophecy, probs saving bob. rachel living her best life away from her parents. leo doing what leo does, always helping those who have no one else. the hunters' open storyline about this fox, possibly hinting at content? piper settling down in a quiet life is what she deserves tbh, she's earned quiet life with a cute gf, wish her the best. Frank and hazel being the best praetors, and I bet they will continue to be so. And annabeth and percy, who chose their happiness over all, at last

kinda wish we got to see someone still really miss jason after apollo becomes god again tho lmao like apollo missed jason more than the others, nico and piper being the exception. I mean, leo is fine and dandy, hazel and frank are okay, percy and annabeth are done mourning... I just we got to see any of them really mourning, rather than reading they mourned. it would have made it feel more emotional

the last conversation and the last words in general. "the sun always comes back" and "we're friends now. call on me. I'll be there for you" that shit got me sobbing my heart out. rick really managed to do right by the books and end it like he should have, unlike BOO. he took what made TLO good and used a similar formula. it's very different from "and for once I didn't look back", but it still fills you with warmth and the feeling that even though it's over, it's okay.

I'm just really emotional, this is all I can think about, but you bet I'm gonna add more when I remember

[skaterbeth]

the seven + others playing among us

because i fucking love this game 

annabeth 

so good. like. too fucking good 

prefers the imposter role because she is amazing at sabotaging and killing without getting seen 

a master at travelling the vents unnoticed 

very good at making sure she doesn’t form a pattern in who she kills 

only self reports when she knows she won’t be suspicious 

changes her behavior in real life to be less suspicious in game 

percy always gets so offended when she kills him out of convenience 

(“i can’t believe you killed me!” “you were literally in a room alone doing your task it was too easy”) 

memorized every task so she always has an alibi 

when she’s a crewmate she just finishes her tasks and always saves the crew when they imposter sabotages the reactor or something 

is always able to figure out who the imposter because she memorized everyone’s tells like the little shit she is (and percy can’t even lie to her anymore like he’s the worst liar)

wears white 

percy 

is kinda good at being the imposter but definitely kills certain people on purpose 

those people: jason (duh, he liked to piss him off), piper (cause he thinks it’s funny when she’s mad), reyna (bc he considers that a fucking accomplishment he would totally go around camp jupiter telling everyone he killed the praetor), and leo (no explanation needed) 

refuses to kill: annabeth (bc he’s a simp), hazel (bc he loves her too much), grover (🐐) 

people he’s indifferent to killing: frank and nico (but he still feels kinda bad bc my boy is too sweet) 

when he’s the imposter he’s so bad at defending himself 

and annabeth can read him super easily 

so when she accuses him he’s just like “yeah just vote me out lolz” 

when he’s a crewmate he kinda just does his tasks idk 

but he never saves the crew when their being sabotaged cause he doesn’t like that pressure 

always reports the body and immediately goes on the chat like “guys who killed my girlfriend 😡” 

always blames it on jason cause he likes seeing him get mad 

and when it’s not jason percy’s like 🤷🏾

wears blue 

leo 

he’s the most chaotic to play with adskjskdjk 

like 

he’s such a good imposter but he also accidentally brags when he kills someone 

“so who do you guy think it is?” “idk but whoever it was is a really good imposter” “... ok so it’s leo” 

even if he’s not the imposter people vote him out when he’s being annoying 

loves sabotaging 

always kills frank first cause he thinks it’s hilarious 

next would be annabeth because she’s super smart

but everyone tries to kill annabeth first 

doesn’t kill hazel because he thinks she’s too pure 

also doesn’t kill nico

very good crewmate 

always finishes his tasks first 

and when he’s done he just follows people around to freak them out and make them think he’s the imposter 

wears orange 

piper 

also chaotic 

always kills annabeth first but like makes it a point to do it so everyone always knows it’s her 

in the off chance she doesn’t kill annabeth first she always tries to pin it on her 

has definitely accidentally revealed herself as the imposter multiple times 

definitely charmspeaks people into thinking it’s not her 

and it actually works a fair amount of times 

if someone kills her she gets so annoyed it’s so funny 

cusses so much 

like 

they have to kick her out bEcAuSe hAzEl 

but hazel thinks it’s hilarious 

decent crewmate but she definitely prefers imposter 

wears red 

frank 

hates this game 

like 

cannot stand it 

but he doesn’t want to be left out so he plays it 

he hates being the imposter so much 

he doesn’t like to kill people so he just sabotages 

but he’s not very good at that either 

if he ever does kill he always accidentally does it in front of someone or he gets caught immediately 

when someone accuses him it’s super obvious when he’s lying 

but he’s a very good crewmate 

always does his tasks and helps save the crew when things get sabotaged 

will literally watch the imposter kill someone and when he reports it he accidentally says the wrong color 

(this makes it seem like i hate frank i really don’t this is literally just how i play) 

wears brown 

jason 

he’s literally dead he can’t play 

kidding kidding 

definitely still hasn’t figured out the map 

easiest to kill because he just wanders around aimlessly til he finds a task he was assigned 

is so bad at the admin card swipe he gets kicked out (which has actually happened to my brother) 

every time he gets killed the chat fills up with “was it a brick” or just 🧱

leo and annabeth make an animation of jason’s color getting hit on the head with a brick by reyna’s color 

never saves the crew when they’re sabotaged because he can’t get there fast enough and he doesn’t have the ability to do it fast enough anyway 

he’s like an ok imposter? 

idk like there’s not much to say for jason 

wears purple (because camp jupiter. yes he’s that boring) 

hazel 

y’all 

hazel is 

a fucking RUTHLESS imposter 

and no one ever thinks it’s her 

and she loves it 

being the imposter is definitely her preferred role 

always kills leo first 

never kills jason cause she thinks it’s funny to watch him try to play 

but she rarely sabotages 

she just kills 

if she does sabotage it’s the lights 

because she’s smart

self reports all the time and tries to act traumatized by discovering a dead body so no one suspects her 

she’ll always tell nico when she’s the imposter so they’ll pair up but he’ll always vouch and say it wasn’t her 

she always wins as imposter 

and when it’s revealed it’s her everyone is liked 😧

good crewmate 

gets her tasks done and saves the crew when they’re sabotaged 

wears purple (but bc she likes the color not cause of camp jupiter) 

nico 

pretends to hate this game but secretly loves it 

doesn’t really care about being imposter or a crewmate he just likes to watch how everyone else plays/interacts 

if he is the imposter he’ll never kill hazel 

who he kills (in order): leo (just cause he’s annoying), jason, annabeth, reyna, percy, piper, frank, grover, (never hazel) 

definitely makes random accusation because it’s funny 

he’ll never say it but if annabeth kills him he doesn’t care and roots for her to win bc he loves annabeth 

finds percy and annabeth’s banter super entertaining 

if he’s not the imposter he definitely follows people around and freaks them out for fun (specifically jason, leo, frank) 

good crewmate and always saves everyone’s asses 

will call the emergency meeting to say he watched leo kill someone (which he didn’t) or just to be like “yo im hungry y’all want mcdonalds after this?” (they can’t even be mad and everyone definitely gets mcdonalds after) 

wears black duh 

reyna 

mix of annabeth and hazel 

super good at the game and definitely enjoys the killing 

main difference between her and annabeth is that annabeth is more strategic whereas reyna just kills whenever she feels like it 

that being said 

she does kill jason first 

then percy 

definitely hesitates on killing annabeth because she likes her enjoys watching her try to figure out who it is 

annabeth and reyna have an unspoken agreement that when reyna’s the imposter annabeth won’t say anything as long as reyna doesn’t kill her 

i just love reynabeth ok 

master at traveling the vents 

if she’s a crewmate she follows around grover, frank, leo, and jason for fun 

because she finishes tasks fast obviously 

saves everyone’s asses when they get sabotaged 

will randomly accuse leo when she has no idea who it is in the first round 

(the girls all go along with it) 

originally wears blue but she doesn’t wanna match with percy so she switches to white to match with annababe ❤️

grover 

is so bad at the imposter it’s so funny 

but him and percy always partner up and vouch for each other 

but if percy’s the imposter and grover knows he’s very bad at keeping it a secret 

and annabeth knows those two the best out of anyone so she always figures it out 

sometimes she won’t say anything though because those two are dumbasses but they’re HER dumbasses 

he’s so sweet and doesn’t like to kill 

would rather sabotage 

he’ll definitely lock the doors on people cause it’s funny 

good crewmate 

knows the map really well 

never does the tasks to save the crew when their sabotaged cause it stresses him out 

idk what else to say for him lmao 

wears dark green 

when there’s two imposters 

best most dangerous duo: annabeth and reyna 

deadliest duo: hazel and reyna 

most chaotic duo: leo and piper 

boring but funny duo: jason and frank 

chaotic but cute and funny duo: grover and percy 

funniest duo: percy and annabeth (because their banter on the side and the fact that percy gets distracted by how cool his gf is) 

duo that bickers so nothing gets done: frank and leo 

duo that doesn’t work together: jason and percy 

duo that no one expected to be really good together: nico and annabeth 

stealthiest duo: hazel and nico

duo that would expose each other: leo and percy 

(i’m tagging @tridentgum because i remember you asked for this lmao)

[phykios]

honesty and promise me, co-written with @darkmagyk [read on ao3]

“I’m in love,” Piper tells her when she shows up for another fitting. “Have you seen the new Beyonce video?”

