#she started reading it only because she needed to see Annabeth and Percy get together and she couldn’t with the tv show

[ducky-the-mucky]

My sister is reading Percy Jackson for the first time and it’s great because I get to see her as she cries over Nico going from a sunshine character to a depressed and angry kid who doesn’t begin to truly get better until two series later.

I get to watch as she cries when Nico is told he can’t summon Bianca any more, as she reads about her telling Nico he’s actually angry with her- Percy was never at fault.

I get to watch her faun over Percy’s feeling for Annabeth, gush about Annabeth kissing him, then cry over Rachel entering the playing field.

I get to watch as she squeals over Annabeth and Tyson making Percy a birthday cake, and Annabeth being Percy’s tether when he gains the curse of Achilles. How she takes a stab for him, blindly, how he raises a charge against Kronos’s army simply because of that.

I get to watch her when she reads about Percy denying immortality for Annabeth- and when Annabeth does the same for him.

I may not be able to read the series again for the first time, but I can watch someone else do it.

[starflirts]

1 STEP FORWARD, 3 STEPS BACK

friends and feelings don’t really go well together, do they ? percy jackson x aphrodite fem! reader, wc: 6.2k, note: IT’S FINALLY HERE!! THE LONG AWAITED PIECE!! i’d like to apologize for putting this out so late but you guys have been so so patient and i’d never thank you enough for that !!!!<3 please enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it!! (i did add my own twist to the tartarus fall for the sake of the story… sorry not sorry!)

Wherever Annabeth strayed, Percy followed. It was common knowledge at camp Half-Blood. Everyone could see how hearts seemed to float around the boy’s head whenever Athena’s daughter was around. 

You knew this too. And every time Percy’s pining became too obvious, you’d turn your head and swallow the bitter taste of jealousy coming up your throat.  

You’ve liked Percy ever since you were thirteen, when he was just starting to grow taller than you and when he made you double over with laughter at the jokes his step-dad told him. 

But Percy’s liked Annabeth ever since he was thirteen, when he held the world for her and when he desperately wished she wouldn’t join Artemis’ hunters. 

And the whole camp bet on when Percy would make the first move while you were left alone with envy simmering in your veins and the sting of a heartache.

Still, you couldn’t bring yourself to push him away from your life. His bright smile and his curls always made you wonder if he hadn’t been carved by Apollo himself. 

Percy has been your friend ever since your arrival at camp. But you’ve also wished he’d be more than that. 

It doesn’t really come as a surprise when the son of Poseidon comes to you for advice. You should shut him out and pretend you don’t understand what he’s about to ask, but your mother wouldn’t approve of one her own getting in the way of love. So you let it happen. 

“I need your help with something…” are his first words as he stands against the doorway of the Aphrodite cabin. There’s only you and a few of your other siblings inside and instantly, all eyes are on him. 

You know what he’s about to ask. You look down, resuming your work on your sister’s hair. “I’m busy Percy. Can you come back later ?”

You don’t look at him but you hear him sigh. “It’s…um… pretty important ? I mean… I’m asking you because I know you’re an expert in the love department, obviously and you’re the only one who can actually help.” 

“Fine, come in. But don’t touch my bows! You messed them up last time and I spent forever untangling them.” You smile as you finish little Carla’s hair, while Percy’s hands stir away from your collection.  

Once the younger Aphrodite kids were shooed away, you stood up from your spot on the bed, leading Percy outside to the porch. Leaning against the wooden railing you turn your head, studying the crease of his brows and the way his hair seems messier, as if he’d run his hands through it one too many times. 

“So ? What do you need me for ? Are you trying to escape kitchen duties again ?” you tease, and he tilts his head, wincing.

“Come on, that was one time… I need your help for something else. Something important” you can see the gears turn in his mind so you egg him on. 

“Spit it out Percy ! I’m becoming way too curious.”

This time he turns his entire body to face you. He takes a deep breath and starts. “Can you pretend to be my girlfriend so I can make Annabeth jealous ?”

Silence. You wonder if he just heard the sound of your heart shattering.

“Are you sure this is a good idea…?” 

Percy nods. “Maybe she’ll see us together and realize that she actually likes me. She knows we’ve been friends for a while so it won’t be too surprising, will it ?”

You shrug, turning your gaze to the other campers prancing around the other cabins. Part of you wants to say no, to avoid yearning for something that’s not real. But there’s this tiny other part of you screaming to accept the offer, to bask in the experience of something that might never happen again. Facing him again with a smile, you find him already staring at you expectantly. 

“What do I get from all of this ?” you tease, gesturing between the two of you. 

“My eternal love and gratitude of course !” he laughs as you shove him playfully. 

“Okay okay I’ll help you. That’s what friends are for, right ?”

He breathes out, obviously relieved. “Thank you so much ! I owe you one !” he tells you before pulling you into a hug. 

The moment you hug him back, you realize the situation you got yourself into. Percy pulls away and starts walking backwards toward the sword training area. “I have to go right now or Mr D is going to be mad and I don’t want to be on stable duty tonight!  " he chuckles, but stay awhile after dinner and we’ll set up a plan alright ?”  

You salute him jokingly. “Will do, sir !” 

At dinner, your eyes flicker between your half empty plate and Percy, heartily laughing away with the Stoll brothers. Feeling someone softly nudging your shoulder, you divert your attention to Drew, looking at you with slight concern. 

“You okay ? You’ve been staring at your plate forever.”

“Yeah yeah, just a little tired is all !” you manage a small smile. She nods before resuming her conversation. 

Once everyone’s done, all of your siblings scuttle back to cabin 10 while you linger around the amphitheater, remembering Percy’s words. 

There’s a whisper of your name coming from behind and you whip around just in time to see Percy jogging towards you. 

“Thought you’d never come !” you tease

Your friend jokingly rolls his eyes before taking your wrist, guiding you towards the lake. “I wasn’t gifted with punctuality I know, I know no need to rub it in… Now come, we have a plan to set up !”

The both of you are sitting on the shore, the lights of Sound Island catching your attention. Knees hiked to your chest, you stare at them until Percy clears his throat. 

“So… I was thinking…” he starts 

“Oh, nothing good can come out of that” you joke and he chuckles.

“Seriously though, if we need to make it work people shouldn’t think our ‘relationship’ comes out of nowhere. You know what I mean ?

You nod, eyes still lost in the distance. “We could tell people you asked me out last summer, before I went home and before you went back to New York. We could tell them we were long distance and decided to make it official this summer at camp.”

You can see Percy nodding enthusiastically from the corner of your eye. “Yes ! That’s a great idea ! I would've never come up with that so quickly.”

The air is quiet now, the both of you looking at the waves lapping at the shore. Until Percy breaks the silence again.

“Do… um… Do you think we should set up rules ? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, or break any boundaries… I don’t want things to get too awkward between us y’know ?” he rubs his neck, avoiding your eyes.

Turning to face him, you place a hand on his shoulder. “I know Percy, don’t worry. And you’re right, boundaries are essential in a relationship.”

“So… What should we do ? Or not for that matter ? You’re the relationship professional here, I’m all ears!”

The boy’s words put a small smile on your face, although you’re already starting to regret this ordeal.

“Well, we should definitely act ‘coupley’ in public. Hugs, hand holding and all that…” You’re about to continue the list when Percy interrupts you. “What about kissing ?”

You can feel your heart drop in your stomach. You should’ve seen this coming. Brows furrowed, you stared at the dark body of water in front of you. “Only for emergencies. The ‘no one believes we’re actually dating so we have to prove them by kissing each other’ kind of emergency. You get me ?”

Percy laughs at the idea. “I couldn’t have summed it up better. Emergencies only then.” There’s a moment of silence between the two of you while he toys with the rocks strewn around him before hearing him sigh. “D’you think it’s gonna work ? That she’s gonna notice me ?”

Mustering the nicest smile you could, you nodded. “Maybe our plan will serve as a little push for her to make the first move. There’s no way she doesn’t like you back. And I'm saying this as a daughter of Aphrodite.” your words elicit a chuckle from the boy next to you. You’re glad to see that he seems a bit relieved by your affirmation, the same you wished someone told you. 

Stretching his arms above his head while stifling a yawn, Percy stands up. “Alright, I’m gonna go to bed, you coming with me ?”

Looking up at him, you shake your head. “Think i’m gonna stay out there a little longer, the air’s nice.”

The boy nods. “Alright. I’ll pick you up from your cabin tomorrow morning so don’t sleep in too long ! Otherwise Silena might just drown me with questions and whatnot.” he winks

You giggle. “Don’t worry about that Perce. Good night, I’ll see you tomorrow.” he smiles at you, pinching your ear as was his way of saying goodbye for the past few years before jogging up the hill. 

You’re awoken the next day by Carla and Jamie, the two kids fervently shaking your shoulders all the while loudly whispering your name.

“Percy’s here! He says he came to pick you up! Is he your boyfriend ?”

The sleepy state you’re in makes it hard to catch up with their excitement so early in the morning. That’s until you actually hear Percy’s voice alongside Silena’s.

Silena. You shoot up from your bed, rushing to save the boy from your cabin counselor’s inquiries. 

Emerging from your cabin while adjusting a slightly rumpled shirt, you catch Percy’s eyes, silently begging for help. You can’t see Silena’s face but judging by Percy’s attitude, she might’ve been asking one too many questions. 

“Percy ! Hi ! I didn’t know you were going to pick me up this morning !” you loop your arm around his, a big smile plastered on your face as you wave to your older sister. 

He looks back at you with a smile, obviously relieved by your sudden appearance.

“Had to pick up my girl.” he says with a smile, eyes shifting between you and Silena’s questioning stare. You dismissively wave a hand, a way to tell her you’ll explain later. 

“I swear she was going to annihilate me! She kept asking me why I came to pick you up and why now !” Percy kept talking your ear off about how scary Silena was on your way to breakfast. 

“She might seem… intrusive at times, but she means well ! Silena always cared for her younger siblings. And you’re definitely in her books so I don’t think she hates you, not until you actually hurt me though…” you tell him, eyes crinkling with amusement when you see his face pale. 

You noticed that your arm was still looped with Percy’s. And you liked it. It felt natural, almost real. As you approached Aphrodite’s table, Percy slowed his pace. He slightly turned towards you with wide eyes.

“Annabeth is here ! And she’s looking at us ! What do we do ?”

Shifting as discreetly as possible, you notice the girl looking in your direction, eyebrow raised and a small smile on her face. Turning back to Percy, you shrug.

“Say goodbye, the way you would say goodbye to your girlfriend.” 

Percy doesn’t need to be told twice. Almost mechanically, he pulls you closer, tugging you to his chest and slightly bending down to press a kiss on your cheek. “I’ll see you later” he whispers before moving away, leaving you at your table full of overexcited Aphrodite kids. 

You didn’t see Percy until later in the afternoon at the climbing wall. Yet the kiss he’d given you before breakfast was burning your cheek, as if his lips had been scalding hot iron. Part of you thought this was a fever dream, that you’d wake up in your bed with Percy’s heart still out of reach. But every camper coming to congratulate you and ask questions about your relationship with the son of Poseidon served as a harsh reminder of the predicament you were in.

It was a very hot morning when Luke decided to take the younger kids for a swim in the lake, asking you and Percy to tag along. The two of you were supervising a group of Hermes kids, Percy playing with them while you watched the scene from the dock, feet dangling in the water. Lost in your thoughts and lulled by the sunlight, you didn’t notice Percy swimming up to you until he pulled you in the water. You emerged with a laugh, hanging onto Percy’s shoulders, all the kids around you tossing water and giggling. He didn’t let you go and you’re suddenly hyper aware of the proximity you share and of his hands on your waist. The kids' incessant cheering doesn’t falter.

“Kiss your girlfriend Percy! That’s what good boyfriends do after pulling their girlfriends in the water!” the older kids teased.

“C’mon guys…” he let out a nervous laugh. But the kids didn't stop.

“Percy and Y/N, swimming in the water, K I S S I N G!”

“That’s not even the correct lyrics !” he argued, to no avail. 

Percy then stared at you and you nodded, heart hammering in your chest. He leaned in and you laced your arms around his neck, hands coming to play with his wet curls. The kiss was short and sweet and sent you over the edge. When you pulled back, you could feel the blood pumping in your ears. With flushed cheeks, Percy turned towards the group, shooing them towards the shore. “Okay alright that’s enough! It’s almost lunchtime, let's go!” 

As you got out of the water, shirt clinging to your body, Percy stood at the edge, hoodie in hand.

“Here. You can wear this instead.” he smiles and you gratefully accept the piece of clothing, reveling in the comfort of the material and in Percy’s scent.          

