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sentientgolfball · 4 months ago

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Nobody asked for this and nobody but me cares but I’m going on a ramble about Ministry lore and the first ghouls

Not necessarily but if you read Origin first this will make more sense.

The first ghoul ever summoned by the founders of the Ministry was Ivy. Summoning rituals are time consuming and expensive, they didn’t have the luxury of mistake. They had to make it work or all of their plans would fall through. So they decided on an earth ghoul. They figured it would be the easiest of the five elements to summon. That and having one around may help them convert the massive amount of land into an abbey much faster.

When they pulled Ivy from the Pits there was a celebration, a feast. They welcomed it Topside like it was a guest of honor, almost worshiping it. They explained to Ivy who they were, why it was summoned, and what their goal was.

They were creating a Ministry in honor of Him. A place for all in the Morning Star’s flock to safely live. They needed, wanted, the help of ghouls. They were creations of Him. They would know the best way to serve Him. They also needed help. They were a small group, not many were sympathetic to their cause. They wanted to eventually summon a ghoul of each element.

Ivy’s place in this as the earth ghoul is to protect the land the Ministry stands on as well as help cultivate produce. Ivy easily agreed. It had been summoned before. It had seen the things humans wanted with infernal power. But these humans? There was something interesting about them. It wanted to watch them, see what becomes of them.

It was months before they could conduct another summoning. Almost a year since Ivy came to them. It had helped them in the allocation of resources, allowing them to perform another ritual that much faster. They decided air would be the next best element to try. According Ivy they live in the mountains of the Pits. They live the closest to the surface.

Notus was the first air ghoul. They treated him much the same as they treated Ivy when it was first summoned. Celebrate, feast, explain purpose. He would help them clear a space for their abbey to be built. Like Ivy he agreed, though unlike Ivy this was his first time being Topside. He thought what these humans were doing was noble. He has only ever seen damned souls, he never would have imagined there were humans who wanted to worship the Morning Star.

Notus was the last ghoul summoned for many, many years. Not because they couldn’t, but because there was no need.

When these two ghouls disappeared, never returning to the Pits, whispers began to travel. A ghoul had never been summoned without being returned shortly after. Returned once their contract was fulfilled. The whispers eventually reached the Morning Star Himself. He became curious. If His creations were being stolen He needed to know by who. He would not be like His Father. He would not abandon His creations.

He traveled to earth, following the trail of infernal magick to a vast forest far from civilization. At the heart of it He found His creations. He also found a small group of humans. He watched from the shadows as they ate together, laughed together, embraced one another. The Morning Star was touched seeing His creations treated the same as his creations. He made Himself known then, revealing Himself to the humans.

He questioned them, asking why they had taken two ghouls without returning them. In their stupor they tried to explain to Him who they were. What they were doing.

They called themselves The Clergy. They were creating a Ministry in His honor. He was taken aback. He was aware there were humans who chose Him over His Father, but to have a group dedicate themselves in this manner? He could never have predicted this.

This knowledge combined with testament from Ivy and Notus helped Him come to a decision. He gave these humans, The Clergy, His infernal blessing. He called forth the one responsible for the summoning of ghouls, a man with the name Emeritus. He made this man their leader, blessing him and his bloodline for centuries to come.

He also left them with a gift. Three to be exact. Their names were Alpha, Delta, and Omega. The rest of the elements, perfect specimens of their respective types.

With a full set The Clergy was able to build their abbey without needing any outside resources. They created their safe haven for those in His flock. As the years passed and their congregation grew the first ghouls grew alongside it. More were summoned, Clergy began to pass and get replaced, but they remained loyal as ever.

Ivy began to fade into obscurity though, becoming more of a Ministry legend than a person. It was their protection. It stayed in the forest, bonding so deeply with the plants they began to grow on it. It was able to talk to them. It could know if there was something moving on the opposite end of the forest.

The other four tried to keep it company, but they too began to forget about it as their own duties piled up. Ivy was never resentful. It enjoyed what it did. It was proud to know every human and ghoul could safely live their lives because of it.

Alpha and Notus maintained the Ministry. Alpha knew every inch of the gigantic building, he helped design it after all. Notus was able to reach the highest points, the places Alpha could not. It never fell to ruin, never damaged by even the worst of storms. Those two would not let it.

Omega and Delta took care of the residents, human and ghoul alike. Omega was their healer, able to cure even the worst of wounds. Delta listened to their woes. He made sure there was not a single soul in the Ministry who felt alone. Even in death he made sure there was someone for them, visiting graves to leave offerings.

These were the first ghouls.

They have seen everything.

They will be the last.

They will not leave until the earth has turned to dust.

#the band ghost #ghost bc #nameless ghouls #ivy ghoul #delta ghoul #alpha ghoul #omega ghoul #notus ghoul #air ghoul #golfball thoughts

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demigod-shenanigans · 1 month ago

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Triremes over Europe

Summary: “But isn’t it weird that it took me so long to realize this?” Jason asked, his expression still terribly vulnerable. “Shouldn’t this be something I just… know?”

“Sometimes it’s not,” Piper said, trying to keep the trembling out of her voice. Something in her chest was resonating, threatening to spill out, and she wasn’t quite ready to face it. “You know how the Mist works? How it will make people see what they’re expecting to see? It can be like that, too.”

It had been so easy to lean into it and ignore all evidence to the contrary. Piper McLean was in love with Jason Grace. There wasn’t a giant trireme flying over Europe.

Or: After the events in Split, Jason breaks up with Piper. Piper’s world shifts, but not in the way she expected.

Word count: ~ 4.5k

Rating: Teen and Up

Posting some more of this little fic universe! This time featuring Piper and Jason having a very amicable breakup. Piper and Jason are both queer and confused (there’s some level of comphet and internalized homophobia going on here for anyone who doesn’t feel like dealing with that right now), main focus is on the two of them being friends.

Piper has a crush on Reyna and doesn’t realize it and Jason has some perfectly normal platonic feelings towards Leo, thank you for asking. Please note that the tagged ships are pining only for this fic and this is a friendship fic first and a ship fic second.

Quick story note before we begin: for this universe I’m ignoring the whole Calypso situation (Percy can go yell at the gods to get her off the island when they’re done), so if you’re wondering why Leo is on the Argo during the Notus part, here’s your explanation!

———

Piper was about to get ready for bed when someone knocked on the door to her cabin.

She rubbed her eyes, confused, wondering if maybe she’d started drifting off and imagined the noise since it made no sense.

It was after midnight, way past the time when anyone except whoever was on watch was supposed to be walking around the ship. If it had been some sort of emergency, she couldn’t imagine her friends knocking instead of yelling about whatever was trying to kill them for the whole corridor to hear. And there hadn’t been a ton to report since they’d gotten stuck with Notus, anyway. Most likely, the main danger to Leo and Frank right now was that they’d bicker each other to death.