“I heard the song.” Annabeth says, “isn’t that enough?”

“God, your whole play-acting thing is too far if you’re pretending to not like Beyonce.”

“I never said that.” Annabeth holds up her hands, “I like the song. But I did not see the video.”

“Well, when you see it, you’ll be in love too, but I will fight you.”

Piper could be scrappy in a fight. But Annabeth had been a champion fencer in high school.

“Kidding!” Piper says at her look. “There’s plenty of them to go around.” She didn’t even start to drape fabric over Annabeth, pushing her onto a muslin covered couch, and then pulling the video on the TV. She didn’t have one of those voice control devices. Because she was friends with Leo, and he was pretty firm on them being evil. “But I do call dibs on the main guy. The CALVES. The thighs. He’s unreal.”

“That good?” Piper went all ways, though as of late she gravitated towards women more often than not, so this was some high praise indeed. 

“Unreal, I am telling you. Like, the hand of God came down and sculpted him personally out of marble.”

Already in her recent watch history, the thumbnail of the video greets them, the song title splashed across the TV screen, weaving between  a very, very familiar set of legs. 

Like, intimately familiar. 

In something of detached horror, she watches the camera pan up, lovingly lingering on every inch of bare skin, following the muscles of his calves (which were unreal) to his knees then his thighs (which Annabeth had spent almost too much time between now), up his torso and his chest (which she knew made for an excellent pillow) to Percy’s face, set in a firm, hard stare. 

And that fucking blue lipstick again. 

She can’t even focus on Beyonce herself, too distracted by the way her hand traces the length of Percy’s outstretched thigh held in perfect arabesque as she gracefully drapes herself over him, crooning softly into his ear.

Annabeth should do that next time. That’s her spot, after all. 

Tearing her eyes away from the screen even as Piper watches, enraptured, she slips out her phone, sending a quick, furious text. 

annabeth: BEYONCE???????

A minute, then he responds. 

percy: oh lol i didn’t realize that came out today 😁

percy: what’d you think?

annabeth: i think im going to kill you later

“Just look at him,” Piper says, pausing on Percy’s form, his arms outstretched, fingers placed delicately around a bar. “I mean--look at him!”

“Yeah,” she chuckles, maybe a little uneasy. “He’s alright I guess.”

Incredulous, Piper swivels her head. “Alright? Alright? Do you need your eyes checked?”

She just shrugs. 

Why is she being so weird about this? It’s just Piper. She’s trained to find symmetry and beauty in bodies. They’ve happily shared crushes and fixations plenty of times before, so why is Annabeth being so weird about Percy? It’s not like they’re… you know… dating or anything. Just hooking up a bit. 

Piper squints at her, then shrugs herself. “Fine. I don’t have time to get an answer out of you anyway. Come on.”

“Speaking of time,” Annabeth says, following Piper back into the kitchen studio, “I have to head out by 6:30.”

“Oh yeah?” Piper’s head is buried in her belt box, searching for the perfect accent. “What for?”

“I’ve got a show to catch.”

“Kind of early,” she says, pulling out something thin and silver. “Don’t you usually meet Thalia at the ass crack of midnight?”

“Well I kind of want to eat first.”

“Okay.” She cinches the belt around her waist, tight. “Then you’re going to have to help me with this skirt.”

***

Hands aching from hours of macrame, Annabeth walks up to the box office window at the Koch Theater at 7:46, having a handful of second thoughts. 

Old, uppity white couples keep shooting her some particularly intense passive aggressive glares, some of them even venturing into actually aggressive territory, which usually wouldn’t even register on her very short list of things to care about, except that she is feeling woefully out of place. The lady in front of her has ten pounds of diamonds hanging off of each old, wrinkly ear, and the best Annabeth could do was fish out her least-ripped pair of jeans, pairing it with one of her nicer black shirts, the sleeves long enough to cover most of her tattoos. The macrame kept her longer than she had meant, so she didn’t have time to change before dinner, but fuck it, right?

She did also take out most of her face jewelry on the way. But she left the nose stud, obviously. And the tongue piercing. And the industrial, because Percy really likes those, so she doesn’t feel that bad about it. And he hadn’t even told her about this until after she had already given herself the half-undercut, so it’s not like she could do anything about that either.

“Can I help you?” At least this box office worker isn’t giving her the stink-eye. 

“I’m here to pick up a ticket? Should be under ‘Jackson.’” He’d offered to leave it under her name, but this was safer. She doesn’t think her mom is a big ballet person, but she isn’t about to risk it, either.

She slides the ticket towards Annabeth beneath the glass plane. “Enjoy the show,” she says, with a quirk of her mouth that is surprisingly sincere for someone in customer service. 

She’s pretty sure she’d enjoy the show more if she weren’t panicking thinking about getting dirt on their fancy carpets. Her boots are clean, of course, and she doesn’t really care, but she doesn’t want to, like, embarrass Percy or whatever. She’d asked him if she should dress up, but he’d assured her otherwise. “No one’s going to care, I promise,” he’d told her the night before, her lounging in his bed while he did some pushups. “And if anyone says something, let me know and we can kick their ass after the show together.”

“Great. Guess I don’t have to break out the Chanel, then.”

He’d paused, frowned, then huffed a laugh, shaking his head. Like the idea of Annabeth wearing Chanel was hilarious. Like what she’s wearing tonight really is the best that she can do.

Self-consciousness isn’t really a feeling that Annabeth has anymore. She’s spent so many years chafing against expectations, shucking them off when she inevitably failed to meet them, desperate for a place, a crowd where she could just be. In her scene, she doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone, and when Percy is out with her, he doesn’t need any convincing. He likes her. He likes her a lot, she thinks. He likes her enough to let himself be dragged out to every shitty dive bar and shittier rock show in New York City, laughing and cheering and holding her close the whole time. He likes her enough to cart her to his apartment at 4 AM, inevitably waking Nico up from his undead slumber, and leave her with nothing but a glass of water and a kiss on the forehead. And she likes him, too--a lot. Annabeth likes Percy enough to ditch her band t-shirts for a night and track mud on the carpet of the Koch Theater and willingly sit through a performance of fucking Swan goddamn Lake of all things, and it’s only a little scary how much she is willing to do for him after only a few months of fucking him. Because this really isn’t her scene, not anymore. 

The weight of everyone’s stares bears down on her, threatening to crush her beneath them, a feeling she was so sure she’d left behind. 

At least Percy had been thoughtful enough to get her a ticket out of the way in the back of one of the balcony sections. It’s a bit of a hike, but the audience members aren’t dressed quite as nicely as the ones downstairs, and she feels like she can breathe a little easier.

She pulls out her phone, checking her text messages on instinct. There’s a selfie from Percy in his stage makeup (and she’s not going to lie… he looks fucking pretty), with his standard accompanying three blue heart emojis. She can’t help it, her heart skips a beat and she can’t help but smile, even as she rolls her eyes. She’s just about to send him something appropriately sarcastic when another text notification slides in. It’s from her father. 

Hi Annabeth… I was talking to a friend in Boston who said he's looking for a new 

prospective in his architecture firm. Passed your information along. 

Love you, dear

She swipes it away. Deletes the whole text conversation, for good measure. 

Forget about him. This night is about Percy.

A few minutes later, so engrossed in Percy’s program bio (it’s about all she can focus on right now), she doesn’t even notice everyone around her leaning forward in breathless anticipation, until the warm, honey-like sound of the oboe draws her head up. 

Roughly two minutes in, she’s really wishing she had attempted the synopsis. The extent of her knowledge of Swan Lake is a few half-remembered orchestra rehearsals in her teens and reading the Wikipedia article on that Natalie Portman movie a few months ago, and she definitely doesn’t recall there being anything about any Men-in-Tights looking motherfuckers prancing around. They’re sort of bobbing, back and forth, elegantly stepping from one side of the stage to another. Even from back here, she can see the delicate, precise placement of their hands, fingers curved just so, moving through space as though they aren’t bound by the laws of physics.

The fingers, she remembers. She could never get the hang of the fingers. Her old ballet teacher had given up on them after a week, and that had been the beginning of the end for that particular extracurricular. 