It was interesting to see how everyone seemed to gobble your story. In the span of a few weeks, you and Percy became the talk of the camp. Everyone wondered how, when and why it happened. During late evenings spent idling on the shore, Percy often praised your storytelling skills and the way the two of you managed to play pretend so efficiently. 

“Do you think it’s working ?” he asked one night, as the two of you were setting up the camp’s bonfire.

“Considering Annabeth seems to talk to you more than usual I’d say yes ? I can’t read her mind though.” you answer, placing the wood you picked up under your arm.

Percy nods, a small smile adorning his face. As he turns and leads the way towards the bonfire, you trail behind, lost in thought. Everything was going too well. So well that You had to remember almost every night that Percy wasn’t really your boyfriend. You knew that wishing he’d just change his mind would probably anger your mother but you didn’t care anymore. Although he was supposed to be yours in the eyes of everyone, you knew his heart belonged to someone else and you felt like an usurper. You considered putting an end to all of this, tell the truth to Annabeth and witness your biggest heartbreak come to life. 

Percy’s voice brings you back to earth: “you coming?” Picking up your pace, the two of you are quick to get back to the group, everyone cheering and hollering at your arrival.

“Got lost in the woods ?” Luke teases.

As you sit next to Percy, he wraps his arm around your shoulders, pulling you close. You almost melt into his touch before remembering your inner turmoil. He looks at you with a smile and you smile back, trying your best to conceal your sadness. As you turn to face the fire, he presses a fleeting kiss to your temple and it feels so real you almost want to burst into tears. 

You feel sick. His presence is suffocating and the voices in your head seem to get louder. You free yourself from his hold and stand up. His gaze is questioning and you shake your head.

“I’ll be back. I just— I need some air.” you whisper and he nods, watching your silhouette disappear in the shadows. 

Sitting against the trunk of a tree, your knees hiked against your chest and your face hidden in your hands, you fight the tears pooling in your eyes. Regret and embarrassment are flooding your mind, a breathless apology to your mother escapes your lips. 

All of a sudden, you hear a branch snap and you lift your head up. You brace yourself for the worst, fists clenching at the thought of Aphrodite herself coming to scold you. Yet the woods are too dark and there’s no sign of your godly parent. The rustle of leaves seems closer to you now and your heart beats faster. 

A whisper of your name makes you turn your head. To your left stood Annabeth, taking off her cap and putting it back in the pocket of her jeans. You let out a breath of relief you didn’t realize you were holding as you saw her sitting down opposite you. 

Annabeth is the first one to break the silence.

“I saw you at the bonfire. Wanted to know if you were okay since you didn’t want Percy to come with you.” 

You smile at her words and nod, fingers toying with blades of grass.

“I am, thanks. I just needed to get away for a bit. I was probably overwhelmed or something. Had a long day.” you laugh.

The girl in front of you fiddles with her necklace, brows furrowed and obviously trying to tell you something.

“Yeah figures, Percy told you about our quest didn’t he ? I tried to tell him it was too dangerous, you know ? He was just so determined to come with me, Nico and Will he didn’t listen to me. I know you two are practically glued at the hip so when I asked him if he was sure, he told me you’d probably do the same thing.” she smiles softly before continuing. “He trusts you as much as you trust him, you know. It’s not something you see everyday.”

Annabeth looks over expectantly, only to find you staring at a crumpled daisy in the palm of your hand and you’re pulled out of your trance by her voice calling your name.

“Oh yeah, no we talked about it briefly this afternoon. He told me you guys had to leave soon. You don’t know when you’ll be back do you ?” you ask in a small voice, faking a yawn to hide the tears at the corner of your eyes.

Your friend shakes her head before pulling you into a hug. 

“I’m gonna miss you, all of us will actually.” You tighten your embrace. “Me too, be safe out there.”

Annabeth pulls back with a small smile. “I’m gonna head back and let you join your lover boy.” You watch her as she puts her cap on, disappearing in the shadows. 

You don’t wait long before joining the rest of the campers, guided by the firelight and the giggles of the younger kids. As you make your way back to the fire, you notice Percy making a place for you. You walk on, blatantly ignoring his signs. 

No one else seems to notice what just happened. Puzzled, Percy stands up and follows your footsteps. You’re only a few meters away from your cabin when the boy grabs your wrist, turning you around to face him. The few lights around the cabins highlight the anger and sadness painted all over your face and you jerk your hand away. 

“When were you going to tell me ?” you ask, crossing your arms. 

His face falls. 

“I– I was going to! As soon as Chiron confirmed it, I promise ! I just– I couldn't find the proper way to announce it. I swear I didn’t want to leave you in the dark.” Percy sputters

You nod, averting your attention to anywhere else but the boy in front of you. You couldn’t bear to let him see how upset you were. He couldn’t see how his upcoming departure ripped your heart apart in a way it wasn’t supposed to at all. 

“Whatever. It’s not like you need me to make decisions right ? I’m just the stepping stone in your ‘how to get the girl tutorial’” you laugh bitterly 

Percy shakes his head.

“No, absolutely not. You’re my best friend and I care about you. So much. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I— I didn't think wisely but you have to know how important this quest is. Annabeth wanted you to come with her but I volunteered instead. I couldn’t let you go out there and get hurt. I’d never forgive myself if something ever happened to you.”

His words burn and you wipe your tears angrily. When you finally meet his eyes, you notice how soft his gaze is, and how sorry he seems. 

“Yeah right.” you point an accusatory finger at him. “Don’t you ever think that i’m going to help you with your little love games anymore. I’m done.” 

You didn’t let him reply. opting to turn around, you walk to your cabin. You spare him one last glance when you step on the porch. He stands still, hands in his pockets. 

“Look after Will and Nico, would you ? I trust Annabeth with my life but I wouldn’t bear to lose them because of you.” your words linger in the air and Percy winces, as if slapped by the meaning of your words.

He nods and you walk into your cabin, tears streaming down your face.

You don’t talk to Percy for the next few days, always finding excuses to avoid being in his vicinity and busying yourself with as many camp duties as you could take. You managed to escape him without anyone noticing the weird tension between the two of you. Yet Percy was desperately trying to talk to you, always searching your eyes during meals and attempting to follow you around to make amends. But you slipped through his fingers, never staying around him for more than a second.

When the day of the group’s departure finally came, you reluctantly stood next to Chiron. The whole camp came to the border to wish the group good luck, and you certainly weren’t going to let your friends go without sending them off with a proper goodbye. You ruffled Nico and Will’s hair, making them promise to send an Iris message whenever they needed to. Annabeth hugs you tightly and you wish her a safe journey. Percy follows, and he’s awkwardly shuffling on his feet, all the while the other campers wait for their favorite amusement. Although you’re upset and heartbroken, you still wish him the best. When you look up at him, you can still see the same apologetic gaze he gave you almost a week ago. 

You reach up reluctantly, lacing your arms around his neck. Under the scrutinizing gaze of your peers, you manage to press a feathery kiss on the corner of his mouth. While everyone cheers and celebrates the rest of the group as well, Percy’s hands find yours. 

“I’ll stay in touch, promise.” he squeezes your hand and you just nod, pursing your lips. There’s a beat of silence, his hand still holding yours. You’re the first one to pull back, crossing your arms and standing back. Percy takes this as his cue to leave. With one last glance at you, he adjusts the straps of his backpack and turns away, following the rest of the group while you watch them disappear through the fields.  

Ever since Annabeth and her partners left, your days at camp seemed to go by slower. Yet the occasional message of Apollo’s son, Will, always eager to update you on everyone and the quest made you look forward to what the day could bring. Ever since his arrival at camp Half-Blood, Will Solace has been like your little brother, always in your shadow. Every time his freckled face appeared through the mist, it was as if a weight was lifted off of your shoulders. Some days, he managed to drag Nico into view to say hi and during others, he almost had to tell Annabeth off for “hogging all his time with Y/N”. On the other hand, you managed to catch glimpses of Percy, whether he was in the background or coming in to greet you, asking how life at camp was. Conversations with him were short and you hoped the others didn’t notice the tension between the two of you that persisted even through a simple Iris message.

As the days went on, Will’s messages were rare, which was worrying. He’d usually call you once a week but your most recent conversation dated back two weeks already. One late afternoon, as you were supervising the archery class along with another camper from Apollo’s cabin, the frantic sound of hooves hitting the gravel path broke the kids’ focus. In a matter of seconds, Grover is right in front of you, panting. 

“Chiron wants to see you… now.” 

Feeling your stomach tighten in anguish, you rush to your beloved activities director, only to find him animatedly talking to someone via Iris message.

To Will Solace. 

Although he’s on the other side of the country, he notices you first and agitatedly calls out your name, prompting Chiron to turn around.

“I’ll let the two of you be. There’s something important you both need to discuss.” Chiron solemnly announces before retiring, prompting you to rush to the boy. 

“Will ! Thank gods ! Are you okay ? What’s going on ? Is everything alright ?” 

Will lets you ask all the questions you could think of and your heart clenches at the sight of his bruised face and his torn clothes.

“I’m okay.. Nico and I are okay.” he breathes and you answer with anguish. “What’s happening ? Why– Where’s Annabeth ? Where’s Percy ?”

At the mention of the older two, Will’s face contorts in an expression you can’t discern and your face falls.

“Annabeth tripped and fell. Percy rushed to help her but he couldn’t pull her up nor himself.” The boy swallows. “So he told Nico and I to join the rest of our crew, you know, the ones from the Argo II, the ones I told you about ?” You nod and he resumes his story. “I— I thought he wanted them to help him pull him and Annabeth up but he… He let go and they both fell. They fell into Tartarus.”

The room around you was spinning. You sat in the nearest chair and brought a shaky hand to your lips. Will was still talking but the ringing in your ears was too overwhelming for you to hear anything. 

After regaining composure as best as you could, Will explained how the rest of their quest was supposed to go. You were unable to utter a single word, the shocking news weighing heavy on your heart. He ended the call with a promise to come back to camp safely. As soon as you were alone in the room, you keeled on yourself, choking out tears. 

Will’s words still echoed in your mind more than a week after that fateful call, especially when word got out that Annabeth and Percy, Y/N’s Percy, fell into Tartarus. Your days were tiresome and your nights full of nightmares. More often than not, you found yourself awoken by one of your siblings in the middle of the night, their hands on your shoulders prompting you to calm down. Pitiful stares from other campers weren’t spared either, and you could feel everyone’s eyes on your back almost everyday, already grieving the loss of two people that meant the world to you.  

But you tried to keep face. Every piece of meal you scraped into the campfire was a silent prayer to your mother to keep your friends safe, every night spent on your cabin’s porch was another way of pleading the stars to bring everyone back to camp quickly and safely. To clear your mind as best as you could, you began to spend most evenings on the shore where you and Percy used to hang out all the time, before everything went down. Reminiscing on past conversations, the knot in your stomach only tightened when you remembered your last exchange, regret swallowing you whole at the idea of losing Percy and never mending things with him.

Sitting on the shore and skipping stones slowly became part of your daily routine. You were there at dawn and at dusk, feet at the edge of the water. This was the exact place you found out Percy and Annabeth came back. Meg McCaffrey, daughter of Demeter came bounding towards you, yelling your name.

“They’re back !!! They’re all back !!!”

Scrambling to your feet, you follow the girl as best as you could, too stunned to speak. And indeed, as soon as you joined the group of campers in the meadow, you saw them. Your eyes caught Will’s first, holding Nico’s hand tightly. You see them next, Percy and Annabeth. They’re in terrible shape, clothes torn and faces scraped. Yet here they are, stumbling towards Thalia’s tree, holding each other up. That’s the first thing you notice: Percy’s tight grip on Annabeth’s shoulder. You let out a breath, rushing towards the group. Will launches himself into your arms and you fall to your knees, holding him tightly. 

“You’re okay. You’re home.” you whisper, a hand soothingly rubbing his back. When he pulls back, you open your arms to Nico, who gladly accepts your embrace. Once the three of you are up on your feet again, Annabeth pulls you towards her and Percy, although not without wincing. You let out a teary laugh at her demeanor before brushing dirt off her cheek. 

“Let’s get you patched up.” you grin as you take a hold of her elbow. You turn towards Percy, who smiles tiredly before beckoning him to follow. “You’re going too Perce.” 

The next few days Annabeth and Percy stay in the infirmary, you pass by often to help with bandages or simply to strike up a conversation. The bright smile with which Percy greets you everytime makes your heart clench and you avoid his eyes as best as you can. 

The duo has undoubtedly become the talk of the entire camp again, and you can’t help but remember the bitterness crawling up your throat again. They seemed closer, with Percy still hanging around Annabeth as often as he could. Yet this time, you sensed a shift in their dynamics, blaming it on your mother’s powers. Ever since the pair came back from Tartarus, you started to fall into the background again. Percy technically hasn’t abandoned you but you did feel left out, again. Evenings with your dear friend on the shore were traded for long conversations in Athena’s cabin and the feeling of Percy’s constant arm around you now seemed like a fever dream.