Hedge had already done his rounds, and he didn’t knock, exactly. He just yelled about how they all better be sleeping and banged his baseball bat against the door so loudly that if you really had been asleep before, you wouldn’t be after.

This only left Hazel, Nico or Jason, except Hazel had headed to bed early because she had a headache, Piper and Nico weren’t exactly friends, and Jason… he just wasn’t the type to break the rules, for any reason, no matter how much Piper wished he was.

The person knocked again, making it pretty clear that she hadn’t, in fact imagined it the first time, so Piper got up to open the door.

She was baffled when the door opened to a really sheepish, obviously anxious Jason.

“I didn’t wake you, did I?” he asked apologetically, looking at a point past her head.

“This might shock you, but I don’t usually sleep in jeans,” Piper joked. She raised an eyebrow. “Are you bending the rules to spend time with me? Who are you and what have you done to my boyfriend?”

Jason didn’t smile. He looked exhausted. The only benefit of the Notus situation should have been that Jason got some rest, since they weren’t constantly dealing with venti trying to crash the ship. Apparently he hadn’t been getting very much sleep regardless.

“Piper, listen, I… can I talk to you? It’s kind of important.”

She knew the instant the words were out of his mouth that this was it. They were done.

She’d been dreading this breakup for a while. Part of her had always known it was coming—that their relationship came with an expiration date. It was hard to put into words why. She just had. The way he’d been acting since his last mission had only made her more sure of it.

“Come in.” Piper forced a smile, trying to swallow the acid in her throat. She stepped aside to let Jason through, shutting the door behind him. “If you’re going to break up with me, I’d rather not have an audience.”

Jason didn’t argue. He wouldn’t even meet her eyes, dashing any hopes she might have had that she was misreading the situation again.

She sat back down on her bed, and a moment later Jason sank down next to her with obvious reluctance, far enough away that they weren’t touching. Great. Like this situation needed to get any more awkward.

“Listen, Pipes, I’m really sorry.” Jason was looking down at his hands, fidgeting uncomfortably. “It’s not that you’re- You didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve been great, actually. We’re just- I’m just not-” he broke off with a sigh, pressing his hands to his face. “Gods, I’m a disaster. I can’t even get the words out.”

“Here, I’ll help,” Piper huffed, crossing her arms. “It’s Reyna, isn’t it?”

She felt… she wasn’t sure what she was feeling, actually.

Not surprised, exactly. She’d need both hands to count all the times she’d thought Jason would break up with her in the last few weeks. She wasn’t even sure she could blame him, really. Reyna was gorgeous. She didn’t need charmspeak to control a crowd—her general air of authority was more than enough. She was an awe-inspiring force of nature. If Piper could gather all that from the short time they’d spent together and a few flashes in her dagger, she couldn’t begin to imagine what years with her would be like. Of course Jason was in love with her. It seemed utterly impossible for anyone not to be.

So what was it that Piper was feeling? Jealousy, maybe? Anger? Neither of those felt like the right way to describe it.

There was a pressure in her chest that she couldn’t explain. All she knew was that it hurt. That it had been hurting ever since she’d started thinking about Jason and Reyna together, hands linked as they walked through the streets of New Rome.

It hadn’t been an issue when he’d first told her—when Reyna had been a vague idea of a person that had meant something to Jason in a different life. But that had been before she’d actually met Reyna.

Everything felt different since.

“It’s not Reyna,” Jason choked out. He looked more upset than she’d ever seen him, despite the fact that he was the one who’d decided to break up with her. “It’s never been about Reyna.”

Piper’s heart did something weird and awful, then. It unclenched slightly. Some of the tension went out of her shoulders, like it fundamentally wasn’t as bad if it was anyone else.

“Then who is it?” she asked, because she was supposed to want to know. Because she wanted to go on ignoring the confusing ball of emotion in her chest that told her maybe it didn’t matter.

She wanted to shove those feelings back in the box and never look at them again.

“It’s not about anyone. It’s just me.” Jason looked like he might cry. Piper wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him cry before.

He’d never been good at letting his walls down around her.

Despite the hurt and confusion, Piper reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. It felt like the natural thing to do. He’d been her friend before he’d ever been her boyfriend. “Hey, Sparky. Look at me.”

“Something happened. In Split,” Jason admitted after a long moment of silence. He did lift his head, then, but he still wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Yeah, that much is obvious from how weird you and Nico have been acting.”

Neither of them had talked about what had happened or how they’d gotten the scepter.

For the first few days after, Piper had barely seen Nico. He hadn’t even shown up for meals. He’d always been withdrawn, but not like that. And Jason… he’d been acting different around her. Pulling away when Piper tried to hold his hand, sincerely apologetic and terribly awkward at the same time. She’d hoped he was just stressed. The threat of the end of the world would do that to most people.

Apparently not.

Jason also seemed to have a newfound soft spot for Nico. He’d gone from jumpy every time Nico moved like he kept forgetting he was there to being protective of him whenever the subject came up, like he’d suddenly decided Nico was his younger brother and any bad word about him was a personal offense.

Piper wasn’t sure what Jason had done to change Nico’s mind, but whatever the case, as of two days ago he was back to eating with the rest of them.

“Tell me what happened.”

Jason shook his head. “I can’t. I’m sorry. It’s not my place to talk about it.”

“So tell me what you can talk about,” she said, not forcefully. She didn’t want him to tell her because she’d accidentally used her charmspeak. She wanted him to tell her because they’d been dating for months at this point and she deserved to understand what was going on, even if she didn’t like it. “Because if you’re going to break up with me, I’d at least like to know why.”

“I’m sorry.” He did cry, then, his eyes pressed shut like that might make the pain go away. “I'm just really confused right now. I know my timing is awful. But it wouldn’t be fair to just keep dating you when I…” Jason clenched his hands into her blanket, apparently trying to steady his breathing. He didn’t quite manage. Then he looked directly at her, his expression more vulnerable than she’d ever seen it. “When I’m not even sure I’m into girls. I. Uhm. I think I might be gay?”

Piper couldn’t stand the fear in his eyes. Before she fully registered what she was doing, she’d looped her arms around Jason’s midsection and pulled him to her chest. “It’s okay. You’re okay. Breathe.”

Jason made a surprised noise, but he obeyed, steadying himself against her as his breaths evened out against her shoulder. She wasn’t sure she’d ever held him like this before. It felt intimate, maybe more than any of their kisses had.

“You’re not mad?” he asked when they broke apart, looking at her like he was still expecting her to change her mind and start yelling at him.