Now her fingers tap on her jeans, impatient, far faster than the easy going music on stage. She’s just about to give in to the millennial instinct and pull out her phone, maybe play a round of sudoku, when the dancers motion as one to the back corner, and Percy comes stepping out. His hair is perfectly slicked back, gelled down, any hint of curl beaten into submission, and his smile is small, but white, gleaming against the tanned brown of his skin. She can’t help but smile back, like he could somehow see her. Finally, she thinks, relaxing a little more into her seat. Something to watch.

On his off days, her off days, any day when she would spent the night at his (always at his, never at hers) and wake up wrapped in his comforter and the smell of seawater, she would take the blanket with her and steal into his living room, curl up on his couch with her feet tucked under her legs, and watch him dance. She’s seen him drill these sequences over, and over, and over again, counting furious sequences of sixes and eights beneath his breath in duet with the thuds of his feet on his floor. Most times he would notice her and shoot her a grin, granting her permission to observe the artist at work. Sometimes, though, he would be so caught up in his body, the shifting of his feet and the music in his head, that it was like he couldn’t see her at all. Seemingly alone, he would dance, uninhibited, and she would be struck by a feeling that she usually reserves for specific monuments. Watching Percy dance in his apartment, in his brown tights and black tank top, lost in his own world, is like looking at pictures of the Gateway Arch, or the Hoover Dam, or the Parthenon.

She searches for that feeling now, leaning forward in her seat, eyes hungrily raving his form, but she just doesn’t see it. It’s… honestly, it’s a little boring. She won’t lie. He had warned her it would be something of a slow start, but this isn’t exactly an ADHD friendly medium, and she is losing her patience, just a bit. He’s so reserved, like he’s holding something close to his chest, impersonal as he takes the hands of the female dancers and lets them twirl around him. 

Personally, Annabeth thinks that he looks kind of lost. Maybe he’s just nervous--it’s a big role and he’s a young guy. But he had seemed fine when he’d kissed her goodbye just after lunch. 

The court jester is killing it though. Feeling just the slightest bit guilty, she lets her eyes drift over to him, deciding to watch him for a while instead.

On some level, she does appreciate the skill on display here. Percy can raise his back leg in a perfect ninety degree angle that would make her architecture professors sweat. The girls drift back and forth across the stage on the tips of their toes, weightless and ethereal. It’s mesmerizing, and she lets herself be mesmerized.

Time must slip away from her, because she blinks and all of a sudden the stage has gone from sunny yellow to cool blue, the crowds of dancers having vanished. He is alone on stage. Percy kneels in a deep lunge that makes her thighs ache just looking at him (and for… other reasons), his arms and his attention pointed to the wings, with a… Annabeth squints. When the hell did he get a crossbow?

But everything is swept to the sides when the White Swan tiptoes her way on stage, impossibly graceful, and all of a sudden, Annabeth gets it. 

It feels a little cliche to say, but the way that woman moves on the floor really does remind her of those old, vintage jewelry boxes, suspended in animation, moved by some otherworldly force. It’s amazing. It’s a little terrifying. Sublime is the word that comes to mind as Annabeth watches her. Her arms move with fluidity, perfect curves, her fingers trailing behind her like wings. 

And Percy is just as mesmerized as Annabeth is. As the audience is. 

A few things hit her, in rapid succession. First, that Percy is, actually, a really good actor. His reticence before--he’d been playing a character. He’d been playing aloof and reserved and unmoored, because Percy--Siegfried--whatever--has been waiting his whole life for something to fulfill him, until this singular moment, the moment he laid eyes on this beautiful creature. Second, that she doesn’t need words to understand what’s going on. It’s all there, in every look and gesture and step, as the two characters circle each other, slowly but irrevocably falling in love. And third, that she recognizes the look on his face. It’s the look that Percy gives her when she has been talking for too long and he can’t get a word in edgewise, or when she screams along to the god awful underground bands, three beers in and missing every single fuck she’d ever had, or when she wakes up after him to Percy’s arms around her waist, her hair in his mouth and her head resting against his collarbone. She recognizes it, because that’s the look that Siegfried has for Odette. Because that’s the look that Percy has for Annabeth. Because he loves her.

And fourth, that that doesn’t make her as happy as she wishes it would. 

There’s a cold pit in her stomach for the rest of the show, a turning screw that twists in deeper, minute by minute, with every turn of the dancers. She wastes the next hour trying to puzzle this out, not even pretending to watch the drama unfolding on stage, because it makes no goddamn sense. (Her situation, not the ballet--she managed to skim the synopsis during intermission, her foot tapping incessantly against the blessedly empty seat in front of her.) Things are great between them. It’s been a heady, intoxicating four months, full of bubbles and butterflies, sweet, soft mornings, and some really, really phenomenal sex. This should make her happy. This should put her over the fucking moon, and she cannot, for the life of her, figure out why it doesn’t.

The prima ballerina comes back out as the Black Swan, just as poised and precise as her counterpart, but she’s a great actress as well, because there is something undeniably different about her. Her arms move like rubber, like joints are just an afterthought, wrapping themselves around Percy’s neck and shoulders. She misdirects his attention, drawing his eyes to her wrists, her clavicle, the curve of a leg or the point of her toe. Seducing him. Tricking him. 

Like Annabeth. 

Because try as she might to run from it, Annabeth isn’t who she says she is. She wants so desperately to be this fuck-the-rules, fight-the-power, punk rock princess that she took every part of her that didn’t fit that image and tried to rip it out of her, bloody and struggling. Her trust fund, her two (two!) Harvard degrees, her enriched childhood and her bright and shining future; she took it all out back and shot it, and prayed that would be the end of it. She’s a phony, just like that goddamn Black Swan. Percy is in love with a phony. 

Her sweet, wonderful, devastatingly kind and handsome Percy--she tricked him and made him fall in love with a mishmash of archetypes and aesthetics, distracting him with nose piercings and ripped t-shirts and ugly, deafening noise. 

She’s not surprised that she’s crying when the curtain falls. She’d never known that Siegfried and Odette both died at the end. 

When the cast reunites for curtain call, Percy is given a standing ovation, and Annabeth enthusiastically joins in, wiping the tears from her eyes, smearing her makeup. 

She doesn’t wait for him at the stage door, but sits on the steps of the theater, plucking at her sleeves, aching for a drink and wishing she had had the presence of mind to wear something a little nicer. Percy finds her there almost an hour after the show ended. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

In the dark of night, illuminated only by streetlamps, she can’t read his face--but she can read exhaustion, in every part of his body. “I was waiting for you by the stage door.”

Something in her stomach goes cold. “I… wasn’t sure if I was allowed,” she offers, weakly. 

He smiles, a light in the dark. “Of course you’re allowed,” he says, offering her a hand. “Shall we?”

She knows what will happen next. She’ll take his hand, and they’ll walk to the subway together, fingers intertwined. They’ll get on the 1 train headed north, and Percy will let her rest her head against him, tilting his head back against the window, eyes closed, almost asleep. The doorman will nod at them as they walk up to Nico’s apartment, barely batting an eye at his sweats and her ripped jeans, the two of them sticking out like a sore thumb in a sea of impeccably dressed rich New Yorkers. Nico will wave at them distractedly from his office, gulping down his sixth coffee of the night, and they’ll tiptoe into his room, falling asleep in each other’s arms with little more than a good night kiss. 

Which, of course, is exactly what does end up happening.

Almost. 

Annabeth crawls on top of him in his bed, kissing him soft and senseless. She doesn’t know where he’s getting this energy from, but she is not complaining as he slips up inside of her, the two of them rocking each other gently to orgasm, their foreheads pressed together. Shuddering as he comes, he captures her mouth in another kiss, pouring every ounce of love he has in him into her.

A waste, honestly. 

But as far as goodbye sex, it’s pretty damn great. 

She needs to end this, before either of them get hurt. It’s the least of what he deserves, after all. To put yourself out there, to offer yourself up like that, that might be the bravest thing Annabeth’s ever heard of, and surely, Annabeth can find the courage to do what needs to be done.

[ohmydamgods]

Would I be friends with the Riordanverse characters if we were in school together?