With a heavy heart, you let life take its course again. Having pulled away from Percy, people started to speculate your potential breakup. You didn’t deny the rumors, wanting things to go back to what you were used to, wanting to hopelessly pine in silence without pretending anymore. But what you experienced in the past few weeks felt too real and every single time your path crossed Percy’s, you felt like drowning in unsaid feelings. 

The day Silena found you sobbing on the steps of the cabin was your breaking point. She rushed to your side, engulfing you in a hug. 

“Hey, hey! What’s going on ?” she asked but you shook your head, unable to find the right words and ashamed of what your answer might be. But she pressed on until you cracked. 

“Percy and I, we weren’t actually dating. He wanted to make Annabeth jealous so he asked me to pretend to be his girlfriend and I said yes. And I feel so, so stupid because I liked him, really liked him and I thought that was the closest I’ll ever get to actually be with him but then he left and I guess his plan finally worked.” you let out a bitter laugh before resuming. “And I just can’t look him in the eyes anymore, it hurts too much. I probably messed up our friendship because I fell in love with him years ago when he only had eyes for Annabeth. And I can’t be mad at him! She’s perfect! Sometimes I just wish it was me…”

Letting out a shaky breath, you avoided your sister’s eyes until she held your shoulders, prompting you to face her. There was no trace of pity in her gaze, only the typical fondness she addressed to her siblings. With a small smile, she was about to comfort you until the hurried sound of footsteps caused the both of you to turn towards the source of the sound. 

Percy stood in front of the porch, looking as surprised as you. If looks could kill, Silena would’ve already sent him six feet in the ground. On the other hand, you felt sick to your stomach. Judging by the expression on his face, your declaration didn’t fall into deaf ears. He slowly reached the first step but you stood up abruptly.

“Don’t.” was all you could muster before running off.

You blamed it on muscle memory when you found yourself on the edge of the shore again. But Percy wasn’t stupid. He figured out it became your favorite spot almost a month after he took you there for the first time. With your back facing him, he softly called your name, sighing when you refused to turn around. 

“Go away Percy.”

“I can’t. I won’t.” 

“What do you want then?” you finally snapped, facing him. “Do you want to laugh in my face ? Tell me I’m an absolute idiot for thinking I could ever have a chance with you ?”

“No! Absolutely not!” There's a second of silence before he starts again. “I, I heard everything and” you’re about to cut him off when he shakes his head. “No. Let me tell you what I need to tell you. I can’t let you hurt like that knowing I caused all this mess.” 

Seeing him in such a nervous state somewhat calmed your own nerves. You sat on a big rock, motioning him to sit beside you. None of you talked for a little while, instead choosing to focus on the lapping of the waves. Percy decided to break the silence. 

“I have– had feelings for Annabeth. For the longest time. And looking back on it, I was a jerk for asking you to fake date me. I was selfish, I didn’t even think about how you felt in the moment because I was too obsessed with the idea of Annabeth noticing me.” He swallowed. “I was blinded by my feelings until the quest. When Annabeth told me she wanted you to come with her, I told you I couldn’t allow you to get hurt. I meant it. And when we were in Tartarus, gods, I couldn’t help but imagine you instead of me. The place tricked us, made us see things coming out of our worst nightmares. I— I heard you most of the time. It recreated your voice and made me believe you were in so much pain and I couldn’t do anything about it. I still have dreams about it: you’re the one who’s falling into Tartarus because I can’t seem to reach your hand.”

When you turn your head to look in his direction, you find him already looking at you. 

“What do you mean by that?” you whisper, eyes scanning his face.

He grabs your hand and you can’t help but twitch at the contact.

“I can’t lose you, that’s what it means. I took our friendship for granted and I’ll always beat myself up for that. Annabeth realized that before I did. When we came back, she told me to always be upfront about my feelings to people you hold dear. You never know when you might see them for the last time. So that’s what I’m doing right now.”

“Are you seriously friendzoning me right now ?” you scoff at his choice of words.

“No, no!” he closes his eyes. “Gods what I want to tell you is that I can’t stand when you’re not by my side. And I’m sorry for not noticing it earlier. I care about you, more than you know. And if you’d let me, I want to make things right with you, with us.”

Your heart softens at his declaration. You heave a sigh but you can’t hide the small smile growing on your face. 

“We can try.” you shrug and you feel his grip tighten around your hand. 

His smile almost rivals with the first stars dotting the sky. “We can try.”

[aphroditeinthesea]

can i please request a percy jackson x reader where the reader is a daughter of aphrodite to the song i can do it with a broken heart by taylor swift

“ i can do it with a broken heart ”

percy jackson x daughter of aphrodite 🌊

⚠️ percy is an ass to the reader but that’s kinda a given + percabeth inclusion woop woop

⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆

i can read ur mind

she’s having the time of her life

there in her glittering prime the lights reflect

sequin stars off her silhouette every night

i can show you lies

“I’m so happy you're finally getting over him,” her sister smiled, hand on her back.

She forced a grin as she continued to sing along to the campfire song. She nodded and waited for her sister to turn her attention away. When she finally saw the girl from the corner of her eye turn towards her boyfriend.

Y/N looked down to the grass. If she looked up she knew what she would see. Just the thought was nauseating. The boy who she claimed to all her friends she would marry, who she already had best laid plans to move to New Rome with and go to college together.

Everything that came to a crumble when he decided he did want those things. Just with his best friend instead.

She watched from across the way how his arm was wrapped around the blonde. They weren't even talking, just looking into each other’s eyes. It was as though they were having an entire conversation without saying anything. She recalled how when she first started going out with Percy and her friends tried to warn her. Everyone knew that the two were soulmates, except for three people.

She wondered if on some level she always knew, too. Maybe she was just denying it to stay with him for just a little bit longer. Even if she screamed all night the day she he broke up with her.

If you were ever so inclined to wonder what really truly happened, here’s the deal:

It was like any other Friday. Perseus Jackson waltzed into her cabin, head low almost as though he cared. He told her he wanted to talk to her privately in cabin three. Her heart sank. She knew. She just knew.

Soon enough, while she sat on his bed and he stood in front of her, he spoke in his softest voice.

“We need to break up.”

She felt her head get dizzy while she looked up at him, “what?”

“I’m so sorry,” he sat next to her, “I hate having to do this to you.”

“Why?” was all she could say.

His eyebrows creased, while tears welled up in his sea green eyes. She felt like she was looking into one of the clear seas of Greece. “I dont feel about you the way that I should.”

She sighed, “Annabeth.” Although because of the weakness in her voice, all that came out was, “Eth.”

He understood her. Slowly nodding, he began once again, “I realized I feel more about her than I should,” he took a breath, “but I wouldn't do anything before ending this with you. I couldn't hurt you like that.”

That damn loyalty of his.

“I get it.”

i’m a real tough kid

i can handle my shit

they said “babe, you gotta fake it til you make it”

and i did

The next morning, it was like it never happened. Afterall, a girl’s gotta have a reputation to upkeep. Everyone’s favorite daughter of Aphrodite. Who could hate a girl so bubbly and peppy and outgoing and happy and has never once had a bad hair day?

Everyone tried to get her to talk about it, but the only thing she said was “I’m helping at arts and crafts today, tee-tee-why-ell!”

With a smile on her face and the taste of vomit on her lips, she pranced around helping campers make vases and false confidence.

“You need to guide your hands up more, like this-”

“Y/N.”

She looked up to lock eyes with the daughter of Athena. “Annabeth.”

“I really wanted to talk to you.”

She flashed her blinding smile and raised eyebrows, “I would love to talk, but I’m right now,” even though her blood boiled at the sight of the blonde curls, “see you later, though.”

“I’m staying.”

“Oh!” She squeaked, “grab a seat.”

lights, camera, bitch smile

even when you wanna die

he said he’s love me all his life

but that life was too short

As soon as y/n was alone she broke down, hitting the floor. She felt all the pieces of her shatter. She had spent hours grinning like a winner before she finally crashed.

She let out every emotion she had felt that day. The anger, the sadness, the betrayal, the heartbreak, all of it. She let out a scream for every glance she shared with either Percy or Annabeth.

But just before dinner, she dolled up her makeup and curled her hair to perfection. Then brushed it out. Then straightened it.

She knew she was overthinking it, but how damn stupid would she look walking out to dinner with hair that mirrored the girl she was just left for? Of course, the meal went as it always would. Her cracking jokes with her siblings, giving out advice that not a soul asked for, all was normal except for the table across the way.

The Poseidon table, which was currently being shared by a certain blonde. This had to be a joke. She watched their conversation flow so easily. The laughs, the smiles, whispers, before Annabeth snuck back off to her own table.

She thought to herself that maybe she should have done that. I mean, if little miss perfect could bend the rules a little, why couldn't she? Maybe that’s why he left?

Over the next few weeks, she tried to block out everything about him. Maybe it was just a dream. But occasionally she’d find something of his in a drawer. Crucial evidence she didn't just imagine the whole thing.

She was sure she could pass this test. The test being the ability to not spend her days crying. And although she did cry a whole lot, she was so damn productive. It was honestly an art. She knew for the rest of her life that this time really proved how good she was at faking. You know? ‘Cause she’s miserable and nobody even knows.

Try and come for her job.

[eir-trixa]

WOTTG SPOILERS AFTER THE CUT

.

.

.

Can you believe Rick is validating me in my Percy-is-the-most-empathic-character take? I have legal basis but boi does it feel nice to have canon confirmation.

Second that book was short af I got the gist of it all while reading for like an hour.

Third, we addressed everyone else’s trauma. Percy’s still the group therapist LMAO 😭😭😭

Fourth, my son is such a good kid yall, this is why I lose five years of my life when someone insults or when he insults himself jfc my child.

Im honestly still processing and I have to reread the ending. Did it address Percy’s issues? Im going to go with “a bit” and call it a night. I mean, I guess it did? Percy got to unload and help Gale and Hecuba. We got an insight to how he’s managing to stay up and fighting and good despite all the shit he’s put into. Honestly the fact that he saw the humanity in Gale and Hecuba, that he saw their pain and grief and thats what made them trust him, that is so good. And the way he related to them. Goodness. And it highlights again how good a person he is, how much he feels and cares. I mean, he cried cause he had to send Mrs O Leary away, I cant with this kid-

I supposed what Im left unsatisfied with is how he still perceives himself as dumb? Baby, you survived San Fran for two months as a homeless kid without memories and pursued by different monsters who cant die. Youre the furthest thing from dumb.

He cant see this of course and while it was slightly addressed(?) by Annabeth telling him to his face that she doesnt give him enough credit, that he’s pretty smart, I dont think thats enough for addressing this particular issue. There was a time in the middle that he almost snapped because he thought Annabeth probably thinks him too dumb to know what to do next. Which I understand is frustrating to him. But to be fair this book made him look at Annabeth for a solution a lot. Theres also little comments about how when he cant think of anything - which is every 60 seconds apparently according to him- he looks at Annabeth. This doesnt help the co dependent allegations LMAO. Idk, I will die on the Hill that Percy is one of the smartest people in the series, not just emotionally but also in strategy. And theres, of course, nothing wrong with looking at the genius strategist for answers. Ive mixed feelings because definitely this is more of a Percy-insecurity issue than an Annabeth-being-bossy issue. But okay. One more book, heres to hoping we get more heart to heart on that front because Im 999998% sure she doesnt mean to make him feel stupid, Percy’s just got a lot of demons to fight but this in particular they need to figure out together. Still, its obvious how much they care for each other still. If only Dave and Hana did not piss me off at the start Id probably be a little more lenient about this.

Annabeth’s fatal flaw also makes a comeback, we love to see it.

And Sally Estelle Jackson. Now we have to find out wth is Percy’s middle name cause if Sally has one odds are she gave her son too. Trust me. Im Filipino. Iykyk.

Lastly, while I will forever and ever and ever support the trio from pjotv (theyre perfect and have done nothing wrong ever) I can see Rick’s injecting their personalities into the books. Im not sure if he does this on purpose or just subconsciously LMAO. Some of Grover’s dialogue is definitely inspired by Aryan. Percy being Lanky? Walker through and through, especially with his growth spurt lmao, and Annabeth’s confidence? All Leah. I can see what Rick’s trying to do. Ive no opinion on this, just pointing it out. I do love love love the live action. Just. I can see you Rick. You aint slick.

So there. I probably would need to reread the book properly at some point.

[my-pjo-stuff]

Hey so I just came up with this new au in my head.