“Why would I be mad?”

“Because I just broke up with you?” He sounded more confused than anything now. “Because I wasted a bunch of your time?”

Piper blinked, momentarily baffled by her own reaction. Jason was right. Maybe she should feel mad—not at his sexuality, obviously, and probably not even at him, but definitely at the situation. At the very least, she should probably feel bummed out, especially considering how long they’d been dating.

Somehow, she wasn’t feeling either of those things. She had, for a brief moment at the beginning, but not for the reasons she was supposed to be feeling that way. By now, any upset she’d felt had vanished completely. The confusing knot of emotions in her heart had unspooled into a treacherous feeling of relief.

For weeks, she’d assumed Jason breaking up with her would be the worst thing that could happen. Now that it was done, it felt like someone had removed a weight from her chest. Like she could breathe freely for the first time in months.

“I’m not going to be mad at you for something you only just realized about yourself,” she said, squeezing his shoulder gently.

“But isn’t it weird that it took me so long to realize this?” Jason asked, his expression still terribly vulnerable. “Shouldn’t this be something I just… know?”

“Sometimes it’s not,” Piper said, trying to keep the trembling out of her voice. Something in her chest was resonating, threatening to spill out, and she wasn’t quite ready to face it. She thought back to the conversation she’d had with Hazel a few nights ago. “You know how the Mist works? How it will make people see what they’re expecting to see? It can be like that, too.”

It had been so easy to lean into it and ignore all evidence to the contrary. Piper McLean was in love with Jason Grace. There wasn’t a giant trireme flying over Europe.

She thought about how she’d told Jason she loved him when she assumed they were going to die, only to feel the same treacherous relief she did now when she’d realized he hadn’t heard it. She’d rationalized it by saying it would have been too soon.

It was starting to click that that hadn’t been the reason for her relief at all.

Piper had an actor for a dad. Maybe it made sense that she was just a little bit too good at pretending.

Jason looked at her, surprised, and then he smiled, tiny and fragile and like he could see right through her.

He hugged her again, and Piper felt like her chest might cave in—like all the things she’d refused to let herself feel might come tumbling out for everyone to see.

It terrified her. But something about this—about the fact that she wasn’t terrified and confused alone—made it easier to breathe.

“I’m glad we’re friends,” Jason said softly. “I like you so much. I think you’re awesome. I just… I don’t think I ever saw what I was supposed to when I looked at you.”

Piper’s head hurt, the way it sometimes did when she knew she was going to start crying. This was why it had been so perfectly easy to pretend with Jason. Why it might have been even without the fake memories and her mom telling her they were meant to be.

Jason was nice and brave and conventionally attractive. He was her friend, and Piper cared about him. Why wouldn’t she want them to be more? He was like a cardboard cutout of the love interest in every high school romcom she’d ever watched.

He was everything she was supposed to want in a boyfriend. She was supposed to fall asleep thinking about him. She was supposed to want to be alone with him. Instead, every time they were, she wished Leo was there to bridge the awkward silences. When she closed her eyes, she thought of Annabeth and their game of domestic breakfast theft. She thought of Reyna’s determined expression reflected in her knife.

But Annabeth was her friend, and Piper was worried. Of course she was thinking about her.

And Reyna… Reyna wasn’t anything to Piper. She was just a girl Jason had never dated, a girl he’d repeatedly stated he didn’t see as anything more than a friend. She wasn’t a threat to the relationship that Piper had convinced herself she wanted. There was no reason for the amount of space Reyna had taken up in Piper’s head.

She’d taken up residence regardless, and whenever Piper let her thoughts wander, her fingers wound up tangled in long brown hair.

Gods, fuck.

“Well, turns out we’re both kind of a mess,” she choked out, rubbing at her eyes, and yep, she was definitely crying now. It was as close to the truth as she allowed herself to get.

Jason swayed a little as he held her, like they were the strangest pair of dancers in history. It was weirdly soothing.

“And we’re both going to be okay,” he said, like it was the most certain thing in the world.

Piper held on tightly and let herself sink into that feeling. She wasn’t in love with Jason, but gods, she did love him. Curled up against his chest, that was one of the few things she felt certain about.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked quietly, after she managed to get a bit more of a handle on her emotions again.

They’d never been great at the talking part. They made a decent questing team, sure, but the moments before and after, when it was just the two of them… Piper never knew what to do with those. Jason didn’t seem to have much of a clue, either.

Needless to say, she was a little surprised when Jason nodded.

“It’s confusing. It’s been confusing since Hera took my memories. They still don’t really feel like mine. They’re more like a movie I watched a few times—I know the plot and remember all the important bullet points, but that’s it. I’m not attached to them in the way I’m supposed to be.” Jason sighed. “I don’t remember ever seriously thinking of dating anyone, but maybe I had crushes. Some of the emotional parts didn’t carry over great. Maybe I was getting there, and then Hera decided it was inconvenient for what she had in mind, and now I’m confused all over again.”

Piper cringed. Having to do this once was bad enough. She couldn’t imagine what it’d feel like to have to go through it twice.

“I’m sorry.”

Jason was back to wringing his hands.

“I’d never even kissed anyone before you, which is probably part of why I didn’t figure things out sooner. I have no idea how it’s supposed to feel. Just that whatever I am feeling probably isn’t… that.”

This seemed like something Piper was supposed to know. She was the daughter of the goddess of love, for crying out loud.

The truth was, she didn’t. Not really.

Jason was the only person she’d ever kissed, in whatever moments she felt warranted a kiss. That in itself maybe should have told her something a lot sooner—how she’d thought of kissing him not as something she wanted to be doing, but as a task to be checked off a list.

It was incredible what the Mist could hide if you didn’t think it was there. If you weren’t ready to see it. How well your brain could pull wool over your eyes when it came to things you weren’t willing to process.

It was one thing to risk being all over the tabloids with a stupid stunt she'd pulled to get her dad's attention. If people judged her for that, she could brush it off because they didn't truly know her.

Because that behavior was a choice she made, and one she could stop making at any time. But she already had enough people who judged her based on her heritage. If she could at least take this part of herself and package it up until it was unrecognizable so she never had to deal with what anyone else thought of it, wasn't that worth it, even if it made her miserable?

But you couldn't will the Mist back once you'd seen through it. And here, with Jason, who got her even if she still couldn't get the words out, Piper didn't think she wanted to.

She wanted to hold that piece of herself to her chest and just be, damn it. The world might end in a few weeks. And if they couldn't stop it, she'd so much rather live these last few weeks as herself. And if they did manage, well… she would cross that bridge if Gaia didn’t blow it up first.

Piper let that decision settle, with all the mixed emotions that came with it. It felt mostly good.