Idea credits to: @best-ofpjo @pjohoo-memes @chirons-coochie and a few others I can’t remember

Percy - Honestly probably not. Everyone I’ve seen who has done this either on tumblr or Instagram has gone with yes but I don’t think I would be. We would definitely have bumped into each other at some point and have had a few conversations because we both make a habit of talking to people who are having a hard time and also because I think he would ask me for my notes if he was in my class, but we’d be acquaintances at best

Annabeth - I would say yes but it would be a very competitive relationship. Both of us would constantly be fighting for top of class and her ADHD and Dyslexia would only make her want it more. So we would be competing over school all the time but I’d definitely give her my lunch if she forgot hers and go along with whatever lie she told the teacher about forgetting her assignment without hesitation

Jason - Yes! I absolutely would be! He seems to be the type who would be on the football team and have a 4.0 gpa. Essentially my man would be so uptight when it comes to school, so exactly my kind of people. Definitely study buddy’s but I would also hang out with him at like a park or something

Piper - Nope. Solely because we would run in completely different circles but I think we would work well together in a group project but that’s it

Leo - I’m gonna be one of the few people to say this but 110% yes. I refuse to do anything that would harm my reputation in school because my parents would kill me however that does not mean I look down upon the people who do. I think it’s hilarious (unless Leo would be the type of guy to moan in class, because that just gets me annoyed). I’ve definitely encouraged and dared quite a few people to pull a prank they shouldn’t have or do something they shouldn’t have in a boring class and Leo absolutely would. Plus he’s into all the same books and tv shows as I am (everyone forgets he likes the same things we do in canon). So long as he can make a boring class less boring, I would give him my bio notes in exchange for his math ones and we’d be besties

Frank - No, sadly just because we wouldn’t run in the same circle but I’d think he was really sweet and I’d be excited to be his assigned lab partner or something

Hazel - yes but specifically in school friends

Nico - Also yes, I’d trust him with my life. He really reminds me of a few friends I have, the only time he’s lied in the series is to protect the greater good and while I don’t think I would have been able to, I respect that. He’s also incredibly sweet, he just doesn’t know how to express his affection or fondness without making himself uncomfortable which is chill with me too

Reyna - YES! She’s the type to do extremely well in school but hate every waking moment of it. This is another trait I like, school sucks and it’s draining to pretend you actually enjoy any class besides your favorite and sometimes you don’t even like your favorite class, you just think the teacher is cool. She’s not judgy yet she gives you her full and clear cut opinion all the time which I think it’s very cool

Will - Oh definitely! He’s sweet, seems like the type to stress bake

[anachronisticcrab]

Nico talking is a disaster

I’m addition to my post about Nico talking with his hands in canon:

That’s the reason that Nico stays a bit away from everyone when they’re talking

He’s hit too many people in the face while talking, so he takes a step away from them, just in case it happens again

It still happens, but a little less now, thanks to the distance

He and the other Italian kids at camp have weekly meetings to talk about how they’ve hit people while talking and other things that’ve happened

The total list of people he’s hit in the face is::

Hazel. He felt horrible, and told her to hit him back. She refused, cause she knew he didn’t mean to, and it’s not like it hurt or anything. However, she does throw it in his face sometimes to get something she wants. She’s learned to be ready to duck while her brother is talking

Percy. Nico laughed his head off, and then Percy summoned a total wave to hit him. Nico still occasionally hits him while he talks

Jason and Reyna when he first met them, which was really, really embarrassing, since it was in front of the entire senate who were deciding if they should keep his sister at camp. What he thinks is worse is that he’s hit them both many times since then

Travis and Connor, on multiple occasions. He refuses to apologize, and they refuse to let him

Maria and Bianca. Plus the rest of his family in Italy. It was a common occurrence. They all did the same thing, but slapped him when he accidentally slapped them

Hades. He laughs about it now, but was terrified the first time. He definitely hit Hades when convincing him top fight in the Battle of Manhattan

Demeter and Persephone. He laughs his head off about it every time he thinks of their faces. However, Persephone turned him into a rose and Demeter turned him into a patch of wheat

Leo, who was completely gobsmacked for .2 seconds, and now makes fun of Nico for it all the time

Grover, who still thinks Nico’s awesome, and laughs. Nico feels bad about it

His teachers at the military school, who all gave him detention. Especially when he almost/ did hit them all with pencils, erasers, Mythomagic figures, and pens

All of his classmates, who took it upon themselves to ostracize him and Bianca because of it

Dionysus, who thought Nico’s reaction (read: terror) was hilarious

Chiron, who didn’t speak to Nico for two weeks out of pure spite

Probably Zeus and Poseidon at some point. Nico says it was an accident, but no one really believes him. It took the entire force of Hestia, Hades, Apollo, Will, Cecil, Lou, The Seven, Reyna, the Hunters of Artemis, and Clarisse to stop them from killing him

Annabeth, and then he hid from her for a few weeks cause she’s terrifying

Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who talks just as much with her hands

Clarisse, who tried not to smack him

Piper, who fired a bunch of fruit at him through the cornucopia, which was very entertaining to watch

Lou Ellen and Cecil, who both decided to pull pranks on Nico. Lou cursed his hands to stay by his side for a day, and Nico refused to talk the entire time. Cecil decided to hide all of Nico’s shirts and replace them with pink crop tops. Nico didn’t bat an eye

He accidentally threw a plastic water bottle at Frank, who was 15 feet away, and Hazel never let him live it down. Frank thought he did it on purpose cause he knew Frank liked Hazel (this was before they were dating), and that added to his fear of Nico. Nico didn’t do it on purpose, and apologizes all the time for it, but still

Daedalus, who laughed and gave Nico and Percy shared custody of Mrs O’Leary

Minos, who made Nico feel worse about himself, and called him a monster who would never belong since he couldn’t even talk normally

His ring accidentally hit Kronos and Gaia.

His ring also flew off his finger and hit Coach Hedge in the eye at the picnic at the end of House of Hades. Hedge got a black eye, and Nico felt really, really, really bad about it. He still apologizes years later, and Hedge still finds it hilarious. Nico got it resized (for the third time) after that

Nico has definitely smacked himself in the face while talking. A lot. Whenever he does, he pauses for a minute to reavaluate his life while his friends laugh at him

He’s hit Will so much it’s not even funny. Will gets him to rant and joke around all the time, which makes his gestures go wilder, and causes him to hit everyone within a 2 metre radius, and yet Will refuses to move away from Nico

He’s accidentally thrown food at people. If there’s something in his hand and he’s talking, no one is safe. It will slip out of his hand. He accidentally spilt a cup of hot coffee on Austin, and he apologized profusely. Really though, he was more upset about his spilled coffee then burning Austin

He hit Seymour the Leapord with a slice of pizza once, and it then fell on Kayla. It was a sad day

He accidentally threw his plate at dinner, and to cover it up, Will yelled ‘Opa!’ and everyone else smashed their plates too. Mr D made Nico pay for all of the plates and cups that broke, which Nico completely offered to do (what was worse is that Camp Jupiter was also at camp that day)

Now if he starts talking with something in his hands, everyone ducks. Nico doesn’t think it’s that bad, but they all agree it is

He slapped the TV in Bunker 9 off the stand once. He really didn’t mean to, and he payed to replace it

He’s broken a lot of Leo’s inventions that way. Leo forgave him, but he was still upset about it

The 7 tried tying his hands together during House of Hades when he slapped Festus and almost had his face melted off. Nico tried talking but couldn’t stay focused whenever he opened his mouth to speak

He started waving his arms around together and almost gave Hazel a black eye thanks to both his hands being thrown together. She ducked at the last second and didn’t get hit. Nico apologized profusely, and she laughed her head off. She’s used to him talking with his hands, so she’s ready to duck if necessary

He’s hit Hestia a lot, and she laughs it off every time

Castor and Pollux have both gotten black eyes from him

Clovis gets slapped in the dreamworld sometimes

In conclusion. Nico is a disaster who shouldn’t be allowed to talk with his hands. He still does, much to everyone else’s chagrin

[youarestellarverse]

God there are so. many. things. I need to tweak.

A substantial portion of which are because I never learn my lesson about not showing numbers which is a problem because I like Jason am dyscalculic 😬

revisions for clarity:

get rid of all of the damn numbers that are not vitally important to the plot

fix contradictions across different fics

tweak throwaways that should, in retrospect, be significant

Things I still have to do on a housekeeping front:

post the f-list profiles

masterpost of fic links

masterpost of information that is actually relevant

maybe take the last (ultimately irrelevant) masterpost and make it a headcanons etc post?

answer comments (partially complete!!)

creatively:

cAST THE REST OF THE DAMN SHOWS

(I have thoughts but I'm saving some of them; I know who Annabeth, Rachel, Jason, Percy, Leo, Reyna and Michael Yew are playing, and Leo, Reyna and Annabeth I haven't yet ~disclosed~...I may leave some spoilery spaghetti-throwing under a cut)

get over myself and follow through on an idea I had for sharing art while being slightly less self-conscious

and yup.

Spoilery bits:

Annabeth (singing out of her range) is Mrs. Lovett, because she and Jason have excellent chemistry.

Percy is Anthony.

Rachel is Johanna.

Leo is Toby.

Reyna is Pirelli.