So basically what happens is that for whatever reason the other Olympians who have demigod children, that being Ares, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Hermes all somehow managed to piss off Zeus so much that he decides to send them to live and camp with their children. Just like Dionysus.

(or he was already mad at them for something and Hera put the idea in his head. Since she likes none of them.)

So one early morning Chiron calls all the camp counselors into the big house to inform them of this. Needless to say none of them are happy.

Especially not Luke who is the de facto parent of these kids.

At first all the gods kindness stay in the big house complaining about their situation to Dionysus. But they soon tired of that, so they actually turned their attention to their children.... For entertainment.

Ares keeps starting fights between the campers. Apollo forces of them to listen to his poems & concerts, even though it's already midnight. Hephaestus criticizes and disproves of any of the metal work being done especially if it's done by his own children. Aphrodite keeps causing drama with crushes that the campers have, especially of her own children for her own entertainment. Athena criticizes every little thing that they do, ect, ect.

This makes Luke livid especially when he sees poor annabeth crying because of how many times Athena has criticized her or disproved her on the smallest things.

He also hates Hermes as he spends his time either ignoring his kids existence or telling them to steal something from one of the other gods in order to get his favor, which given the other gods tempers, it doesn't end well. Hermes also only talks to Luke occasionally trying to pretend like he isn't a horrible father. He even tries to bring up May but Luke shuts him down almost immediately.

The misery doesn't last long thankfully as for whatever reason Zeus decided his family hadn't been punished enough, and turns them into children. Children who are younger than their camp counselors of their cabin.... You can see where I'm going with this.

Some like Charlie or Katie simply ignore Hephaestus and Demeter's existence for the most part.

Clarisse is actually too scared to do anything to her father at first, for fear of the consequences later.

But Luke, Lee, Owen (the camp counselor before annabeth I made up in my head after reading some other fanfiction), & Seilena, immediately start bullying their parents as much as possible, in a passive aggressive way.

OK SO FIRST OF ALL, I LOVE THIS.

AND IT ALSO GAVE ME THOUGHTS OF A SEPARATE AU. But first off, holy heck so many more demigods would join Luke in this AU like???? Imagine all the kids meeting their parents and realizing what sort of assholes they are. Luke's "fall" to Kronos gets sped up SO MUCH????? At the end of TLT half the camp just dips all together at once, INCLUDING Annabeth who dragged Percy along. Ngl Hermes will have the worst time, especially with how crowded cabin eleven is. Luke needing to steal supplies for Percy in TLT means the campers don't get them as handouts. So Hermes better be good at locating them yourself! Aww did Aphrodite lose something? Sorry, no one saw it. Sorry you can't borrow it either- I just it too! Camp just slowly realizing how shitty their parents are- honestly wouldn't be surprised if, depending on how long they'll stay like that, end up tragically dead during Capture the Flag. Who needs dessert anyway, right Luke?

BUT ALSO IMAGINE THIS AU BUT THE GODS HAVING AMNESIA.

Like- Zeus decides leaving them with their memories would only cause issues since they'd obviously want to get back to godhood. And to him that would just be a lot of trouble, so instead he just erases their memories completely and throws them into camp. Let them rot there for a while, enjoy mortal life a bit.

Since they have no idea who they are, or what even their names are when they get to Camp they are obviously brought to the big house. Dionysus knows that those are the gods turned mortal, unfortunately though he's not allowed to reveal anything by order of Zeus. Not that he really would have, this is just too good.

With no knowledge of who these kids are, Chiron sees himself forced to improvise and calls up Luke and Owen to take them to cabin eleven until they are claimed. Luke is also the one who gives them names until they figure out their identities. Despite the arrival of 7 (apparent) demigods with 0 memory ofcourse caused a ruckus. But since no one knows that they are gods stuff settles down a bit after a while, they assume it was some freak accident or a monster attack. Meanwhile Luke and Owen are having their hands full taking care of these 7 kids. At this point Luke's already the unofficial official successor for counselor after Owen so he's reasonably involved.

Sleeping arrangements, getting them supplies, activities- it all needs to be organized for them and they need to be shown the robes. Since no one knows that they are actual gods they get treated like any other normal camper. And since there are no gods to claim them (SINCE THEY ARE THOSE GODS) they stay in eleven for practically their entire stay in CHB. Imagine them bonding with the other unclaimed kids over being "unimportant" to their parents. Imagine Luke comforting them about how shitty "the gods" are. Athena getting to bond with Annabeth over battle strategy. Ares getting to be beaten up by Clarisse during Capture the Flag. Demeter getting to plant with Katie. Apollo getting to go to archery classes with Chiron. And so on and so forth.

And they end up fully integrated into camp at some point! They live and think like any other demigod and everyone treats them like that. Luke looks after them, they have friends from other cabins and they sing along at the campfire.

They play games and train and angst over their "neglectful godly parent" and "amnesia". Everything seems to be going well, they are happy. The people around them are happy. The gods are happy. And then Zeus decides the punishment is enough, gives the gods their powers back and just fucks everything up. Because that does not go well. Zeus being Zeus didn't really check of course what they were doing before deciding to end the punishment or deigned to think about hos stressful it most be to not only suddenly become a got, but also get millennia of memories back in an instant. The gods were at the sing-along having a good time. Apollo was jamming out with the Apollo cabin leading the song. Hermes was reading to drop a water balloon as a prank on Aphrodite together with the Stolls. Heaphestus was happily basking in the warmth.

The fact that no true form of the gods was shown was dumb luck. One minute everything is fine, the next they are on the ground screaming as their divinity and memories are pressed into bodies too small to fit them- being stretched and forced to become what they once were. Everyone is scarred, kids are crying, and the Stolls ran to hide behind Luke when Hermes goes down alongside Annabeth clutching his leg. Zeus wanted them with him, so they were pretty much immediately ported to Olympus as soon as they were gods again. And FUCK is shit different now, 'cause now they are attached. Yes, they remember who they are now, but the memories of camp weren't erased! They spent years there. Years of living and laughing with their children. Years of being one of them.

And stuff is just so weird now like?????? All the anger with Zeus aside- they just, can't really view them as their "kids" now???? They feel more like- equals to them now. As weird as it is. Playmates, friends. Hell they just spent years with LUKE as their main caretaker! He was a better "Dad" than Zeus ever was! They still feel like they gotta listen to him 'cause he's counselor! Someone get Hermes some therapy for that mental dissonance of seeing his son as a parental figure.

Also, someone get them help for all the guilt. Because holy SHIT do they regret everything now. All the neglect, all the hurt, all the abuse. Because the gods get it now. They understand what it is like to be a child of them and live in the system they created. They understand what being a demigod means. They're sorry.

They want to be better.

And it isn't easy- god it couldn't be easy, but they somehow, someway get Zeus to allow them to visit camp freely. To support their kids.

And the gods swear to do better on the Styx, are excited to finally be real parents even.

Only to find camp terrified of them when they appear. The same kids treating them like friends and siblings cower, hide behind older kids and avoid their gaze when looking at them. Because they are gods. And they are cruel. Their children know that better than anyone.

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 18: CHIRON THROWS A PARTY

Alex started shouting reading in delight, and only continued in that way, "and we all know Chiron's family throws the best parties!"

Annabeth was a third worried about Oceanus, a third worried about Percy, and a third worried about her eardrums as she gently tapered, "but Chiron's throwing the party. Perhaps he has something planned more mellow, with hot chocolate and Dean Martin."

"Odd time for a party if so," Magnus offered in peace.

Thalia was mildly impressed Alex couldn't get a hint off Annabeth about even rainbow afros in the near future. She really had her shit together.

Alex frowned at Annabeth killing her vibe but nodded and continued reading a touch more in the normal hearing range.

Midtown was a war zone. We flew over little skirmishes everywhere. A giant was ripping up trees in Bryant Park while dryads pelted him with nuts. Outside the Waldorf Astoria, a bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin was whacking a hellhound with a rolled-up newspaper. A trio of Hephaestus campers fought a squad of dracaenae in the middle of Rockefeller Center.

Those who had never been to New York just heard landmarks and monsters being smashed together like wrong puzzle pieces. They understood the gravity of what they were hearing, simply because of the look on Percy's face. As if every new crack he'd traveled over was a new vindication he sought.

I was tempted to stop and help, but I could tell from the smoke and noise that the real action had moved farther south. Our defenses were collapsing. The enemy was closing in on the Empire State Building.

The sense of gravitas in Alex's voice always did sound like she should have all attention around the campfire. Even those who were in the know had a way of listening in and left breathless at what was going to happen.

We did a quick sweep of the surrounding area. The Hunters had set up a defensive line on 37th, just three blocks north of Olympus. To the east on Park Avenue, Jake Mason and some other Hephaestus campers were leading an army of statues against the enemy. To the west, the Demeter cabin and Grover's nature spirits had turned Sixth Avenue into a jungle that was hampering a squadron of Kronos's demigods. The south was clear for now, but the flanks of the enemy army were swinging around. A few more minutes and we'd be totally surrounded.

"We have to land where they need us most," I muttered.

That's everywhere, boss.

"We've only just started this one and the horse already gets the gold star," Jason looked pretty proud of Blackjack earning that.

Percy nodded seriously. "Right, so, our options include splitting the island in half and hoping Kronos takes the part that doesn't have the Empire State Building-"

"Pass," Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Or shutting the hell up, Jason, to see what we do about it," Percy concluded.

"I'm sort of leaning towards the first option though," Thalia said honestly, "like honestly, I'd just kind of like to see you try."

"You're all hopeless," Nico said in true bafflement how they'd survived this night.

"We're all heroes," Percy reminded with pride, "hopeful, hero, hhhh-" he stammered on another H word.

"Hobgoblins," Alex offered.

"Humanitarians," Magnus grinned.

"Honorable, hopeful, heroes," Jason offered, immediately getting back on Percy's good side as he gestured to him with a nod of thanks.

Alex huffed and called them all a bunch of hobgoblins before she continued.

I spotted a familiar silver owl banner in the southeast corner of the fight, 33rd at the Park Avenue tunnel. Annabeth and two of her siblings were holding back a Hyperborean giant.

"There!" I told Blackjack. He plunged toward the battle.

"No offense to Annabeth in the slightest," Will couldn't help but say through only slightly gritted teeth, "but that's really who you thought needed the most help?"

"No," Percy dismissed at once her injured shoulder had any play in this thought...even if he wouldn't deny it either. "I came to ask her like I would Chiron on top of that hill where forces needed me most."

I leaped off his back and landed on the giant's head. When the giant looked up, I slid off his face, shield-bashing his nose on the way down.

"RAWWWR!' The giant staggered backward, blue blood trickling from his nostrils.

"Does it taste like an Icee?" Alex grinned.

"I didn't lick it!" Percy yelped in disgust.

"Your loss," she shrugged.

I hit the pavement running. The Hyperborean breathed a cloud of white mist, and the temperature dropped. The spot where I'd landed was now coated with ice, and I was covered in frost like a sugar donut.

Alex laughed in delight that further sweets just reinforced her idea of these guys showing up in the next imagining she had of visiting Canada in a complete Willy Wonka mayhem.

"Hey, ugly!" Annabeth yelled. I hoped she was talking to the giant, not me.

"Both?" Magnus smirked.

"No Magnus," Annabeth chuckled, "I meant the giant."

"I don't know, the two looked pretty similar right then, that's not a great defense," Thalia smirked.

"You weren't there, shut it zappy," Percy huffed.

"I don't need to be there to know how you look covered in donut powder, I've witnessed that mess," she chuckled.

Blue Boy bellowed and turned toward her, exposing the unprotected back of his legs. I charged and stabbed him behind the knee.

"Just as planned," Annabeth told Will.

"You planned on Percy descending from above to stab that thing while you distracted him?" He asked in disbelief.

"He's very handy that way," Annabeth shrugged. "I wouldn't have even been surprised to see him tame that pig."

Will couldn't even be mad if they were joking. The two did work best together.

"WAAAAH!" The Hyperborean buckled. I waited for him to turn, but he froze. I mean he literally turned to solid ice. From the point where I'd stabbed him, cracks appeared in his body. They got larger and wider until the giant crumbled in a mountain of blue shards.*

"Why was that somehow more disturbing than turning to dust?" Magnus asked.

"More visually destructive," Alex said with relish.

"They won't turn to dust and vanish as fast," Nico agreed.

Magnus's frown grew as he realized they were right and decided to set aside for now why that did deeply bother him about all these monsters.

"Thanks." Annabeth winced, trying to catch her breath. "The pig?"

"Pork chops," I said.

"Good." She flexed her shoulder. Obviously, the wound was still bothering her, but she saw my expression and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Percy. Come on! We've got plenty of enemies left."

She was right.