Then she gave herself a moment to really consider what Jason had said about kissing, thinking back to the campers who’d come to her for advice. In retrospect, that felt terribly ironic. Who was she to give romantic advice to anyone when she’d made herself so blind to her own feelings?

“I think there’s supposed to be sparks,” she finally said. “Not that I’ve got any more experience in that department than you do.”

“What, like I should fry them?” Jason raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound safe.”

“Not literal sparks.” Piper paused, thinking about the gems that appeared whenever Hazel got nervous, or the way Leo would sometimes catch fire when he was stressed or excited. Maybe Jason’s thought wasn’t completely absurd. “Actually, there might be literal sparks, with your powers. But for most people, it’s more metaphorical. A warmth in your chest whenever you think about kissing them. Your heart flutters, and you want to keep doing it, today and tomorrow and maybe forever. Everything just feels right. It fits. Like you’re two sides of the same coin.” She laughed. “Oh Gods, I sound like a cheesy Valentine’s Day card.”

Jason snorted. “A bit. But thanks for trying. I think I might just be hopeless when it comes to this stuff.”

“You’ll figure it out. At least one of us has to,” Piper said, elbowing him gently. “It’ll probably get easier once we’re done constantly worrying about how the world might end in a month.”

“Yeah. Or maybe I’ll just be dead.” Jason bit his lip. “I hate this stupid prophecy. I don’t want to die. But I could never let it be Leo.”

There was something so determined in his expression that it scared her—like Jason had already decided how this was going to go, and the Fates should just try to lay a finger on Leo instead. Piper understood the sentiment—Leo was her best friend, and the thought of something happening to him just about killed her. But Jason was her friend, too, and she wasn’t any more okay with losing him than she was with losing Leo.

“Even if I’m right about the prophecy, we’ll find another way,” Piper said, trying to sound reassuring. They had to. It didn’t seem fair that a bunch of sixteen year olds would have to make that kind of choice. “Besides, you know how Leo is. Tell him he can’t do a thing and he’ll take it as a personal challenge. One time, back in Wilderness School, one of the other kids told him he couldn’t possibly eat fifteen Jell-O cups. Made himself sick for two days, but he ate twenty just to spite that person.”

There were few scenes from that time Piper remembered clearly, thanks to Hera’s Mist memories. Why this was one of them, she had no idea.

The corners of Jason’s mouth ticked up. “Yeah, when Leo sets his mind to something, he’ll do it, laws of the universe be damned. The Fates won’t know what hit them.”

Jason’s voice was soft and fond. He had an expression like he’d follow Leo to the moon if he asked—over a stupid story about Jell-O cups, of all things.

“You like him a lot, don’t you?”

“I mean, obviously.” Jason smiled softly. “Leo’s kind of the greatest person I’ve ever met.”

“Aw, you sap.” Piper elbowed him again. “Please don’t tell him that, though. I’m not sure he needs his ego even more inflated,” she joked.

Jason rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “It… might be a little too late for that.”

Piper raised one eyebrow. “What did you do?”

“I maybe told him that he was important, and that people with special gifts like his show up when they’re needed the most. Half a year ago, in the sewer.”

“Oh my gods.” Piper couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing. “That’s really sweet, don’t get me wrong, but I cannot believe I fell asleep early one time and you immediately started hitting on my best friend.”

“That’s not- I wasn’t-” Jason’s face turned crimson. “I didn’t say anything I didn’t mean.”

“I wasn’t saying you didn’t mean it.” She didn’t push him, no matter how much she wanted to point out that this was the most romantic thing she’d heard him say since they met. It would have been too much, too soon, even if they hadn’t had the prophecy hanging over their heads. “I am, however, saying that you are the corniest person I know. If I was boring enough to be genuine, I’d say Leo probably really appreciated it, though. He’s not the best at admitting when he’s having a hard time, and you saying sappy stuff like that is sometimes more helpful than me joking with him.”

“Good.” Jason’s shoulders slumped in something that looked like relief, and he gave her a tentative smile. “I’m glad. I’m sure he appreciates you joking with him just as much, though.”

And somehow, after all the breakup talk and the half-spoken truths about themselves and each other, this was almost easy.

Piper believed Jason when he said that it wasn’t about anyone in particular. That he was just confused and this didn’t feel the way it was supposed to.