I don't know who's playing the beggar woman (Piper may be the only mezzo left?), I'm not sure who's playing Beadle Bamford, I'm not 100% sure on who the ballad ghosts are— though Clarisse is one of them.

I also have Beauty and the Beast:

Piper as Belle

Jason as the Beast

Annabeth as the Witch

Percy might be Lumiere, but I feel like Leo would also excel, so I'm undecided.

I made Michael Yew a basso profondo, which limits his roles— though I'm fairly certain he plays Gaston.

Reyna is Mrs. Potts.

Rachel is Madame de la Grande Bouche.

The Apollo kids fill in the leads I can't figure out how to fill. Still missing Le Fou and Cogsworth.

And The Scarlet Pimpernel:

Percy as Percy Blakeney (he specifies in his bio that his name is Perseus, not Percival)

Piper as Marguerite St. Just

Jason as Citizen Chauvelin

Potentially Leo as Armand St. Just, since he and Percy are the tenors at that moment (freshman year; they both mature into baritones)

And Into the Woods, which I've shared the cast on already (but revised slightly):

Jason and Percy as the Princes

Piper as The Baker's Wife

Leo as Jack

Hazel as Little Red

I still reeeeeally want Reyna as The Baker but Frank could pull it off too, I think

Rachel as Cinderella

Annabeth was originally Cinderella's Mother, but I think I might want her for Rapunzel

I don't have a Witch, Narrator, whichever soprano Annabeth ends up not playing, or like, any of the ensemble

I don't have a Spring Musical for Sophomore, Junior, or Senior years, but I have two Freshman shows that must be in Freshman year because of the timeline (Piper and Jason actually have very good chemistry until they start dating halfway through the run of the Freshman Spring Musical, which is Pimpernel, and Thalia vows to NEVER EVER CAST COUPLES AS COUPLES EVER AGAIN EVER)

And of course lastly, we have Les Mis:

Nico as Jean Valjean

Reyna as Javert

Piper as Fantine

Percy as Enjolras

Frank as Marius

Leo as Courfreyrac

Clarisse as Feuilly

Jason as Grantaire/The Bishop of Digne

possibly Beckendorf as Combferre

Cosette may be either Rachel or Annabeth, but

I kinda want Rachel for Madame Thenardier, on the basis of being fucking hilarious

Harley as Little Gavroche

Hazel as Eponine (because a. everyone in the world would bawl their eyes out over A Little Fall Of Rain with Frank and b. she can practice at home and Nico can stew himself into chowder over how much it hurts— "he was never mine to lose; why regret what could not be? These are words he'll never say; not to me, not to me, not to me.")

No idea who's playing Thenardier or Young Cosette.

And that's not even fucking getting into the Shakespeare and the other non-musicals, such as The Importance Of Being Earnest

Jason as Jack

Percy as Algernon

Piper as Gwendolyn and Annabeth as Cecily, or the other way around— depending on whether they do the show before or after Piper starts dating Jason. (I like the idea of Annabeth usually playing ingenues because of the thing where she deliberately attempts to make people think she's a dumb blonde so they let their guard down, so I'm leaning towards the before.)

Plus Much Ado About Nothing, which I haven't cast at all, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I have cast but again it doesn't fit the damn timeline:

Annabeth as Titania

Reyna as Oberon

Percy as Bottom

Leo as Puck

Piper as Helena

Jason as Demetrius

Hazel as Hermia

Frank as Lysander

And Romeo and Juliet:

Frank as Romeo

Hazel as Juliet

Percy as Mercutio

Jason as Benvolio

Annabeth as Lady Capulet

And then I just have a bunch of holes.

Ideally, I wanted two musicals and two straight plays per year— one Shakespeare and one not-Shakespeare— but I don't even know if that's possible anymore lmao 🙃

This for the record is one of the things that is tripping me up lmao.

[greatneedtotakeanap]

i binge read

episode 9 - the house of hades

i don’t care what anybody says, hazel levesque was the main character in this book.

of course, all of the seven are the main characters, and all of them underwent a life changing journey in this book - Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus of course, Frank in Venice with all of the katoblepones and again in the House of Hades summoning the dead, Jason with his whole Cupid-Nico escapade, Leo meeting Calypso, and Piper fighting Khione. But Hazel’s journey was the most central to the plot. She actively chose the crossroads that would lead to the events of the whole book - Leo falling, Percy and Annabeth unconscious in front of the Doors, Frank wounded. Those were all events that she chose and events that came to pass. She, personally, led to pretty much everything that happened. She’s the most powerful of the seven imo, with all of the Mist manipulation and gem summoning - she easily possesses the most raw power.

Anyways. I’d have to talk about all of the Seven individually for this post to work. We’ve already covered Hazel so let’s start with Jason, because nobody ever does. I really wish this guy had more character, even just in his own chapters. I understand that he’s hella blunt and how helpful that is, and most of the time I appreciate it. But his main conflict in this book was belonging, in the Greek versus the Roman camps (which is something that Nico was also struggling with in a different way). I wish he’d explored that, the blending of Greek and Roman, within himself more. I think it’s a very important plot point that I as a biracial kid can relate to specifically - the feeling of coming from two different places, loving two different cultures, wondering to which you truly belong.

Next, Piper. We really didn’t see as much as I’d like to see of her in this book. She kind of just popped up whenever anybody needed a charmspeaking side character. Her big climax moment was fighting Khione, which was a pretty cool scene I must admit. I admired not only her quick thinking but her ability to accept that she was unable to think like Annabeth and her willingness to embrace her own way of thinking. That’s something that I don’t see as much as I’d like. Also I loved the little detail of her swordfighting lessons with Hazel. The girl power and camaraderie was strong and I appreciated that. It almost seems to me like she’s learning that she is like other girls--the narrative in her chapters was very different from in TLT.

Leo. If nobody ever shut me up, I could talk for days about Leo Valdez. Admittedly he pissed me off a bit sometimes - sometimes his jokes took things too far, especially when he picked on Frank. But this fifteen year old child built a HELICOPTER in MIDAIR. He just makes it so hard not to love him. The high point for him this book was, obviously, when he crashlanded on Calypso’s island. It was one of my favorite parts of the book, too, partially because it was one of those scenes I could just see in my head, every second. It made a pretty beautiful picture too. You could see both of them slowly falling in love - Jason says later that he was only in exile for five days, but Leo, on Ogygia, clearly experienced at least two weeks - one of them building a looking glass, the other building a boat with Calypso. It was interesting to see, through the other people’s eyes, how it changed him. And how he refused to talk about it. I love how his instinct, whenever he sees Gaea, is to just chuck the nearest object at her. In TLT, he sees her in face in the porta-potty sludge, and he chucks a toilet seat at her. In Calypso’s island, when she reappears, he just throws a pair of pliers at her. It’s just so hilarious to imagine--see Gaea, throw object. I have never felt prouder of him than I did when he chucked that screwdriver from across the room to press the button to let Percy and Annabeth out of that elevator. It was just a cinematic move.

Frank!! If Hazel wasn’t the main character, it definitely would have been him. His journey in this book was also quite cinematic. It was amazing to see how he’d changed, growing into his identity as a child of Mars. There were so many times I loved him so much--destroying every katobleps in venice, leading the team through the House of Hades. All while the two different sides of his dad were yapping away in his head. Takes some serious steel. I just feel like everyone always underestimates Frank Zhang. This dude, despite being the biggest pacifist of the Seven (besides possibly Piper), is just so freaking metal. I’m so incredibly proud of him and of his journey.

I intentionally left Percy and Annabeth for last because it’s gonna be hard to explain. Because I’d have to group them together mostly. I loved the way they were always working for each other, always looking out for each other. They saved each other’s lives dozens of times over. I know I’ve said it a thousand times but that’s my favorite thing about Percabeth. They’re best friends above all. From the very beginning, with the river, to Arachne, to the aria curses and so much more - they always, always had each other’s backs. I loved Bob the titan immediately. I can’t say I remember him, like, at all--despite the binge reading I did, I literally cannot remember Iapetus. Which book was he in? I’m assuming The Last Olympian. I knew Small Bob would be important in the end, and I knew the giant would come back - though it was quite sad, the ending. Especially Percy at the end telling Zoe that bob says hello. A lot of the scenes in Tartarus were difficult to imagine, though some were easier - for example, the defeat of Misery. I cheered when Percy took her down, I immediately hated her. Other Tartarus escapades were sad and painful, but I’m glad they got out.

Fourteen days until Gaea awakens and two demigods’ blood will water her soil. Tower of Nero is released today. I was hoping to finish all three series, short of the final book, by Friday. Can our heroes battle Gaea, fix things with the Romans, and save the world? Can I read the Blood of Olympus and the entirety of the Trials of Apollo within three and a half days? Probably not. Stay tuned for more.