"Mmmmm," Annabeth closed her eyes and savored that.

"About the enemies, you only get to enjoy that half as much for not being fine in the shoulder," Percy huffed.

"Mm," Annabeth mocked, trying to sound just as savoring with a serious face.

The result caused them all to snicker like idiots.

The next hour was a blur. I fought like I'd never fought before—wading into legions of dracaenae, taking out dozens of telkhines with every strike, destroying empousai and knocking out enemy demigods. No matter how many I defeated, more took their place.

Percy had been fighting for his life since page one of this mess.

This felt like more. Heavier. Nine times out of ten Percy was outside of Camp facing down these threats, but this time Camp had come to defend his home, and it didn't feel like there was an end goal in sight this time of running them all out. Even if they won this day. More would always take their place.

Annabeth and I raced from block to block, trying to shore up our defenses. Too many of our friends lay wounded in the streets. Too many were missing.

Will fidgeted with the beads of his camp necklace. He officially had more than Micheal at the end of last summer. The assortment of colors always stood out on his neck when he looked in the mirror, like flashes of eyes he'd never see again.

As the night wore on and the moon got higher, we were backed up foot by foot until we were only a block from the Empire State Building in any direction. At one point Grover was next to me, bonking snake women over the head with his cudgel. Then he disappeared in the crowd, and it was Thalia at my side, driving the monsters back with the power of her magic shield. Mrs. O'Leary bounded out of nowhere, picked up a Laistrygonian giant in her mouth, and flung him into the air like a Frisbee.

Annabeth used her invisibility cap to sneak behind the enemy lines. Whenever a monster disintegrated for no apparent reason with a surprised look on his face, I knew Annabeth had been there.

But it still wasn't enough.

Jason felt as if he were being held captive by his own mind. The sounds and smells flashing by to fast to get a real grasp on, the emotions that kept peaking and rolling back out of him while he sat in a green bean bag at the bottom of the ocean. He knew every flick of the wrist Percy had made, but everything felt a step off from truly connecting he felt a little madness creeping in what the heck his old life really was until he forced himself to focus on Alex reading with her whole self, Percy's manic grin, Thalia lounged out in her seat still fiddling with her bracelet. This was real, at least. These weren't moments a god could take away from him again. He wouldn't let it happen.

"Hold your lines!" Katie Gardner shouted, somewhere off to my left.

The problem was there were too few of us to hold anything. The entrance to Olympus was twenty feet behind me. A ring of brave demigods, Hunters, and nature spirits guarded the doors.

Alex's voice shook rarely, but it did now as she realized this was Rachel's drawing, again. Just popping up in Percy's near future. And she was on her way there...somehow. She kept it together well and barreled through the moment, still reading with a thrill in her voice for the idea of being in that action, but Magnus saw it.

I slashed and hacked, destroying everything m my path, but even I was getting tired, and I couldn't be everywhere at once.

Behind the enemy troops, a few blocks to the east, a bright light began to shine. I thought it was the sunrise. Then I realized Kronos was riding toward us on a golden chariot. A dozen Laistrygonian giants bore torches before him. Two Hyperboreans carried his black-and-purple banners. The Titan lord looked fresh and rested, his powers at full strength. He was taking his time advancing, letting me wear myself down.

Alex felt the internal urge to puff up and hiss. To transform into a chimera and use all three heads to deal with this. To throw a slushie with some human teeth in all their faces. This entrapment down here really was starting to affect even her creativity when that's all that came to mind before she just audibly grumbled for a moment before moving on.

Annabeth appeared next to me. "We have to fall back to the doorway. Hold it at all costs!"

She was right. I was about to order a retreat when I heard the hunting horn.

It cut through the noise of the battle like a fire alarm. A chorus of horns answered from all around us, echoing off the buildings of Manhattan.

I glanced at Thalia, but she just frowned.

"Not the Hunters," she assured me. "We're all here."

Alex threw Annabeth a look of fond excitement. She'd known all along the party ponies were coming but had tried to tamper her expectations they weren't going to until the end of the chapter and perhaps only a handful of them would be there with more paintballs.

This, sounded like fun.

"No international league heading in?" Jason asked her, knowing the real answer, still imagining girls in kilts and bows showing up for his own amusement.

"Not unless I was finally unbanned from Saskatchewan," Thalia shrugged. "Long story," she promised at the many confused faces.

"Then who?"

The horns got louder. I couldn't tell where they were coming from because of the echo, but it sounded like an entire army was approaching.

Alex grinned. She read giddy, with such mayhem and delight it would have been infectious to Ethan or possibly even Kronos himself to get hyped about his own demise coming. Annabeth, at least, got a moment to smile and imagine Luke with that old challenging smile on his face to hear of an enemy being thwarted.

I was afraid it might be more enemies, but Kronos's forces looked as confused as we were. Giants lowered their clubs. Dracaenae hissed. Even Kronos's honor guard looked uneasy.

Then, to our left, a hundred monsters cried out at once. Kronos's entire northern flank surged forward.

I thought we were doomed, but they didn't attack. They ran straight past us and crashed into their southern allies.

Percy was already blinking like he was trying to get the dust out of his eyes. The monsters had already started to blur together by that time. The slightly different shades of their skin and the little details they each had in their armor had faded to nothing in his mind but where next to swing his sword. Seeing them run right past him, flee and then explode on their allies' own weapons, coating the streets in glittering sand that was dispersed moments later as more took their place amid those horns really messed with him and put in perspective while an entire army just watched in terror really had made him feel small for just that moment.

A new blast of horns shattered the night. The air shimmered. In a blur of movement, an entire cavalry appeared as if dropping out of light speed.

"Yeah, baby!" a voice wailed. "PARTY!"

A shower of arrows arced over our heads and slammed into the enemy, vaporizing hundreds of demons. But these weren't regular arrows. They made whizzy sounds as they flew, like WHEEEEEE! Some had pinwheels attached to them. Others had boxing gloves rather than points.

"Centaurs!" Annabeth yelled.

"So, I think the Party Ponies have arrived," Will said conversationally.

"And they're going to smash everything in their sight charged on the power of awesome!" Alex yelled like a child high on soda and cursed knowledge. They were already resigned to pissing off the ocean titan and letting her have her fun.

The Party Pony army exploded into our midst in a riot of colors: tie-dyed shirts, rainbow Afro wigs, oversize sunglasses, and war-painted faces. Some had slogans scrawled across their flanks like HORSEZ PWN or KRONOS SUX.

"That's going to be my license plate one day," Alex declared, reading each new thing as if a treasure trove of a lifetime. Maybe Loki Sux instead.

Hundreds of them filled the entire block. My brain couldn't process everything I saw, but I knew if I were the enemy, I'd be running.

"I'm so disappointed in your brain," Jason groaned. He wanted every messy detail of this just as bad.

"I am too," Percy nodded. He knew his friends loved this kind of stuff and really was sorry he couldn't give them better visuals. Stupid brain.

"Percy!" Chiron shouted across the sea of wild centaurs.

"Chiron and Percy, parting the sea of wild centaurs and creatures to get to each other," Thalia gave a mock sniff. "It's such an amazing story of mentor and mentee-"

"I'm going to turn you into a manatee," Percy scowled.

He was dressed in armor from the waist up, his bow in his hand, and he was grinning in satisfaction.

"I half imagined him showing up to this in his tweed jacket," Nico admitted.

"He's worn that once guys, while pretending to be a real teacher at my school," Percy chuckled.

"What do you mean a real teacher?" Annabeth looked at him in disappointment. "He's literally the trainer of all hero's seaweed brain."

"Like, grading papers, and Paul- no, but- boring, no," Percy groaned that wasn't right either and waved at Alex to just get back to the fun stuff.

"Sorry we're late!"

"DUDE!" Another centaur yelled. "Talk later. WASTE MONSTERS NOW!"

"That centaur knows how to live," Alex nodded in agreement.

"We haven't slayed one monster in here," Percy agreed in mild disappointment. "Guys, do we talk to much?!"

"Yes," they all agreed, not that it was going to stop a single one of them.

He locked and loaded a double-barrel paint gun and blasted an enemy hellhound bright pink. The paint must've been mixed with Celestial bronze dust or something, because as soon as it splattered the hellhound, the monster yelped and dissolved into a pink-and-black puddle.

Alex's laugh was subdued at best, even for that badass moment though. She couldn't recklessly laugh at that harm done anymore without picturing Mrs. O'Leary crossing her paws over her nose in Percy's apartment. Even Magnus couldn't have a vindictive laugh over this happening to a monster dog with that look on her face.

"PARTY PONIES.'" a centaur yelled. "SOUTH FLORIDA!"

"As opposed to North Florida?" Jason asked blankly.

"Bet the Flordia Georgia line is an epic meet-up spot?" Percy shrugged.

Somewhere across the battlefield, a twangy voice yelled back, "HEART OF TEXAS CHAPTER!"

Will pressed his hand to his heart and started humming something. Nico just thought what a lovable dork he was no matter the song.

"HAWAII OWNS YOUR FACES!" a third one shouted.

It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

Annabeth tried hard to hitch up a mock sob, but it came out to much as a laugh to be anything more than adorable to Percy.

The entire Titan army turned and fled, pushed back by a flood of paintballs, arrows, swords, and NERF baseball bats. The centaurs trampled everything in their path.

"Run, wild horses, run!" Will said with a static kind of energy that got the others just as hyped as Alex could. He'd been running around trying to ensure the sick and injured had gotten inside first, he'd been snatching up supplies so fast the Stolls would have been proud, he'd been having to deal with his own chaos and really hadn't even been aware these guys showed up until one tapped him on the shoulder and offered help. He was pretty sure it was one from Colorado and had still instantly said yes without question.

"Stop running, you fools!" Kronos yelled. "Stand and ACKK!"

Alex really drew that noise out too, making it sound wet and painful, leaving no one in doubt Kronos had not managed to finish saying the word attack.

That last part was because a panicked Hyperborean giant stumbled backward and sat on top of him.

The lord of time disappeared under a giant blue butt.

Through an effort Hercules would never bother with, Percy refused to let himself laugh at that like most everyone else did as Annabeth bit her lip. He was pretty sure that should earn him a free pass for laughing at something inappropriate in the future. Jason might even laminate it for him.

We pushed them for several blocks until Chiron yelled, "HOLD! On your promise, HOLD!"

It wasn't easy, but eventually the order got relayed up and down the ranks of centaurs, and they started to pull back, letting the enemy flee.

Thalia's face was flushed with joy, still panting just a bit from her laughter at Luke's stupid face vanishing under an icy ass like he wholly deserved, the ghost of adrenaline she hadn't properly felt in days still pumping through her. Once this high had worn off she'd been so exhausted she'd nearly fallen asleep climbing some stairs!

"Chiron's smart," Annabeth said, wiping the sweat off her face. "If we pursue, we'll get too spread out. We need to regroup."

"I mean, yeah, but," Alex gestured to the book and the chaos being taken away.

"I'll personally sign you up for the next scavenger hunt at Camp, nothing gets more chaotic than that," Annabeth promised.

"Deal," Alex shrugged without further ado.

"But the enemy—"

"They're not defeated," she agreed. "But the dawn is coming. At least we've bought some time."

I didn't like pulling back, but I knew she was right.

"How to sum up them dating," Will and Nico said at once before they both busted out laughing. Annabeth and Percy exchanged unamused looks at this somehow continuing long past the point it was funny, but as constantly proven, they knew when to pick their battles.

I watched as the last of the telkhines scuttled toward the East River. Then reluctantly I turned and headed back toward the Empire State Building.

We set up a two-block perimeter, with a command tent at the Empire State Building. Chiron informed us that the Party Ponies had sent chapters from almost every state in the Union: forty from California, two from Rhode Island,

"Rhode Island slacking," Alex sniffed. "It's right next door!"

"They're, congressional appointments, of centaurs," Magnus said in fascination. "Like, they sent some by population? Is there a centaur president?"

"Ah, no," Annabeth shook her head with a smile. "Don't overthink it cuz."

"Right," he chuckled, imagining that would be Chiron anyways and he already knew what a hectic leader that guy was.

thirty from Illinois . . . Roughly five hundred total had answered his call, but even with that many, we couldn't defend more than a few blocks.

"Just topple over one unoccupied building, that's all I'm asking for," Alex crossed her fingers hopefully. "Brick launcher grenade gun!"

"They could too," Jason said with mingled dread and delight for that idea.

"Dude," said a centaur named Larry. His T-shirt identified him as BIG CHIEF UBER GUY, NEW MEXICO CHAPTER.

"Are all the Hells Angels just secretly centaurs? Is there a centaur gang?" Percy asked.

"The only turf war they'd have is best licorice supply runs, I think we're safe from that," Annabeth shrugged.