She was also pretty sure she now knew something he didn’t.

~~~~~

It was the middle of the night by the time Jason left her cabin, and Piper was glad no one was around to witness it. Frank probably would have had a stroke. Coach Hedge would have promptly beaten them both up with his baseball bat before either of them got the chance to explain that they’d actually just needed some alone time to break up in peace.

Piper was still kind of shocked about how well things had gone. Despite the circumstances, it had been her and Jason’s first non-awkward solo conversation in what felt like forever. Go figure that breaking up would somehow make things less weird between them.

They hadn’t exactly decided what to tell the others, or when they would. Piper had joked that they could just wait for someone to awkwardly point out that they weren’t kissing anymore. With them all constantly trying not to die, their friend group really had more important things to worry about than the non-existent relationship drama between Piper and Jason.

Sure, it would probably take them a moment to figure out how to properly go back to being friends after they’d dated for months, but amicable as their breakup had been, they’d manage.

Piper really should have tried to sleep now, considering the fact that she was supposed to be on watch in the morning and it wouldn’t be great if she slept through that.

Instead, she sat at the edge of her bed and got out Katoptris. It hadn’t shown her any new visions since Rome. She’d been hoping to get confirmation Annabeth and Percy were alive, at first, but it vehemently refused. The only thing it bothered to show her now was a still. Every time she looked at the blade, the same stupid image of Reyna on her pegasus stared back, like the blade had gotten stuck on it somehow. Like someone had pressed pause on this exact frame and then decided to lose the remote.

Reyna looked exhausted. Her hair had come loose from her neat braid and was completely disheveled, but there was a grim determination in her eyes like she could handle anything. When Piper looked at her, she really, truly believed that.

She wanted to reach out and brush the stray strands of hair back behind Reyna’s ears. Maybe redo her braid, despite the fact that she wasn’t great at braiding and Reyna probably wouldn’t want her to even if she had been.

This was the part where usually, Piper’s brain would kick in and start trying to rationalize things away. Girls were objectively pretty. Piper admired Reyna. She needed to know the competition. She wanted to be friends with her. There were perfectly heterosexual reasons for why she wondered what her palms felt like and why she really needed to figure out how well Reyna’s jaw fit into her hands.

But it was three in the morning, and there wasn’t a Jason-shaped weight pressing down on her chest, and for the first time, Piper let the thoughts linger.

————

Some notes:

-My favorite interpretation of Jason and Piper’s relationship will always be one of them breaking up with the other because they figured out they’re queer and the other promptly going “oh thank the gods I thought it was just me”

-Split actually went down a lot like it did in the book, it didn’t change in any massive way, except afterwards Jason just kind of looked at Nico confused because “is that not a perfectly normal reaction to have to Percy Jackson” and Nico just kind of stared at him for ages. Jason is still sorting out a lot of stuff (it turns out getting your memories and entire sense of self ripped away from you will mess with you in some pretty severe ways. Who’d have thought). He does not have his feelings for Leo figured out even slightly. But he’ll get there. Once I feel more confident writing Nico I’d really like to do a little prequel fic about him and Jason bonding, but we’ll see how it goes.

-Piper trying to be heterosexual for all of HoO while describing Reyna in the most romantic terms imaginable and tenderly pressing her forehead to Annabeth’s is highly comedic to me. Piper doesn’t even know Reyna and I swear she’s on her mind more than she is on Jason’s, lol

-The way Piper’s visions dagger works in the series has no actual consistency and therefore if I want to use the plot convenience dagger for queer purposes I can and I will.

@poppitron360

#piper mclean #jason grace #fate and other technicalities #Jason and Piper #pjo Piper #pipeyna #valgrace #hoo #heroes of olympus #house of hades #pjo jason #hoo fanfic #my writing

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warper-in-training · 7 months ago

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hey everyone i am begging on my knees again. found this in my silly bookmarks but notuing shows up cause they feleted their blog but i wpls plsplsplspls

if you havr any of darkobeyme's fics saved somewhere please send me an ask!!

#obey me #obey me nb #obey me nightbringer #obey me swd #obey me shall we date #obey me barbatos #im like crying me wants

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aeolus-the4winds · 4 months ago

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HI EVERYBODY! IT'S YOUR FAVOURITE WEATHERMAN, AEOLUS!

Um...Sir, I think you're forgetting something?

OH YEAH! The other four are here too!! Notus, Zephyrus, Eurus, and Boreas!!

I'm Notus, the God of the South Wind. I do heat.

I am Boreas, the North Wind, I do the cold.

I'm Eurus, the Eastern Wind. I beckon the Autumn.

And I'm Zephyrus AND HYAKINTHOS WAS MEANT TO BE MINE YOU DIRTY SUNNY BAS-

Zephyrus! Chill out! Just introduce yourself! or else

Right. Apologies. I'm Zephyrus, the Western Wind. I bring the Springtime.

Perfect!! Now then, I'm Aeolus! Everyone's favourite weatherman, and the God of The Winds, Air, and a few other things as well! I'm in charge of these four!

(OOC: Heya everyone! As you can tell, Notus will type in red, Boreas blue, Eurus orange, and Zephyrus green. Their Roman forms will have the same colours, but be in bold! Aeolus is the same Greek and Roman, so unless he's leaning really, really hard towards his Roman side, he probably won't be bolded. Send asks & tags our way!!)

#ooc post #intro post #notus breezes #boreas blows #eurus reaps #zephyrus throws #aeolus predicts

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justinspoliticalcorner · 23 days ago

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Jasmine Wright at NOTUS:

Vice President Kamala Harris’ transition team is quietly developing plans for who could staff her administration as she crisscrosses the country trying to win an election that’d actually let her put them to use. Harris herself is entirely focused on winning, according to two sources close to her and the transition team. But she’s been getting weekly updates from her team as they toil away out of view in a federally funded workspace, preparing for what could be if Harris wins in November. “They’re working in secret, and everybody is focused on winning the election, which has left little opportunity for a lot of personal discussion about personnel,” said a third source close to the vice president. Harris has assembled a purposely skeletal team. The team’s leaders are slowly hiring more people, multiple sources told NOTUS, as they prepare to potentially orchestrate the first transition from a sitting president to a sitting vice president since 1988. They’ve been looking for “researchers and lawyers” to be ready to begin their vetting efforts beyond their current limited capabilities should Harris win. And it’s all happening with a low profile and a smaller group of advisers than previous Democratic transitions.

One person close to the vice president said she has tried not to engage in discussions about senior staff for her possible White House. “She is purposefully, as she always does, holding her cards close on this,” they said. And the team is “being very cautious about getting too far ahead of the vice president and jinxing anything.” The shroud of secrecy “is a good sign,” said Max Stier, the founding president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, who consults with presidential transition teams. “Preelection transition operations are supposed to not make any news. Really, their job is to prepare for the possibility of their candidate winning, and that’s incredibly important, but it’s not supposed to be a distraction from job No. 1 for the campaign, which is ultimately to win.” The team is led by Yohannes Abraham, who was the executive director of the Biden-Harris transition team. Josh Hsu, one of Harris’ longest and most trusted aides and former counsel in her VP and Senate offices, plays a major role. Multiple people say he was personally installed by the vice president. Dana Remus, the former White House counsel, is a part of the crew. Harris’ former aide Rachel Palermo has also recently joined the shop. And Lorraine Voles, Harris’ chief of staff for her official office and a trusted confidant who has been in her office since the summer of 2021, is in consultation, three sources told NOTUS.