[solange-lol]

abc, 123, baby you and me

SolangeloWeek Day 5 - Age Regression/Kidfic

Words: 2517

Special thanks to Val aka @jayjay-graceless and Annie aka @bookplush for those absolutely genius names within their robot child 

Read on Ao3

There wasn’t ever anything for Nico di Angelo to look forward to in sex ed, especially in a public high school. He supposed they should be lucky to get any sort of education at all, but the 40 minute period every day was just another reference to their heteronormative society. If they had to learn about every single type of birth control, it would be nice to at least cover some sort of protection for same-sex couples. It’s not even like his sexuality or his relationship with Will was a secret. 

 Even the ‘study games’ were cruel. One game involved them putting post-its on their back with words either relating to male or female genitalia, and they had to guess what it was using ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions. If it weren’t for Frank (bless him) choosing to savor his embarrassment and reminding him about it, Nico would have been walking around with ‘penis’ on his back for the rest of the day. (He still doesn’t think the rest of their friends forgive him for catching him before he walked out of the room). 

However, there was always one unit that everyone always looked forward to near the end of the year: their parenthood unit. After years of trying (and failing) to reign the disaster of using eggs or sacks of flour as their ‘children’, the school implanted actual robotic babies into the system specifically for this unit. Their final grade of the semester was determined along a week of taking care of the robotic baby, which would track whether or not they mishandled the baby in a way that would upset an actual living, breathing child. The catch is it would be done in partnerships.

The moment their teacher announced it, Nico looked right at Will, who wiggled his eyebrows. Nico gave Will a quick nod in response. He noticed for a second that Piper and Annabeth were eyeing him warily before looking at each other in a mutual agreement about something, but he chose to ignore it. Of course he was going to choose Will for this project. 

When their teacher finally called for their groups to get together, Will immediately moved to sit next to Nico. The two glanced around, seeing who else paired up. Some of them were obvious from known friendships, while others seemed to be a have-nobody-else-to-partner-with type situation. One of the most unfortunate situations was Frank Zhang, his sister’s boyfriend; Hazel was in the class under them, which left Frank to be paired with one of the Stoll brothers. Nico was lucky to be in a class with his boyfriend and a lot of his friends, otherwise, he probably would have ended up like that.

 Annabeth and Piper had paired together, which was a surprise to Nico as both of their boyfriends were in the class. However, judging by the harmless death glares and teasing, Jason and Percy seemed to have turned this entire assignment into a competition against the girls. Nico just rolled his eyes at them; the overly dramatic bromance between both groups was too much for him at times.

Next to him, Will was already chattering excitedly. 

“I’ve been coming up with names while she was talking,” he said, pulling a folder from his backpack. “I’m thinking something extravagant. Maybe Percival or Wulfric for a boy, and Celestia or Antoinette for a girl.” He glanced down the list again. “Oh! Wellington is also a good one! Or Febreeze-”

“We aren’t naming it,” Nico said, shutting the folder with a laugh. It was funny how everyone expected Nico to be more flamboyant as the fully gay one, but sometimes he felt like his bisexual boyfriend came right from playing Kurt Hummel in Glee.

Will pouted for a second before he continued. “My mom told me at the beginning of the year when we got the permission slip for this assignment that you would be able to stay whichever night to make it easier on us. Or I can stay at your house, whatever you want.” Nico just nodded along, a small smile forming on his face. Who knew a stupid sex ed assignment would be an excuse to spend all week with his boyfriend. 

Will left to get their robot baby from the teacher, and Annabeth immediately slid into his place.

“I don’t think you should do this project with Will,” she said. Nico’s head immediately snapped up from the sheet of instructions, eyes narrowing.

“Give me one good reason.”

“Oh, I’ll give you multiple reasons. Do you know how much strain a baby will put on a marriage, much less a regular relationship? Especially when you're in high school. And have you ever spent more than a weekend with Will? It says you’re supposed to try and take care of the baby together as much as possible. You don’t know how long you can stand him for. Your patience is already going to be strained enough.”

Nico’s eyes shifted, avoiding her stormy gray ones staring him down. “None of those are good reasons,” he mumbled.

Annabeth sighed, finally letting her arms drop to the desk rather than in their crossed position. “Look, there’s a reason I’m not even doing it with Percy, and we’ve been dating for nearly two years-”

“Isn’t this supposed to be, like, the true test though?” He cut her off. “See if we could actually handle being around each other every day, or if we would be good with children?” He wouldn’t ever admit it, not even to himself yet, but Nico could honestly see himself spending the rest of his life with Will. (It was too terrifying to think about so usually he chose not to.)

“What you and Will have is good, Nico, I’m not denying that,” she pushed. “I just don’t want it to be ruined. Not when you’ve gotten this far.”

Nico sighed. He hated that she had a point. If he had an existential crisis surrounding his relationship with Will in the next week, he was blaming it entirely on her.

“I think you’d have to kill him to not do this project with me,” he said, rolling his eyes in an attempt to shake off his hesitance. 

Before she could respond, Will came bounding back, and all the doubt Annabeth had planted in his mind was momentarily forgotten. Because even though it was obviously made out of plastic (and oh goodness, those eyes were terrifyingly empty) his heart melted a little bit at the sight of his boyfriend with a baby in his arms. 

“Go get back to your own kid,” Nico said, shoving her out of the chair. She gave him the stink eye before returning to Piper; their baby had already started emitting a robotic cry somehow. 

“Are you okay?” Will asked, and the gleeful tone in his voice before had disappeared. “Whatever she said to you seemed pretty upsetting.” 

Nico smiled, and thankfully it didn’t feel fake. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”

And just like that, regular old Will was back. “Great! Because I figured out the perfect name for her.” Nico raised an eyebrow at him, but he continued anyway. “Delphina Oregano Galavine,”

“Its initials are D-O-G. You named it Dog.” Nico stated.

“di Angelo-Solace,” Will added hastily.

“Nope, too late. I’m calling it Dog."

***

As it turns out, Dog (yes, Nico was seriously calling it that) wasn’t actually that difficult to take care of in school. They were given their babies that Friday morning and were required to take care of it up until Monday. All the teachers were aware of the project, so most of them went easy on their students. 

He says most, as his history teacher thought it would be hilarious to give presentations that day. Thankfully, Will had taken Dog to his class, so Nico was allowed to present in peace, while others had to try and rely on their friends or anyone around them to watch their baby. Nothing like trying to present on American history while a couple teenagers tried to frantically silence any robotic crying. 

It was the start of that weekend when the chaos of parenthood really started. Nico blames the whole thing on Will and his poor judgment, to be honest. 

They had a plan to meet up at Will’s house on Saturday after Nico got off of work. Instead, Will showed up at Nico’s work. With the baby. 

Will tried to play it off like he was just a casual shopper, browsing the aisles with a robotic baby in tow. Whatever effect it may have had on other shoppers, though, it did not have the same one on him. Nico’s cheeks were heating up as he approached his manager in the back.

“You have to kick him out,” Nico pleaded to Reyna. 

“Why? He’s not doing anything wrong,” she seemed unfazed by the whole situation.

Nico gaped at her. “He’s holding a robotic child.” 

“Your robotic child, might I remind you. And that’s not even the strangest thing we’ve seen here.” (That part was true; retail was wacky). “Besides, isn’t it like, kinda romantic that he came to visit you with your child?” 

Nico glared at her, but she glared right back before instructing him to get back to work. He took that as an invitation to go over to Will. “What the hell are you doing here?” Nico hissed at him.

Will jumped, nearly dropping the baby in his arms. Nico was so thankful he didn’t; they were lucky it was sleeping right now. The only thing worse than this current situation was if the baby was fussy right now. (Although, that could get Will kicked out, which wouldn’t be all that bad).

“Oh, hey Nico!” he smiled. “I got bored just lying around at home, and I think she did too.” He hoisted the baby higher up in his arm so he had a better grip around her. 

“But why did you bring it out in public?” 

Will’s brow furrowed. “What, did you just expect to hide away at home for an entire weekend?” 

“Yeah, kind of!” Nico gritted his teeth.

“Is that how you would treat a real child?”

“No, but-”

“So why would you treat this one any different?”

“Because that’s not a real child, Will!” He didn’t mean for it to come out as harsh as it did, but Will looked more angry than sad.

“Are you embarrassed to be with me?” he asked flatly, and Nico felt his heart break a little bit. 

“No, I’m not embarrassed by you, Will. I could never be, even when you do something worth being embarrassed for. Nor would I be embarrassed to be with you with an actual child,” Will looked relieved at that, but Nico wasn’t finished. “I am embarrassed by that-” he pointed to the doll in Will’s arms. “-though. It freaks me out, and I think it’s freaking other people out.”