"That was more fun than our last convention in Vegas!"

"Yeah," said Owen from South Dakota. He wore a black leather jacket and an old WWII army helmet. "We totally wasted them!"

Chiron patted Owen on the back. "You did well, my friends, but don't get careless. Kronos should never be underestimated. Now why don't you visit the diner on West 33rd and get some breakfast? I hear the Delaware chapter found a stash of root beer."

"Root beer!" They almost trampled each other as they galloped off.

"I got it," Thalia snapped her fingers, "they argue over which brand is better and that's why they all have to live separately!"

"How many brands of root beer are there?" Percy asked blankly.

"3,192," Alex said without hesitation.

There was a long pause before nobody decided to ask how serious that answer was.

Chiron smiled. Annabeth gave him a big hug, and Mrs. O'Leary licked his face.

"Ack," he grumbled. "Enough of that, dog. Yes, I'm glad to see you too."

"Chiron, thanks," I said. "Talk about saving the day."

He shrugged.

Nico smacked the side of his head. "I finally figured out where you got it from!"

"Yeah Nico, after the second time you've saved the world, it is kind of not a big deal," Percy shrugged.

Nico wouldn't know. He'd only kind of helped once.

"I'm sorry it took so long. Centaurs travel fast, as you know. We can bend distance as we ride. Even so, getting all the centaurs together was no easy task. The Party Ponies are not exactly organized."

"Noooo, say it ain't so!" Magnus chuckled.

"I mean, they're about as organized as Percy's camp, aka being held together by an awesome speech and the thrill of surprise attacks," Alex nodded. "I think it works."

Percy kind of wanted to be offended, but like, she wasn't wrong.

Percy kind of wanted to be offended, but like, she wasn't wrong.

"And a sense of family, loyalty, duty?" Annabeth prompted with a frown.

"Don't forget the duct tape," Thalia chuckled as Will hid his wince. Maybe Annabeth wouldn't admit they'd been fighting family amidst those monsters, but he didn't forget.

"How'd you get through the magic defenses around the city?" Annabeth asked.

"They slowed us down a bit," Chiron admitted, "but I think they're intended mostly to keep mortals out. Kronos doesn't want puny humans getting in the way of his great victory."

"So maybe other reinforcements can get through," I said hopefully.

"What other reinforcements are there?" Jason asked critically. He didn't mean to sound so sharp, but he did all the same. There was an electric storm still simmering in his brain that felt like it was zapping every part of him from the inside if he tried to concentrate on any blurry idea to long and it was giving him a serious headache.

Chiron stroked his beard. "Perhaps, though time is short. As soon as Kronos regroups, he will attack again. Without the element of surprise on our side . . ."

I understood what he meant. Kronos wasn't beaten. Not by a long shot. I half hoped Kronos had been squashed under that Hyperborean giant's butt, but I knew better. He'd be back, tonight at the latest.

"Well there goes my master plan," Alex sighed. "All those years of practice training that guy to squash things with his ass, wasted."

"Have no fears Alex, you'll move onto your next passion project soon," Magnus said with complete confidence.

"Yeah," she agreed with a longing sigh all the same.

"And Typhon?" I asked.

Chiron's face darkened. "The gods are tiring. Dionysus was incapacitated yesterday. Typhon smashed his chariot, and the wine god went down somewhere in the Appalachians.

Nico spluttered on a painful sounding laugh. "Even Chiron calls him the wine dude?"

"The wine god," Will corrected in a posh voice. "And I'm sure Mr. D's threatened to turn him into a table a few times for it."

No one has seen him since. Hephaestus is out of action as well. He was thrown from the battle so hard he created a new lake in West Virginia.

"I really hope some mortal thinks that's an asteroid bringing the dinosaurs back," Percy laughed.

"Percy, no," but Annabeth stopped with a sigh and let him have his fun.

He will heal, but not soon enough to help. The others still fight. They've managed to slow Typhon's approach. But the monster can not be stopped. He will arrive in New York by this time tomorrow. Once he and Kronos combine forces—"

That's all they'd been hearing of this problem from the start, and it somehow just got worse every time they heard it. Even if, beyond all hope, Percy had somehow stopped Kronos with one stupid decision, how the heck had that been stopped?!

"Then what chance do we have?" I said. "We can't hold out another day."

"We'll have to," Thalia said. "I'll see about setting some new traps around the perimeter."

She looked exhausted. Her jacket was smeared in grime and monster dust, but she managed to get to her feet and stagger off.

Annabeth had watched her go with such a tight pain in her throat she wondered if she'd accidentally swallowed some monster dust. Thalia hadn't even glanced back at her. She'd gone off to do her next task with the stoic, stiff shoulders of Luke watching them fall asleep and promising to get more firewood.

"I will help her," Chiron decided. "I should make sure my brethren don't go too overboard with the root beer."

"No such thing as too much fun," Alex huffed.

"I'd believe you'd find it even before the Party Ponies," Annabeth agreed.

I thought "too overboard" pretty much summed up the Party Ponies, but Chiron cantered off, leaving Annabeth and me alone.

"That was strategic," Annabeth huffed how unsubtle he was. She owed him a good nerf arrow.

"I know right, he just got there and he's already running off again," Percy huffed with a frown what on earth he meant by it. He would have thought Chiron would want to stay and chat for more of an update.

She cleaned the monster slime off her knife. I'd seen her do that hundreds of times, but I'd never thought about why she cared so much about the blade.

"Not really something I ever would have questioned," Alex shrugged. "I notice you never clean your blade Percy. Just because it's magic doesn't mean it might not like a good polish every once in a while."

Percy rubbed awkwardly at his nose and had nothing to say to that.

Jason suddenly felt the strong smell of polish in his nose and had an odd deja vu moment of being in an armory doing just this and smiled. He turned eagerly to Nico and asked, "how do you polish your sword?"

Nico grinned and started talking about more deadly rivers that could probably do worse to you than wipe your memory or kill you, like put gravel in your shoes or something worse, but Percy was distracted from listening by still watching Annabeth until someone shut the pair up.

She'd spent the entire time fiddling nervously with her hair, a long lost look in her eyes. He finally let the impulse win and traced the side of her neck with a question in his eyes. What the hell had she been through while he'd been away?

Annabeth caught his fingers and smiled but shook her head. Not now. That was okay. He'd wait as long as she needed.

"At least your mom is okay," I offered.

"If you call fighting Typhon okay." She locked eyes with me. "Percy, even with the centaurs' help, I'm starting to think—"

"I know." I had a bad feeling this might be our last chance to talk, and I felt like there were a million things I hadn't told her.

Athena, her stoic, absent mother, was far from her highest concern, Annabeth shook her head. Though of course her brain had been able to process plenty of concern all around. Chiron darting in and out and around everyone while sparing her a smile first had been that way since she'd arrived. Her dad was on the other side of the country, safe away from the monsters, from her.

It had been Percy she'd wanted, and him who had stayed right there.

"Listen, there were some . . . some visions Hestia showed me."

"You mean about Luke?"

Maybe it was just a safe guess, but I got the feeling Annabeth knew what I'd been holding back.

"I always just assume Annabeth can read your mind and has just been politely not informing you," Magnus nodded.

"That's not polite," Percy frowned.

"Um, or possible," Annabeth gave them a strange look.

"Right, that too," Percy waved off.

Maybe she'd been having dreams of her own.

"She's been having dreams about your dreams?" Will asked excitedly. "Dreamception?"

"This is somebody's nightmare around here," Nico rolled his eyes.

"Yeah," I said. "You and Thalia and Luke. The first time you met. And the time you met Hermes."

Annabeth slipped her knife back into its sheath. "Luke promised he'd never let me get hurt. He said ... he said we'd be a new family, and it would turn out better than his."

"Which, isn't going well," Magnus said in the kindest, most respectful voice anyone could make that sound.

"Right on the money," Annabeth nodded slowly as she leaned back into Percy's side, fingers still linked together. She really didn't know what she'd do without him in all this.

Her eyes reminded me of that seven-year-old girl's in the alley—angry, scared, desperate for a friend.

Thalia bit back a miserable sigh at how much she'd failed her too. Never on purpose, but enough that she wasn't in this moment and felt every hammer swing she deserved for it in the heart.

Annabeth sighed and gave her a good hard nudge with her foot. She wasn't going to let Thalia keep blaming herself for all that happened since then. There was enough to go around.

"That I can't face Luke," she said miserably.

"Hey, look how well you know me though," Thalia said with a genuine smile.

"Yes, your faith in me is everything," Annabeth said with a sad, sarcastic smile.

Thalia tipped her head and looked back at the book with the unsettling feeling this was about to get worse.

I nodded. "But there's something else you should know. Ethan Nakamura seemed to think Luke was still alive inside his body, maybe even fighting Kronos for control."

Annabeth tried to hide it, but I could almost see her mind working on the possibilities, maybe starting to hope.

Thalia let out a puff of breath and looked into her miserable eyes. "I'm not happy to be right you know."

"Well that's always good to know," Annabeth nodded as the two watched each other for a few moments before looking away.

"I didn't want to tell you," I admitted.

"But you did," Annabeth said in relief, just for him. He kissed her temple and couldn't think of anything else to say, but it was more than enough for her.

She looked up at the Empire State Building. "Percy, for so much of my life, I felt like everything was changing, all the time. I didn't have anyone I could rely on."

I nodded. That was something most demigods could understand.

'Most, but not him,' Will shook his head. He'd wondered a lot during this if Percy really knew how good he had it, the best of both worlds in his parents, all three of them.

"I ran away when I was seven," she said. "Then with Luke and Thalia, I thought I'd found a family, but it fell apart almost immediately. What I'm saying . . . I hate it when people let me down, when things are temporary. I think that's why I want to be an architect."

"To build something permanent," I said. "A monument to last a thousand years."

She held my eyes. "I guess that sounds like my fatal flaw again."

Most everyone around Camp knew that that was 'her thing.' Her go to if someone had a project, her specialty. Someone who was even paying attention could probably even piece together that was her fatal flaw.

Percy was still the only one she ever talked about this with. The one who made her feel like she could tell him anything and he'd never judge her for it. He'd shared his mortal spot with her. How could she ever be afraid to share anything with him?

Years ago in the Sea of Monsters, Annabeth had told me her biggest flaw was pride—thinking she could fix anything. I'd even seen a glimpse of her deepest desire, shown to her by the Sirens' magic.

Annabeth had imagined her mother and father together, standing in front of a newly rebuilt Manhattan, designed by Annabeth. And Luke had been there too—good again, welcoming her home.

"I guess I understand how you feel," I said.

"Liar," Annabeth chuckled.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. He knew he'd never understand every part of her, but he did try.

"But Thalia's right. Luke has already betrayed you so many times. He was evil even before Kronos. I don't want him to hurt you anymore."

Annabeth pursed her lips. I could tell she was trying not to get mad.

"And that was going so well," Jason said in surprise. She hadn't even pulled her knife back out.

"Yeah, first time for everything," Percy agreed in surprise.

"And you'll understand if I keep hoping there's a chance you're wrong."

I looked away. I felt like I'd done my best, but that didn't make me feel any better.

Annabeth struggled to swallow as his hand held hers tight enough to never let go. Gods this somehow kept feeling worse the longer they were dragged over each letter.

Across the street, the Apollo campers had set up a field hospital to tend the wounded—dozens of campers and almost as many Hunters. I was watching the medics work, and thinking about our slim chances for holding Mount Olympus. . . .

And suddenly: I wasn't there anymore.

I was standing in a long dingy bar with black walls, neon signs, and a bunch of partying adults. A banner across the bar read HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOBBY EARL. Country music played on the speakers.

"Friends in Low Places?" Magnus nodded without surprise. It was barely even a shock to his system Percy had just been yanked out of his own head to deal with another gods mess.

"Does any other country song exist?" Percy chuckled.

Will opened his mouth with a pained look at the pair before closing it slowly, knowing that rant would fall on deaf ears.

Big guys in jeans and work shirts crowded the bar. Waitresses carried trays of drinks and shouted at each other. It was pretty much exactly the kind of place my mom would never let me go.

"In public?" Thalia said in understanding.

"Places where alcohol and those outfits are in one room," Percy huffed. "Mostly the alcohol!"

"We need to get him drunk one of these days, just to see if it'll finally be the thing to piss of Sally," Thalia rolled her eyes.

Somebody was clearly in a terrible mood. "Pass," Percy said at once. The stench reminded him of Gabe without even bothering to indulge the other stupid part of that.

I was stuck in the very back of the room, next to the bathrooms (which didn't smell so great) and a couple of antique arcade games.

"Oh good, you're here," said the man at the Pac-Man machine. "I'll have a Diet Coke."