[...]

The personnel questions happen both inside and outside the team. For example, Harris’ economic adviser, Brian Deese, has advocated for the vice president to keep the headline-grabbing Federal Trade Commissioner Lina Khan in her position, should the vice president win, according to two sources familiar with the campaign. A third source says that the pair has a close relationship. Karen Dunn, the lawyer who co-ran Harris’ debate prep, has long eyed the White House general counsel position, according to multiple sources, after having been in contention after Remus stepped down in 2022. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s aides have reached out to express her interest in a potential position, said a person familiar with the effort. (A spokesperson for the governor said she “is not interested in a job in the federal government.” Asked about this reporting at a press conference on Thursday, Hochul said it was “categorically false” that her aides were reaching out and blamed “bad actors” who want her not to run for re-election.) And Jeff Zients, Joe Biden’s chief of staff who helped run his transition in 2020, is being floated to lead the Treasury Department, said two sources.

Other names that float around the ether include Wally Adeyemo for Treasury and Michèle Flournoy for Defense. Sen. Chris Coons has privately advocated himself for secretary of state (A spokesman said Coons is solely focused on electing Harris). And two sources say Harris likes Don Graves and Michael Reagan and might seek to elevate their roles in her administration. Current Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s allies have pushed him for a foreign policy-focused role. (Buttigieg aides did not respond to a request for comment.)

But floats in October won’t necessarily turn to reality in January, regardless of who wins. “I think people are just out there fishing for names and making assumptions. If you want to know the truth,” said a Democrat close to both the campaign and the transition. “I’ve heard my name, and I have no intention of going back into government.” The Harris team is also trying to avoid pitfalls from recent transitions. After Biden won in 2020, Asian American and Pacific Islander groups were publicly livid about the lack of Asian American representation in Biden’s incoming administration before he changed course. Those groups have already begun engaging with Harris’ team on potential candidates.

[...] The group supports both U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai and acting Labor Secretary Julie Su. Both have voiced their wish to stay in their current jobs, though Su was never officially confirmed.

NOTUS’s Jasmine Wright is reporting on how Kamala Harris’s potential transition team is forming should she win as President.

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promiscuouspomegranate · 8 months ago

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✧. ┊ ⁭ ⁭ ⁭ ⁭ Dreich / 1

. ➶ ˚ AFAB! Selkie Reader x AMAB! Fisherman

TWs: Abduction, violence, light gore from wounds, manipulation, abuse, and the usual. (FURTHER IN THE SERIES) I gave the reader short hair. Sigh... don't hate me long haired readers 😍🥰

You are responsible for the content you consume! Stop reading if you feel uncomfortable.

The sun had not yet risen, and the waters wore an illusion of darkness—a blurry veil of sapphire that soothed my soul. My eyes crashed to a close like the waves on the rocks. I heard the conches communicate in hushed whispers as the wind howled a lachrymose lullaby to damned souls like me. Did I dare to sing with the waters and profess a forbidden love for the sea? No, I wasn’t the fool I was yesterday or the day before. After all, people change like the tides before it all goes still.

As my kitten heels clicked on the cool concrete path, I looked back at the sea once more. I firmly held my straw hat in place as Notus, determined to blow it away, caused a trickle of sweat to drip down my forehead. I pulled out my embroidered handkerchief and wiped the bead off before I resumed my stroll away from the waters. The distant cries of the mighty albatross of the North Sea faded into the bustling streets of Essex. I hummed as I swooped up a newspaper from the trash, scanning the headlines before tossing it away. I opened my parasol as the sanguine sun stretched its fiery body above the port, piercing every shadow with blinding radiance. Hoarse offers of fresh-cut flowers, baked loaves of bread, imported treasures, and every meaningless trinket imaginable overwhelmed my ears. My nose—ever the detective—picked up the scent of fresh fish, and my mouth involuntarily watered. I blushed when I felt the saliva trickle down my chin and wiped it off with my glove. “It seems I am quite the mess today,” I muttered as I approached the stall, eyeing the filleted flesh with an unspoken urgency.

I removed my gloves as I picked up the headless haddock, resisting the temptation to consume it as is.

“Somethin’ catch yer eye, missus,” A gruff voice chuckled as I set the fish down, “By all means, buy it.”

“My apologies, sir,” I cleared my throat and felt my ears burn red at my indecency, “I just haven’t seen fish that looks so… delectable.”

“Relax, missus, ya needn’t be so stiff ‘round me,” He hoarsely chuckled as he adjusted his stained apron, “Can I cut somethin’ fresh fer ya?”

“Do you sell cod?”

“Of course.” He turned around and seized a flailing cod with strong, hairy arms, setting it on a wooden cutting board. He gripped his knife with a steady hand and, with a quick motion, cut the fish’s head clean off. Blood splattered on his face, and I felt my stomach growl at the scent.

“Seems like someone’s hungry,” He grinned—the way most sailors do—and packaged the fish with practiced ease, “Don’t tell me ya ‘aven’t eaten yet, missus. Yer already too thin as is, delicate thing, aren’t ya? What’s a lovely lady like yourself doin’ in the markets?”

“I haven’t any time to sit down in the mornings; too much to be done then to idly ruminate as I eat,” I took the bag from his hands and—what I assume was intention—felt his calloused fingers against my hands.

“A woman after my own heart,” His gray eyes bore into my soul, and he wiped the blood off his cheek, “Didn’t feel a ring on yer hand too so I won’t have to sneak in through the back.”

“Didn’t your mother teach you any class?,” I gasped and pulled away from him, crossing my arms.

“What’s wrong, little lady? Need me to put a ring on ya finger first? Don’t know if I could afford somethin’ worthy of you,” He smugly grinned as I reached into my purse, “Now, I know yer not offerin’ to pay fer that. Take it, it’s free of charge.”

“Thank you, sir,” I hoarsely responded, trying to make my disapproval apparent through my mannerisms.

With that, I walked away and only glanced over my shoulder once to see a smile that nobody had ever presented to me. Would it be wrong to ask for his name?

“Don’t be foolish, Y/N,” A small, unfamiliar blush swept across my sunkissed skin as I walked into an alleyway, “Man and monster do not go well.”

I unwrapped the package and, with sharp, beastly fangs, tore into the scales of the sea. Blood splattered on the old stone pathway and onto my gloves as I ravished the fish. Its bones cracked in my strong jaw, and I spat out whatever remained of the fish. I threw my gloves away and wiped the blood off of my upper lip; the feeling of hunger still remained but wasn’t as unbearable. I opened my parasol and disappeared into the sharp turns and jagged rock of the unspoken alleys of Essex.

…

His calloused fingers reach into the bins and examined soiled lace that reeked—oddly enough—of fish.