Will looked around like it was the first time he noticed that he was in a public setting with a robot baby in his arms. “Oh,” he said, glancing at a few confused shoppers as they passed. “I’ll just- I’m gonna go” he ducked his head as his cheeks heated up, and Nico felt bad for him.

“Hold on,” Nico grabbed his arm. “Just stay there for a second, I’m going to go ask Reyna for the rest of the afternoon off.”

***

If Nico remembered correctly, there was one benefit that came from being able to spend his weekend at Will’s house for this project. It was Sunday, though, and they had yet to take advantage of that benefit. 

Dog was sleeping in the corner on the weird makeshift-bed of pillows Will had put together on top of his dresser. Will’s actual dog, a golden retriever named Sunny (Will had named her when he was 5), had been taken by Naomi to a vet appointment. His half-sister, Kayla, was out shopping with friends, and his half-brother, Austin, was at work. Which meant Will and Nico were home alone. With no distractions.

Currently, they were sitting across from each other on Will’s bed, studying for their upcoming math test. Nico knew he probably needed to actually work on his study guide (he hardly paid any attention in math anyway, after their teacher made the mistake of letting him and Will sit next to each other, that class was entirely them goofing off in the back) but instead he leaned over and kissed Will on the cheek. Will looked up from the problem he was working on for a second and gave Nico a quick kiss, before taking Nico’s hand with his free one and going back to work.

That wasn’t working for Nico, though, so he yanked on his hand, pulling the Will toward him. Thankfully, Will complied, dropping the textbook and paper on his lap in favor of leaning down to kiss Nico. He ended up pulling Nico down on top of him, so they were laying back on his bed. 

Nico tore his lips away from Will’s and kissed along his jaw and down his neck as he pushed the flannel that Will was wearing off his shoulders. He sat up for a second, straddling Will’s hips as he tugged his shirt over his head as Will did the same with his own. He leaned back down, pressing his bare chest to Will’s as he went back to work on the skin around Will’s collarbone. 

Will’s eyes rolled back, fluttering before shutting completely as he gasped and sighed before pulling Nico back up to kiss him on the lips once again.

Nico was about to reach for Will’s jeans when a robotic cry echoed throughout the room, causing both boys to groan in annoyance

“I’m gonna turn off that stupid thing,” Nico mumbled into Will’s neck. 

“I wouldn’t argue with that.”

***

Nico and Will stood in front of a desk the next day, Dog laying quietly on top as their teacher clicked through her laptop

“Congrats, boys, you guys got an A-,” their teacher said before moving onto the next group. Will sighed in relief.

Immediately, he walked over to Piper and Annabeth’s table to gloat. “Suck it, Chase,” he grinned. “We were fantastic parents.”

“We still got a higher grade than you,” Annabeth pointed out. “But I have to say, I’m impressed. I don’t think I would have done that well with Percy. I guess you were right,” she sounded pained as she said it, and Nico gloated.

Walking back to his desk, Will was staring blankly at the baby. 

“I think I’m gonna miss her,” he said.

Nico considered it for a second. “I think I’m going to miss having an excuse to sleep over at your house.”

“Yeah, about that. Apparently, you left a very visible mark on my neck, and Lou Ellen and I do not have the same skin tone,” Will said, then asked: “So, when do you want kids?” 