He was a pudgy guy in a leopard-skin Hawaiian shirt, purple shorts, red running shoes, and black socks, which didn't exactly make him blend in with the crowd. His nose was bright red. A bandage was wrapped around his curly black hair like he was recovering from a concussion.

"So he blended right in like a sore thumb," Nico said, blinking spastically at the setting.

"Accurate," Percy nodded.

I blinked. "Mr. D?"

He sighed, not taking his eyes from the game. "Really, Peter Johnson, how long will it take for you to recognize me on sight?"

"About the same time as when he gets his halo," Alex rolled her eyes.

"About as long as it'll take for you to figure out my name," I muttered.

"Oh, so much never!" Magnus laughed, clasping his hands together in mock praise.

"An infinite amount of never, that's the answer to some riddle out there," Percy laughed along.

"Where are we?"

"Why, Bobby Earl's birthday party," Dionysus said. "Somewhere in lovely rural America."

"It's not a very lost Lestragonian is it?" Nico asked, vividly remembering their names had a similar ring.

"Don't stereotype Nico, lots of normal people have names like Earl, and they're just your everyday pieces of crap," Will rolled his eyes hard. If they were going to make jokes about the South he might as well get his digs in with another classic country song coming to mind.

"I thought Typhon swatted you out of the sky. They said you crash-landed."

"Yes, but Chiron never said where," Jason agreed. "Why wouldn't he land in a bar? Makes sense to me. Bars have wine."

"They're not magnetically drawn to their domain when they crash land," Annabeth sighed.

"Yeah, but I bet you anything if Hepahsuts had drawn me in for a one-on-one, I'd find myself in a very tiny tool shed with him throwing saws around and complaining about their dullness matching mine," Percy sighed.

"Your concern is touching. I did crash-land. Very painfully. In fact, part of me is still buried under a hundred feet of rubble in an abandoned coal mine.

"Huh," Percy and Jason said together with interest they'd been wrong.

Annabeth just smiled and rolled her eyes at these idiots.

It will be several more hours before I have enough strength to mend. But in the meantime, part of my consciousness is here."

"At a bar, playing Pac-Man."

"You sound a tad jealous," Alex chuckled.

"Eh, I prefer Street Fighter eating my quarters," Percy shrugged. There was a retro arcade not far from one of his favorite movie places he didn't get to visit enough, but his high score was still in the top ten.

"Party time," Dionysus said. "Surely you've heard of it. Wherever there is a party, my presence is invoked.

Percy yelped and covered his ears at the idea of such a future pain in his ass. "I take it all back! Alex and anyone else is forbidden from ever throwing me a party!"

"Awww, come on Perce, I promise to keep him in the back with an arcade machine," Alex looked like a kicked puppy.

Percy's heart instantly crumbled. "Yeah, well, fine, but nobody had better involve singing."

"Deal," she instantly agreed. She winked at Will though when he looked away, who instantly grinned back.

Because of this, I can exist in many different places at once. The only problem was finding a party. I don't know if you're aware how serious things are outside your safe little bubble of New York—"

"Safe little bubble?"

"Come on Percy, you'd know this was a trap if he wasn't delusional on all that partying," Thalia shook her head at him.

"Yeah, yeah, one thing is normal in this crazy world," Percy huffed.

"—but believe me, the mortals out here in the heartland are panicking. Typhon has terrified them. Very few are throwing parties. Apparently Bobby Earl and his friends, bless them, are a little slow. They haven't yet figured out that the world is ending."

"Don't know what he's on about, sounds like the perfect time to throw a party," Alex chuckled.

"Yeah, that tracks," Jason nodded without surprise.

"So . . . I'm not really here?"

Magnus couldn't even be upset and surprised that Percy had legitimately thought he'd just been yanked off the street like that. Considering where he'd woken up without memories. It really wasn't that far-fetched.

"No. In a moment I'll send you back to your normal insignificant life, and it will be as if nothing had happened."

"Yes please," Percy sighed. He might even be grateful for a memory wipe!

...unless Dionysus had gone to far. That actually seemed likely.

"And why did you bring me here?"

Dionysus snorted. "Oh, I didn't want you particularly. Any of you silly heroes would do. That Annie girl—"

"Annabeth."

"The point is," he said, "I pulled you into party time to deliver a warning. We are in danger."

There was another long, awkward pause where even Alex looked disconcerted because she hadn't caused it this time.

"As opposed to?" Percy finally asked into the silence.

"Um, Norwegia? Do they have anything bad going on right now?" Nico finally answered.

"To hell if I know!" Percy threw his hands up, long overdone with these gods making no sense and expecting him to keep up.

"Gee," I said. "Never would've figured that out. Thanks."

"Can't say he never helped guide you," Will chuckled.

"Yes I can," Percy huffed.

"It would just be a lie?" Will tried in vain.

"No Will, I know full well when I'm lying," Percy smirked.

He glared at me and momentarily forgot his game. Pac-Man got eaten by the red ghost dude.

"Erre es korakas, Blinky!" Dionysus cursed. "I will have your soul!"

"Appropriate reaction to be honest," Jason nodded.

"Competitive streak, locked and loaded," Percy pointed at him accusingly.

"I, well maybe, I don't know," Jason frowned before he shrugged and decided against arguing the point. He had a strange feeling he'd once strangled someone with a controller, but he wasn't sure if it was a monster or not and that was kind of bothersome.

"Was nobody going to translate that awesome Greek cuss so I know what I'm saying when I use it?" Alex pouted.

"He said go to the crows too," Nico offered with the same helpful smile as the first time.

"Oh, I see, now I know where she got it from," Alex grinned at Annabeth, who didn't bother to look embarrassed as she shrugged.

"Um, he's a video game character," I said.

"That's no excuse! And you're ruining my game, Jorgenson!"

"Jackson."

"Whichever!

"No, no, Percy Jorgenson should very much be discussed more. What's his life like?" Magnus chuckled.

"Going to Giants games, living his best life I assume," Percy sighed.

Now listen, the situation is graver than you imagine. If Olympus falls, not only will the gods fade, but everything that is connected to our legacy will also begin to unravel. The very fabric of your puny little civilization—"

The game played a song and Mr. D progressed to level 254.

"Ha!" he shouted. "Take that, you pixelated fiends!"

"Um, fabric of civilization," I prompted.

"And Pac-Man is a part of that, gosh Percy, let the man prioritize his way," Jason grinned.

"I'll set Blinky on you, don't test me," Percy promised.

"Yes, yes. Your entire society will dissolve. Perhaps not right away, but mark my words, the chaos of the Titans will mean the end of Western civilization. Art, law, wine tastings, music, video games, silk shirts, black velvet paintings—all the things that make life worth living will disappear!"

"This is not news," Thalia frowned as she looked from the book to Percy. "He didn't really think you were tempted by Prometheus did he?"

Percy shivered, something tight lodged in his throat. He couldn't breathe for several moments as his head swam, that stupid jar leaping to mind strapped into the backseat of a car-

Annabeth put her arm around his shoulders. She held him close as he leaned into her for the stability he desperately needed right now as his head swam without the rest of him.

She ran her fingers gently through his hair until his breathing labored into something more even and Alex kept going without question.

"So why aren't the gods rushing back to help us?" I said. "We should combine forces at Olympus. Forget Typhon."

He snapped his fingers impatiently. "You forgot my Diet Coke."

"Gods, you're annoying." I got the attention of a waitress and ordered the stupid soda. I put it on Bobby Earl's tab.

"Is that illegal?" Magnus frowned. "It feels like that should be illegal."

"I honestly don't think anyone here knows," Will admitted. None of them were exactly law-abiding citizens on the regular.

"Fair enough," he nodded.

Mr. D took a good long drink. His eyes never left the video game. "The truth is, Pierre—"

"Percy."

"Posey," Thalia offered with a smirk at Percy, who groaned in dismay. He just knew she'd find a way to tell his dad he'd once accidentally called him that.

"Nah, got to give him one thing, he's never called Percy a Polly," Alex said in delight. "I was thinking Peitro though, or Picholo."

"I'm so glad I wasn't named after an instrument," Percy frowned and knew he owed his mother yet another thanks in his life.

"—the other gods would never admit this, but we actually need you mortals to rescue Olympus. You see, we are manifestations of your culture. If you don't care enough to save Olympus yourselves—"

"Like Pan," I said, "depending on the satyrs to save the Wild."

"Yes, quite. I will deny I ever said this, of course, but the gods need heroes. They always have. Otherwise we would not keep you annoying little brats around."

"I feel so wanted. Thanks."

"You really should," Annabeth was blinking at him like a new riddle to solve. "I don't think he's ever said that out loud. You must have done something during the battle to really get his attention Percy." Short of creating an ocean of Diet Coke, she couldn't think what he'd done to earn this audience.

Percy realized he hadn't yet mentioned the bit where Dionysus had pulled him aside and basically told him he'd cured Chirs and he was sad his son was dead. It was one of those things he was used to the others all knowing. He'd kind of become Mr. D's fall guy for the entire camp after that he supposed. The good and the bad.

"Use the training I have given you at camp."

"What training?"

"You know. All those hero techniques and . . . No!" Mr. D slapped the game console. "Na pari i eychi! The last level!"

"And that means?" Alex asked eagerly, this time looking around at Nico expectantly.

Nico grinned in a way that already made Will blush before he said, "that one's something more in line with what Will would call Hera."

"Ah, fantastic update, thank you," she chuckled while Will sighed without much regret that was never going to die.

He looked at me, and purple fire flickered in his eyes. "As I recall, I once predicted you would turn out to be as selfish as all the other human heroes. Well, here is your chance to prove me wrong."

"Yeah, making you proud is real high on my list."

"Like, right up there with getting kissed by an empousa," Thalia said in a really good simpering act.

Percy high fived her in agreement and Annabeth really kept telling herself she should move so they'd stop doing that across her face.

"You must save Olympus, Pedro!

"Remind me to send Pedro a thank you gift," Percy rolled his eyes.

"Sounds like you might have to learn some Spanish, personally I'd just take credit for it," Jason shrugged.

Leave Typhon to the Olympians and save our own seats of power. It must be done!"

"Great. Nice little chat. Now, if you don't mind, my friends will be wondering—"

"There is more," Mr. D warned.

"Oh thank gods," Magnus clutched at his shirt over his heart. "This just wasn't dire enough yet!"

Alex patted his shoulder and knew in that moment he'd love a good theater camp.

"Kronos has not yet attained full power. The body of the mortal was only a temporary measure."

Annabeth licked her suddenly dry lips as her eyes darted around like she expected to find an angry mob with pitchforks appearing out of nowhere. It made no rational explanation, she kept trying to scold herself, but that did no good. She half expected them all to laugh at her, to throw in her face they'd known all along that Luke was just a pawn, a means to an end, and he'd deserved this.

None did, and she started feeling dizzy with her own relief until Percy put his arm around her in turn until she caught her breath and her eyes stopped burning so bad. Gods she missed Luke so much.

"We kind of guessed that."

"And did you also guess that within a day at most, Kronos will burn away that mortal body and take on the true form of a Titan king?"

"And that would mean . . ."

Dionysus inserted another quarter. "You know about the true forms of the gods."

"Yeah. You can't look at them without burning up."

"Kronos would be ten times more powerful. His very presence would incinerate you. And once he achieves this, he will empower the other Titans. They are weak now, compared to what they will soon become, unless you can stop them. The world will fall, the gods will die, and I will never achieve a perfect score on this stupid machine."

Alex read all of that without to much surprise. It really was a constant case of, 'how could this get any worse?' and then she got her answer and just moved on. It had kind of been the track record of her whole life anyways.

Nobody was really up for arguing the point with her. It's not like it was new information anymore than, 'Percy needed to save the world or we'd all be dead.'

Maybe I should've been terrified, but honestly, I was already about as scared as I could get.

Jason mock rummaged around in his pockets. "Hang on, I have a meter I need to check for that."

"Where haven't I threatened to shove that yet?" Percy tapped his chin, before he snapped his fingers. "Ah, into your belly button!"

Jason theatrically covered his stomach with a horrified expression and the two idiots chuckled for a moment while Thalia and Annabeth exchanged bemused looks.

"Can I go now?" I asked.

"One last thing. My son Pollux. Is he alive?"

Alex really hated herself for the emotion that gripped her voice. That her mind flashed to her father for just a second, then Loki, before she slammed her fist into an already destroyed washing machine in her mind that made something fall out with a clunk to scatter those stupid images away. She knew what she was telling herself, it wasn't denial, it was just anger it wouldn't go away.

I blinked. "Yeah, last I saw him."