“Seems like we’ve got ourselves ‘nother beast in this town,” He hummed as he pocketed the gloves, instantly recognizing the package.

His eyes widened, and his crooked teeth flashed an unruly, savage smile. He took the gloves out of his pocket and inhaled the scent of fragrance, blood, and sea.

“Yer all mine, little lady,” He chuckled and squinted his eyes as the sun shone brightly, illuminating all that was hidden.

#yandere writing #dark romance #yandere #yandere character #yandere oc #yandere oneshot #❤︎.pomegranate #☆–graham #yandere male #yandere x reader

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inkrabbit · 2 years ago

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Do any of nihils ghouls have stuff like insomnia, ptsd, adhd, ect?

they're all fucking stupid

but real talk:

Ares has light insomnia. some nights it's worse than others, but for the most part, he wakes up every 1-2 hours. when he does wake up, he'll leave his room and go check on everyone. he won't wake them, but he'll just quietly open the door to their room, poke his head in, make sure they're fine and then leave

Astraeus deals with trauma. out of all of the ghouls, his abuse was the worse. because of this, he reacts negatively with sudden movement, people reaching towards him, any sort of touch, things like that. if he knows you and likes you, then he tolerates it more. but other than that, he just doesn't want anyone around him

Neptune cannot deal with fire. period, the end. he has a huge fear of it because of his death, and he has gotten burned. it's why he wears his mask 24/7 now. even though the fire only caught the side of his mouth, it scarred him and also made him feel like his entire body was set on fire. in a way, he relived his burning until his mind will finally shut down and he goes into a frenzy. Ares is actually the one that tries to keep Neptune away from any and all visible flames

Notus deals with anxiety and adhd. the others try to keep him "sheltered". they know he can get kinda panicky in large crowds. one of his ways to tell someone he's close with "I'm not doing okay and I need to leave" is by gently biting their shoulder or the top of their ear. these are areas he'll bite in a more intimate way, so he hopes it gets the message across. he can also be impulsive at times, but he's gotten better with this as the years have gone on

Silvanus is severely depressed and is believed to be bipolar. while he can hide it very well, he has a habit of making very dark jokes, and there have been plenty of times where he'll have depressive episodes. if his mental state gets bad enough, he'll actually leave the ministry and go to a certain tree in the forest, block off the little entrance with his vines and sort of hibernate. there will also be nights where he'll relive his death. he'll wake up out of a dead sleep, unable to breathe and he'll feel blood and the pain at his throat. he'll panic until he finally passes out and he can breathe again. no one knows why this happens or how to prevent it

#asks #requests #Nihil's ghouls #Ares ghoul #Astraeus ghoul #Neptune ghoul #Notus ghoul #Silvanus ghoul

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twoidiotwriters1 · 1 year ago

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Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Adult life is like, really great beautiful and fun, I'm having a blast -Danny Words: 2,262 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Will I Find My Home' -by Juniper Vale

VI. Mom Gives Her Silliest Battles to Her Most Tragic Clowns

Boreas is like a scary Santa with purple wings. He likes her and Piper because they're aphrodites and can talk French with no problems.

Ara wants to like him, but he's got orders to kill them, so he's not such a fun guy. All this talk about gods wanting to exterminate half-bloods is old news, but then the god changes when he sees Jason's tattoo, and he becomes his Roman version.

"My dear," Boreas says happily, "there is no reason for me to kill you. If Hera's plan fails, which I think it will, you will tear each other apart. Aeolus will never have to worry about demigods again."

"I don't suppose you could explain?" Jason asks.

"Oh, perish the thought! It is not for me to interfere in Hera's plan. No wonder she took your memory. You know, I have a reputation as a helpful wind god. Unlike my brethren, I've been known to fall in love with mortals. Why, my sons Zethes and Calais started as demigods—"

"Which explains why they are idiots."

"Stop it! Just because you were born a full goddess—"

"Both of you, freeze. Now, as I was saying, I have a good reputation, but it is rare that Boreas plays an important role in the affairs of gods. I sit here in my palace, at the edge of civilization, and so rarely have amusements. Why, even that fool Notus, the South Wind, gets spring break in Cancún. What do I get? A winter festival with naked Québécois rolling around in the snow!"

"I like the winter festival," Zethes mumbles.

"My point is that I now have a chance to be the center. Oh, yes, I will let you go on this quest. You will find your storm spirits in the windy city, of course. Chicago—"

"Father!" Khione cries, but the god is unbothered by her.

"If you can capture the winds, you may be able to gain safe entrance to the court of Aeolus. If by some miracle you succeed, be sure to tell him you captured the winds on my orders."

"Okay, sure," Jason shrugs. "So Chicago is where we'll find this lady who's controlling the winds? She's the one who's trapped Hera?"

"Ah... Those are two different questions, son of Jupiter."

Ara notices he's using Roman names now. Chiron said Jason doesn't belong in her camp. A scary thought comes to her as she glances down at his tattoo: there are more like him.

Lily's got a fascination with the Underworld, her grandmother taught her to respect the dead and the deity that looks after them. I met Hades last summer, and she got really talkative after she found out, showed me some collectible cards, and we play with them when none of us is training.

Lily's quiet, but only because she's got this accent that slips out when she gets excited about things. I said some of the swear words she uses and Silena told me that's Italian. My friend also has dark hair and is a bit too grumpy, which explains why most campers think she's a daughter of Hades.

Lily's sneaky, that's true, but so are the Stolls. I've been to the Underworld, and she doesn't feel like it."If she were," Travis says, "someone would've sent something to get rid of her."

"That's true," I sigh. "Lily hasn't shown any death-related powers either. I mean, she's crazy good at stabbing but she also likes archery!"

"She's a little scary," Travis admits, the lock he's been trying to open snaps and he closes it, handing it to me.

"Not that scary," Connor replies. I didn't know he was listening. "You shouldn't scare Ara, she's gonna think it's no good to be nice."

I frown, nothing would ever stop me from talking to a lonely person.

"Now go, demigods," Boreas finishes, "before I change my mind. Zethes, escort them out safely."

Ara's mind swirls in overwhelming thoughts as they leave. Romans and Greeks have disliked each other for ages, no wonder Chiron doesn't want Jason around! And to top it all, Boreas also said Hedge is still alive, but he wouldn't tell them where he is.

As they fly away in Festus, Piper speaks French under her breath. "If you knew the truth about me, you wouldn't think I was so amazing."

"What?" Ara looks at her. Piper locks eyes with the girl and remembers she speaks French too. She blushes, turning her gaze away.

Ara frowns, these three are more frustrating than Percy and Lily...

Percy thinks Lily might be a Big Three kid. I disagree and he doesn't take me seriously.

"I knew who you were right away," I remind him.

"This is different, Ara."

"She doesn't feel like that place!"

"She doesn't feel that way to you," my friend corrects me. "Didn't you see her fight that Ares kid?"

"She's enthusiastic about training..."

"She broke a guy's leg!"

"Oh fine, she's a little violent," I roll my eyes. "But saying that she's a daughter of... you know, that's insulting for the both of them."

"She'll get claimed and you'll know I'm right—cause she's no Apollo." Percy walks past me.

"Was it easy for you when you started working in the forges?" Leo asks quietly since Piper and Jason are napping.