Nico glared at him with no real anger behind his eyes, slapping him playfully on the arm. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, there.”

~~~

Thanks for reading! Taglist under cut (message me to be added/removed)

@internallyexplodingrainbows @aleclight-ofmylife-wood @unicornsgomooo @anxiouswinter @soulangelou @number-of-fucks-i-give-0 @underworldystuff @theeloquentsnake @solangelover@thefandomsaretakingover @internallyexplodingrainbows @hairasuntouchedaspartoftheamazon @motivatedcryptidtamer @emilyfairchild @wherethewildthingsare-nt @my-face-is-a-potato 

[bubblegumwitchswriting]

Abducted, Possessed or In Love

Pairing: Will/Nico

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12119691

Summary:  Nico is acting really different and Leo is slightly convinced that Nico has been abducted by aliens. Jason has a different theory. After all Nico is only different around a certain blonde-haired medic.

“I think something is wrong with Nico,” Leo said.

The effect of his words was instantaneous. Jason put down his toast and reached for his sword.  Piper continued buttering her bread, outwardly unmoved, but her hold on the knife suddenly looked a lot more threatening.

"What do you mean?" Jason asked. "Is he alright? Has someone said something to him because if they have-"

"Whoa chill man. That's actually kind of the opposite of the problem."

Jason glanced down at his sword as though he'd only just realised he was holding it, and put it back down with deliberate care.

"Leo it's too early for this. What exactly is going on?"

"I think Nico might have been kidnapped by aliens and replaced by an exact double."

Jason blinked at him. Piper let go of the butter knife and took a bite of bread.

"Well?" Leo asked.

"Well what Leo?"

"You don't look overwhelmed by my news."

"Because," Jason said wearily, going back to his breakfast. "You are being ridiculous."

"Well okay maybe the alien thing is a little farfetched. Do you think they could get into camp with the defences? Maybe only half-blood aliens-"

"Leo!"

"Demons then. Maybe he was wandering around a hell-scape somewhere and got possessed."

"Somehow I think that might actually be more farfetched," Jason said. "And why exactly do you think this run of incredibly unlikely things might have happened to Nico?"

"Because he just wished me good morning."

"Says something that you think a demon would be more cheerful than Nico," Piper commented.

"Hey I like the kid I’m just saying he’s gloomy. At least he used to be. It's an invasion of the body snatchers I'm telling you!"

"Isn't that the opposite of what happened in the invasion?" Piper asked, yawning. "It's if he gets more emotionless then we have to worry."

Jason gave her a look and she shrugged and smiled.

"I'm kidding. But seriously Leo, he's probably just in a good mood."

"Okay," Leo said pointing a stick of pineapple at her "But riddle me this: when was the last time Di Angelo was in a good mood?"

"Just because he's not often happy doesn't mean he can't- " Jason began wearily but Leo intercepted him.

"No man, I mean what do you think has made him cheerful?"

"Oh."

Jason seemed to think about this.

"Well maybe just being around camp has made him realise -" he trailed off. "Huh."

"Aliens," Leo whispered knowledgeably with a nod.

"It's not aliens Leo, wait where are you going? Leo!"

"Do you ever feel like your talking to yourself?" Jason asked as his calls fell on deaf ears.

"Well if Nico sends him to a shadow realm for bugging him at least you can say you tried," Piper said.

"Has anyone seen Nico?" Jason asked.

"Maybe he's -"

"He's not hiding out in his secret alien spaceship or whatever it is you were going to say."

Leo grinned but held up his hands in surrender.

"Have you lost him?" Piper asked. She was cleaning her knife while the rest of the Aphrodite cabin rallied behind her ready for a day of fun and adventure and the lava climbing wall. Jason could dimly hear Drew complaining about her nails.

"Not really," Jason said. "It's just Nico usually hangs out with me for activities."

Piper shrugged. "Sorry. He'll turn up though."

Jason nodded but he couldn't help feel a little concerned. He'd thought - he'd hoped - Nico was over the feelings that he didn't belong. After his stay in the infirmary he'd certainly seemed a little more settled and since then had begun settling into camp activities he’d fallen in with the rest of camp, even hanging out with Percy at times which Jason knew must have taken a lot of courage. But with Nico’s absence he began to worry all the same.

"Percy have you seen Nico?" he asked.  

Percy, tying his amour as he walked over, gave Jason a slightly mischievous smile.

"He's moved on," Percy said.

"What?"

"Trust me," Percy said. "He's fine."

Jason gave him an odd look. Percy's grin got bigger and he nodded over to where the Apollo cabin were coming down. Nico was in the middle of them, talking to Will animatedly.

"He looks happy!" Jason said before he could help himself.

"Now look who's comparing Nico to a gloomy demonic -" Leo said with a grin.

"I never said demonic."

Will laughed at something Nico said, and Nico looked momentarily stunned before blushing furiously. Percy raised an eyebrow, Piper gave a knowing smirk and Leo's jaw dropped so low Jason was slightly concerned it was going to unhinge and drop off.

"I see what you mean," Piper commented.

Nico went to snatch something from Will's hands, giggling as Will it pulled back and out of the way at the last minute.

"I just meant he wasn't going to come do archery with us!" Percy said stumbling over his words in his shock. "Be he just -"

"What you've never seen Di Angelo smile before?" asked Piper with a slight smirk. Jason got the feeling she was enjoying this somehow.

"Not for a very long time," Percy said quietly. His eyes had clouded over slightly as he watched Nico and eventually he shrugged and moved away.

"You coming Jason? Without Nico around I need you to make me feel better about my archery skills."

"Hilarious Jackson."

But he followed. Percy was right: it looked like Nico was okay after all.

Percy hadn't quite been able to shake Tartarus. He supposed that was only natural, and he knew it would take time to forget, but every time he thought he was nearing a place where it wouldn't pervade his dream space quite so much it came back to haunt him. Normally when the nightmares hit he would seek out Annabeth but she had an important test, something about entrance into one of New Rome's top colleges and he didn't want to disturb her rest. Instead he wandered up to the dining pavilion, watching the sun as it began to climb above the horizon. He wondered, absently, where Apollo was and what his punishment had been. He knew Rachel was still cut off from prophecies. It didn't seem to bode well for the god.  

When he reached the pavilion, he saw Nico sitting on the Hades table, swinging his legs and gazing absently at the horizon. He was eating which was the first surprise. The second was that, despite it being horrendously early Nico, who would be the first to describe himself as not a morning person, looked reasonably content.

Percy hadn't been alone with Nico since Nico had confessed, and he wasn't sure what he should say. He wanted to apologise for being such an idiot but that would mean bringing up Nico's crush and he wasn't sure Nico would want that.

Nico glanced over at him, but didn't say anything as Percy sat down.

"I don't know how you did it," Percy said finally. "Tartarus I mean."

"I don't know why you think I want to talk about this," Nico said but there was less antagonism about him than usual so Percy took that as a good sign.

"The dreams don't ever really go away," Nico said suddenly, glancing over at Percy. "But they get better."

Percy smiled at him surprised, but Nico was no longer paying any attention to Percy. He was distracted by another early riser who was coming up from the direction of the cabins. Will.

"You're eating then?" Will asked, as soon as he was close enough. He pulled his earphones out and shoved them into a pocket. Nico folded his arms.

"You highlighted the importance of a balanced diet," Nico said with a very straight face. "Besides an apple a day keeps the doctor away and I refuse to spend any more time in the infirmary with you. The first time was bad enough."

Nico words were normal enough but the way he was looking at Will, like Will was his personal sunshine, didn't quite match the grumpy tone.

Will just smirked.

"Anything to get you to eat properly," he said and wandered off to get juice.

Percy watched Nico watching him go. The look in Nico's eyes was surprisingly soft.

"I'm just saying," Leo said ignoring the way Jason and Percy groaned and Piper threw a bread roll at him.

"I thought you were over the alien thing?" Jason asked.

"I am. You know, mostly. I'm not ruling everything out. But you've got to admit Di Angelo is like a completely different person these days. He's gone soft."

"I don't know-" Jason began but stopped abruptly as Nico himself stalked over with a bad case of bed-head, a moody expression and skeletal hands threatening to break the surface of the earth in his wake. Leo happened to be between Nico and the coffee.

"Get out my way Leo," Nico mumbled, "or I will let these zombies drag you into hell."

Leo wasn't entirely convinced Nico would carry out that threat but he moved aside sharpish anyway. Instead of pouring himself a mug, he just took the whole pot.

"I'm going back to bed. And I swear if anyone wakes me -" he didn't finish off the threat because he was too busy yawning but somehow that was scarier.

"Sure Leo," Jason said as Nico wandered away. "He definitely seems different to me. Gone totally soft. We'll have to work on that."

"Are you humming Mulan?"

Nico looked up, startled.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Shut up Grace."

"I'm surprised you even know Mulan," Jason commented.

Nico stopped cleaning his sword to glare at Jason.

"Will made me watch it," he admitted.

"Will?"

"Will."

Nico picked up the cloth again.

"He really likes Disney. I mean they all do, but Will does not stop. And musicals. Did you know there were so many musicals? And I swear to the gods Solace knows the words to like every single one of them. And he's not a bad singer. Did you know that? He makes out like he's not talented but you shouldn't listen to a word because - what?"

"I didn't say anything."

Nico glared at him suspiciously.

"I'm going back to my cabin," he said.

"They're dating."

"They're not."

"They so are."

"They're not."

"I'm starting a betting pool," Cecil said. He'd been walking past but he'd obviously caught wind of the conversation and had insinuated himself in. "If you want to put your money where your mouth is."

There was a pause. Leo and Jason looked at each other.

"Betting on our friend's happiness seems wrong."

"It does feel a little exploitative."

"Ten dollars that they are dating."

"Twenty that they're not."

Jason had gotten used to Nico turning up at his table at breakfast. He was used to Nico's grumpiness and general animosity towards the world in general and anyone who tried to talk to him in particular. He wasn't used to Nico laughing.

He hadn't seen the light in Nico's eyes before either. Or that quiet, shy smile.

But then Will Solace didn't usually sit with them. Jason was beginning to think there was something in Leo's insistence that Will and Nico were secretly dating. At least Leo had moved on from the alien theory, but he was slightly worried at the lengths Leo was apparently prepared to go to to prove he was right. In fact half the camp seemed to be taking sides of the debate thanks to Cecil's dating pool. Jason wasn't sure where he stood, or whether he quite condoned the others dropping Will into the conversation at every opportunity just to test Nico's reaction, but he did know he was happy to see Nico so happy. The kid definitely had it coming.

He just hoped that the rest of camp's obsession with his relationship wouldn't distract from that. Or take away the light in Nico's eyes whenever he spoke about Will.

"If you're going to be that dopey about getting the flag, then we've got this one in the bag."

Jason shook himself out of his thoughts and found Nico standing in front of him.

"I'm fine," Jason said, standing and trying not to pretend like he hadn't just been worrying about his friend. "More than ready to beat you."

Nico just smirked.

"We'll see about that," he said and walked off.

And since when had Nico stopped siding with them in favour of Will?

Jason shook his head again and forced his mind to empty. Nico could look after himself, and would only get frustrated at Jason worrying about his welfare and love life. Besides Nico was right, if he kept on this distracted path he really would be handing the victory over to them. And then Percy would never forgive him.

When the game began he watched as his friends split off, following the paths and roles determined for them by Annabeth and her siblings. Annabeth was reasonably confident about where Ares and their allies would be stashing their flag. She'd marked Jason out to find it, sending a deployment consisting of herself, Percy and several other obvious heavy hitters to distract the main forces. It was a good plan and the only thing Jason was slightly worried about was running into Nico, who Annabeth admitted was hard to plan for since he was so unpredictable.

He crept through the woods, dodging behind trees whenever he thought he heard campers coming his way. Eventually he spotted a flash of red through the trees and made towards it, counting every breath and placing each step with meticulous care.

He emerged from the clearing, spotting Nico hanging out by the flag.  That wasn't ideal, but Will was with him and Nico for the moment looked was enough not to notice Jason so close. As long as the two kept talking instead of paying attention to what was going on around them -

He stopped dead as Nico suddenly stood up on tiptoes and kissed Will.

"Oh my gods!" he cried out before clapping his hand over his mouth.

Nico glanced over at him and took half a step back from Will, glancing up at the sky like he was praying with strength. Will just started laughing.

Jason chucked twenty dollars at Leo.

"Told you they were dating."

"Well it wasn't aliens," Jason said, a little moodily.

Leo just grinned.

"I still haven't ruled that out. I mean Death Boy and Sunshine? They aren't the world's most likely couple."

"I don't know," Jason said, looking over at Nico. He was supposedly listening to Connor, but was really watching Will reading on the step to the Apollo cabin with a distracted smile. "I think they work."

[lieutenant-thaliagrace]

If you all were super heroes who would you be?

YAS! SUPERHERO SQUAD! I’m going to apologise in advance for splitting my answers between Marvel and DC but it must be done, for science!

Jase gets no choice in this question, I’m not even gonna let him answer for himself - he is most definitely 100% Superman. 

Leo is bouncing around lighting himself on fire and yelling that he’s the Human Torch from Fantastic4 - I’m not gonna argue with him...

Percy says he’s Aquaman and somehow has found a trident “as proof”...

Hazel has asked for Scarlett Witch and I think that’s fair for Miss Magic over here...

Frank we had to deliberate about for a while... but have decided to ‘genderbend’ for him so he can be Vixen (the totem bearer that can summon animal spirits, I think it makes sense)...

Will is Hawkeye - bc arrows and he’s really sweet and needs to be protected and he’s that level of sarcastic (he’s been with Nico too long)...

Nico is being unhelpful and saying he doesn’t know... I’m going to say Batman bc he’s dark and brooding all the time...

Annabeth and Piper are arguing over Black Widow so Imma give it them both (I could see it either way tbf)...

Rey is Wonder Woman, imma hand her that one bc it’s definitely true. She can also kick all of our asses so she has to be really...

I think I am going to say the Flash for myself bc we can genderbend and lightning and he’s sarcastically funny (and/or oblivious) so it kinda makes sense... Plus, it means Connor can be Cisco which would be hilarious...