"Not at all," Ara smiles, looking down at her squeaky-clean palms. "I almost lost a few fingers, and my arms were covered in bandaids most of the time... but it felt like I was on the right path."

Leo glances at her with his brows furrowed in amusement. "You were getting injured all the time and you still liked it?"

"You know what I mean!" Ara pokes his back. "Don't you love it when your hands are all tired and dirty but it's because you created something amazing?"

The boy looks down at Festus and pats his head affectionately. "Right... I get it."

"So to answer your question, it wasn't easy—but I was learning, and I was able to see my progress more clearly than with other stuff. I fell in love with it."

"Didn't believe it at first, but you've got skill, Ara," Beckendorf nods in approval. "And you, Tyson, you like it here?"

"I like how this bends," he replies, folding a huge chunk of metal.

"Silena's happy to hear you're getting better," the boy continues.

I stare at my dirty nails and the callouses on my palms. I thought I'd be disgusted by them, part of me wants to be nice and prim, but at the same time, I feel like a grown-up getting things done. "It feels nice," I open my teddy bag and pull out boxes of apple juice.

"You'll learn to love it," Beckendorf takes one of the juices. "Or you might discover you're good at it, but it's not your favorite thing. That'd be okay too."

I get a sudden urge to cry. How cruel would it be if I had found something, but it didn't make me happy? "No. I'll make it work. I've made up my mind."

He pats my shoulder, leaving a stain on my shirt that I have a hard time ignoring.

Ara wakes up abruptly, she would've slept through the night if Festus hadn't decided to practice his free-falling. It's really lucky Jason can fly, otherwise, they would've all plummeted to their deaths.

It's a pity she can't say the same about Festus, who crashed down in a cloud of thick, dark smoke. Leo cries out as it happens and her own stomach twists with anxiety. Ara must've fainted, cause the next thing she remembers is hearing Piper's screams.

Lily got claimed the other night, and she's not happy about it, I don't know why. Annabeth is the only person that she talks to in her cabin. She's uncomfortable with the idea of not having her sister around, so she's upset when she guesses what we're about to do.

"Percy wanted that quest, so you'll sneak out, won't you?"

"I never said that."

Not to Lily, at least.

"I know Annabeth will go with you, I wish I could go..."

"We'll be back before you know it."

"You're going to the sea of monsters," she scoffs. "It'll be lucky if you don't die on day one."

"Thank you. Make sure to offer some good food to Hades so he keeps me nice and cozy," I joke.

Piper whimpers on the catwalk. Leo, Jason, and Ara find her there, ankle broken. "You okay?" Leo sees her foot and winces. "Oh no, you're not."

"Thanks for the reassurance," the girl breathes heavily.

"You'll be fine," Jason tries to calm her. "Leo, you got any first aid supplies?"

"Yeah—yeah, sure..." He pulls out gauze and duck tape from his seemingly empty belt and Ara grabs the items without asking.

"Stay still, Piper..."

"How did you—" The girl hisses when Ara sits her up. "How did pull that stuff from an empty belt?"

"Magic. Haven't figured it out completely, but I can summon just about any regular tool out of the pockets, plus some other helpful stuff—Breath mint?"

Jason seizes the metal box impatiently. "That's great, Leo. Now, can you fix her foot?"

"I'm a mechanic, man. Maybe if she was a car..."

"I can." The lessons come back to Ara's mind as clear as Michael's voice. "I can't heal you entirely, though..."

"Wait, what was that godly healing stuff they fed you at camp," Leo asks. "Rambo food?"

"Ambrosia, dummy," Piper huffs. "There should be some in my bag, if it's not crushed."

"That should help," Ara gestures at Jason to get it.

He seizes a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia and gives a piece to Piper while Ara works on her ankle. The girl's hands are quick, she's singing something Will and Mike taught her to speed up the process, and her heart breaks even more. Ara's avoided her memories like the plague, but they keep coming back when she least expects them.

Once she's done, she sinks to her knees in front of Piper, tears falling down her face, and she dries them hastily along with the sweat on her forehead. Jason, Piper, and Leo are staring.

"What?"

"Nothing," Jason shrugs. "It's normal to cry when you heal someone... Right?"

Ara groans. "I've had a rough couple of..." Days? Months? Years?"I'm worn out."

"Well, I think you were awesome," Leo says. "You've got a nice voice."

"It's useful," she examines Piper. "Feeling better?"

The girl nods. "How did you learn this stuff?"

Ara spots a logo on the wall: a single red eye looks back at her and it gives her a bad feeling, but she can't tell why. It reminds her of Tyson, she would give anything to have him here, a Cyclops is always a great help.

"Lots of practice," she shrugs. "The gods took away all the traces of hard work on my body when I got my wish granted, so you can't tell..."

"You're so cool," Piper looks pale, but at least she's smiling.

Ara grins a little in return, cleaning her hands on her dirty jeans. "That's... Just doing my job."

She almost says "That's what friends do", but she doesn't want more friends, it would be like trying to fill the holes in her life and that's not right. It's better to keep her distance.

A loud explosion comes from C.C.'s office and a bunch of men run out of the place.

"Ah," I tense. "Gotta go."

I yell out Percy and Annabeth's names and they yell mine in return, Annabeth finds me and drags me out of the island. We climb into Queen Anne's revenge and I cling onto a barrel when Percy propels us out. After the worst passes, he looks over his shoulder and notices my clean clothes and brushed hair.

"You were enjoying yourself—It's the first time you've looked like an Aphrodite!"

He didn't mean to be rude, but for some reason, the realization that maybe no boy had ever perceived me as beautiful struck a nerve that had been dormant for eleven years. "Shut up."

Annabeth got dizzy and had to go lie down. My mom was born in the sea, so I handle this well. Besides, I'm a Cancer, so water is my happy place. I think about our quest, Annabeth told me Percy got turned into a guinea pig before we escaped Circe's island.

"Can I touch you?"

Percy looks at me like I've gone crazy. "Whatcha say?"

"Can I use my empath touch on you?" I clarify. "Or you can tell me how you're feeling?"

He sighs and stares ahead. "Don't know how I'm feeling..."

"Hmm..." I grab his hand. "Oh."

"What?"

I pout. "I miss him too."

"Yeah, he was..." Percy gulps, he knows who I'm talking about.

"Your little brother," I look at him, waiting to see his reaction.

He nods briefly, blinking a lot. "He was."

"Was it weird? Having a Cyclops as a brother?"

"Was it weird when you suddenly had like ten new siblings?"

"That's not a real family," I reply.

"What?" He exclaims. "What do you mean?"

I let go of his hand. "My siblings have families outside camp, I just have a bunch of roommates," I try not to think about it, this is a delicate subject and I find it difficult to approach.

"Well," Percy says after a short pause. "Sometimes friends are better than siblings. Look at us!"

I frown. "Dude, we look miserable."

"We're fine," he retorts, but that doesn't help me. His shoulders fall, and his voice softens. "Alright, let's play pretend. You like playing pretend, right? From now on we're siblings."

I snort. "That's not how it works."

"What, you don't want to adopt me? That stings, Ara."

"Stop it."

"You'd rather be Annabeth's sister like Lily? I get it, boys suck. I'll throw myself off the ship—"

"Stop!" I laugh, clutching the back of his shirt as he leans forward.

"C'mon then!" He smirks. "I'll try my best to make you hate me like a real brother."

I laugh and hug him. "Fine. Can't wait to regret it."

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @ash-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen

#twoidiots writing #pjo fanfic #pjo hoo toa #pjo fandom #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #leo valdez x oc #leo valdez fanfic #doo #heroes of olympus

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