"I would very much appreciate it if you could keep him that way. I lost his brother Castor last year—"

"I remember." I stared at him, trying to wrap my mind around the idea that Dionysus could be a caring father. I wondered how many other Olympians were thinking about their demigod children right now.

Will caught Percy's eye and held it to let him know he wasn't alone. That he'd really felt that, been thinking it too. He'd wondered how useless his prayers were while sending them to his dad. The fact that Mr. D even bothered to pull one camper aside to check in, in his own way, really made him believe for a moment that even if he hadn't gotten an answer, his prayers had been heard.

Or that Pollux hadn't been making any.

And he wasn't sure which it was.

"I'll do my best."

Magnus heard that as, when he went to visit his cousin there, he should expect to see a pudgy blonde kid chilling at a cabin alone. The one with grapevines all over it probably. Percy's best wasn't always the solution to everyone coming out alive, but it was as close as he'd ever expect.

"Your best," Dionysus muttered. "Well, isn't that reassuring. Go now. You have some nasty surprises to deal with, and I must defeat Blinky!"

"Nasty surprises?"

He waved his hand, and the bar disappeared.

"Would the gods stop doing at least that," Percy heard it in his own voice, tried to reign in the reverberating power that could easily topple the room they were in, but man was it heard. "If they know something helpful, next time start with that!"

It took every bit of his concentration not to form his hands into fists and draw Riptide and figure out how to go back to his subconscious or whatever and at least break that stupid machine!

"I don't think their brains are exactly linear like ours Percy," Annabeth reminded patiently.

"Then I'm going to start the conversation by setting three alarms so they think they're running out of time and actually tell me this stuff while the first two to go off! The third one's because I'm positive I'll actually want them to stop talking by then," Percy sighed.

"Good plan. Hope it works out for you," Annabeth sighed right with him at whatever god he decided to test this theory on.

I was back on Fifth Avenue. Annabeth hadn't moved. She didn't give any sign that I'd been gone or anything.

She caught me staring and frowned. "What?"

"Um . . . nothing, I guess."

"That really was nothing to you too," Magnus sighed. Just another day in the life of Percy Jackson, being dragged across the country only in his head to have a conversation with the wine dude who also wasn't really there!

"I know the important things in my life," Percy grinned.

I gazed down the avenue, wondering what Mr. D had meant by nasty surprises. How much worse could it get?

Magnus felt the urge to cover his eyes and whimper pre-monster arrival. Just to get it out of the way now.

My eyes rested on a beat-up blue car. The hood was badly dented, like somebody had tried to hammer out some huge craters. My skin tingled. Why did that car look so familiar? Then I realized it was a Prius.

Paul's Prius.

With every new descriptor Alex's voice had gotten a little quieter, a little more shaken. This wasn't her spooky, telling ghost stories over a fire voice where she tried to make herself sound scared to up the mood. She was legitimately upset at realizing Percy's parents could be hurt much more than some dents in the hood of a car, and Percy was as touched as he suddenly was panicked. It was a very strange feeling that stole his spurt of action but left him feeling sick with the need to do something.

I bolted down the street.

"Percy!" Annabeth called. "Where are you going?"

Paul was passed out in the driver's seat. My mom was snoring beside him. My mind felt like mush.

The fact that she was asleep was of interest to note to those not in the know, but not enough to do more than exchange surprised looks.

Rachel was on her way there, and she'd be asleep for whatever message she wanted to deliver. That was yet another disaster on the horizon while he was processing this one with his face an entire mask of pain.

How had I not seen them before? They'd been sitting here in traffic for over a day, the battle raging around them, and I hadn't even noticed.

"We don't come with built in radars Percy," Annabeth gently reminded as they held each other's hands so tight. "I've tested."

Percy gave her a shaky smile, his mind a complete mess he expected to collapse any second. They'd possibly have to start this all over again and build himself back from the ground up. But she kept smiling back and didn't let go, so that was okay.

"They . . . they must've seen those blue lights in the sky." I rattled the doors but they were locked. "I need to get them out."

"Percy," Annabeth said gently.

"I can't leave them here!" I sounded a little crazy. I pounded on the windshield. "I have to move them. I have to—"

"Percy, just . . . just hold on." Annabeth waved to Chiron, who was talking to some centaurs down the block. "We can push the car to a side street, all right? They're going to be fine."

My hands trembled. After all I'd been through over the last few days, I felt so stupid and weak, but the sight of my parents made me want to break down.

Percy had been scared plenty of times over the course of this, but it was usually coupled in with adrenaline and determination and anger. The kind of grit that made him defeat the next monster, gave him the strength to know that even if he hadn't saved everyone from his past at least he'd never forget them again and try not to make the same mistakes.

This is how Kronos could have defeated him all along, he could feel it in his bones. Yet mortals were beneath his notice, and so she'd sat by untouched but always there at the heart of all this.

Chiron galloped over. "What's . . . Oh dear. I see."

"They were coming to find me," I said. "My mom must've sensed something was wrong."

"Most likely," Chiron said. "But, Percy, they will be fine. The best thing we can do for them is stay focused on our job."

Then I noticed something in the backseat of the Prius, and my heart skipped a beat. Seat-belted behind my mother was a black-and-white Greek jar about three feet tall. Its lid was wrapped in a leather harness.

Percy glowered at the book in the kind of way that made Alex confident he wanted to throw the book in her hands out of the ocean and possibly her along with it if she held on to tight. She ignored it best she could and relied on Annabeth and Thalia to remind him why that was a bad idea. She'd actually never done something like that before, but hey, first time for everything.

"No way," I muttered.

Annabeth pressed her hand to the window. "That's impossible! I thought you left that at the Plaza."

"Locked in a vault," I agreed.

"How do you put something in a vault wrong Thalia?" Jason decided not to let that moment pass without a tease.

"When Percy's involved," she said with a straight face. "It was his magic item and he set me up to fail."

"I'm sure you deserve it for something," but Percy was so jittery he couldn't think straight, couldn't think up one instance over the past where she'd messed with him. All his mind could latch onto was his mom, dropping him off at another new school with another hopeful smile, the songs she'd hum while she was baking, the dark circles under her eyes and the sense of joy radiating off of her for a good night's work. Gods he'd be lost without her.

Chiron saw the jar and his eyes widened. "That isn't— "

"Pandora's jar." I told him about my meeting with Prometheus.

"I thought it was a pithos?" Jason felt the strain in the room and strived to do what Percy did best, give a little levity to it. "You told him about Prometheus giving you Pandora's Pithos Percy, remember how pithy that sounded?"

Maybe word play wasn't everyone's cup of tea in amusement, but he at least got a few smiles and eye rolls for his attempt, which made all the world to him to feel like he hadn't failed.

"Then the jar is yours," Chiron said grimly. "It will follow you and tempt you to open it, no matter where you leave it. It will appear when you are weakest."

"Forever?" Magnus frowned. "Like you have a new Riptide? Man, talk about something in serious need of a regift."

Percy had the brief thought that he should give it to Rachel. She'd probably paint over it and make it look more fun and tempting to open, but she'd also been dealing with hopeless situations with much more style than he'd ever have so she just seemed the obvious choice.

He got a pained spike to his brain for the thought and his eyes flickered to Annabeth with guilt instantly so he decided not to voice any of that.

Like now, I thought. Looking at my helpless parents.

I imagined Prometheus smiling, so anxious to help out us poor mortals. Give up Hope, and I will know that you are surrendering. I promise Kronos will be lenient.

Anger surged through me. I drew Riptide and cut through the driver's side window like it was made of plastic wrap.

Alex grinned at all the mayhem Percy's sword could cause he didn't indulge in nearly enough. "Did it have that smooth feeling like when scissors glide through wrapping paper?"

"Yeah, actually," Percy's smile was a tad diabolical and Annabeth swallowed in horror how many cars were going to be broken into when those two teamed up.

"We'll put the car in neutral," I said. "Push them out of the way. And take that stupid jar to Olympus."

Chiron nodded. "A good plan. But, Percy . . ."

Whatever he was going to say, he faltered. A mechanical drumbeat grew loud in the distance—the chop-chop-chop of a helicopter.

Rachel's insane deal to go to a finishing school all so she could have a chat with Percy hadn't been mentioned in a few hours, what with the constant battles and deaths and centaurs appearing, but boy did they not get a choice now but to think of all the problems, implications, and disasters that were about to happen!

On a normal Monday morning in New York, this would've been no big deal, but after two days of silence, a mortal helicopter was the oddest thing I'd ever heard.

He'd felt it in his chest, the reverberating machine that disrupted his world overtaking the rest. The ground hadn't actually been shaking, but he'd been so loopy from seeing his parents he wouldn't have been surprised to see drinks shaking and windows rattling like the arrival of that machine had smashed them back together.

A few blocks east, the monster army shouted and jeered as the helicopter came into view. It was a civilian model painted dark red, with a bright green "DE" logo on the side. The words under the logo were too small to read, but I knew what they said: DARE ENTERPRISES.

"Did you, ever get a ride in that Percy?" Will's voice was choppy as he strived for his usual cheerful voice but knew it sounded fake. Gods that helicopter crash had been terrifying. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to sit through another action movie with an explosion again without shivering at the heat and noise.

My throat closed up. I looked at Annabeth and could tell she recognized the logo too. Her face was as red as the helicopter.

Trouble and danger afoot, Nico didn't even roll his eyes in surprised annoyance this time because of course Percy looked to her first.

"What is she doing here?" Annabeth demanded. "How did she get through the barrier?"

"You're asking me?" Percy looked so wounded and confused as he sat deep in his seat.

"I'm asking her as soon as I can," her scowl was more light and playful than anything, but Percy felt like he was in trouble for some reason.

"Who?" Chiron looked confused. "What mortal would be insane enough—"

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," Thalia answered with pride.

"Yeah, not something I'd brag about right now," but Jason couldn't help begrudgingly sounding the same. She really was something, charging into the unknown for her friend. It was as admirable as someone could be.

Suddenly the helicopter pitched forward.

"The Morpheus enchantment!" Chiron said. "The foolish mortal pilot is asleep."

I watched in horror as the helicopter careened sideways, falling toward a row of office buildings.

Even if it didn't crash, the gods of the air would probably swat it out of the sky for coming near the Empire State Building.

I was too paralyzed to move, but Annabeth whistled and Guido the pegasus swooped out of nowhere.

You rang for a handsome horse? he asked.

"Come on, Percy," Annabeth growled. "We have to save your friend."

"Well don't sound so happy about it Annabeth," Alex said with a strained smile she still tried hard to make casual. "You should be used to this by now!"

"It was Rachel's turn for this, wasn't it," Magnus groaned as he watched Percy get up to take the book. "Gods, is there a ticking clock on this? Are you guys going to have to rescue me by association?"

"Possibly," Percy said sheepishly.

Annabeth waited patiently until he got back beside her before swatting him on the back of the head with a very calculated scowl for trying to scare her cousin.

To her surprise though as Percy flipped to the next chapter as if nothing had happened, Magnus just sighed as if he were already resigned to it. He obviously knew Rachel was fine and they had rescued her. He really was taking this much better than she ever would have dreamed.

PJOPJOPJO

*This was legitimately one of the stand-out kills for me from my first reading of the series and I tried to analyze why upon this reread and I think I've narrowed it down to this reason. Instead of dust like every other monster, it's imagining the pain and anger frozen on the monster's face as he collapses to blue shards that stayed there until they melted long after the fight was over. Something about deviating away from the usual formula I guess?

[forevfangirlwrites]

new money, suit and tie part 2

Percy breathes out a sigh of relief and leans back on the couch as the door closes behind her. Thankfully, she’d decided to stay. Granted, he’d thought she was quitting on spot with how abruptly she’d left, but seeing her there the next day had felt like a second chance to redeem himself.

And he’s well aware he needed redemption.

Percy Jackson understands the value of mistakes and failure. Partly because his dad views him as a failure waiting to happen (so far, he’s passed all the tests) and partly because if he hadn’t learned from the mistakes he’s made, he wouldn’t be where he is.

So he’s well aware that everything regarding Annabeth Chase had been a mistake on his part, and he’d undoubtedly failed. (It affected him more than he’d like to admit, given he hadn’t left the office that night she’d walked out.)

He frowns at himself. Had there been no other way to mask the attraction he’d felt than to go so extremely in the opposite direction?

It would be nice to blame the stress of the Neptune merger (another failure-test project from his dad) but he knows better than to shift responsibility like that. He’d been the idiot.

Either way, he’s gotten his second chance at being a better boss (and a nicer human) and had managed to retain his most competent employee. Mo really had chosen and trained well.

(He just hadn’t expected someone so young and pretty and nice. Part of him wonders if maybe Mo did this on purpose.)

Snapping out of his thoughts, he turns back to the files Ms. Chase had handed him and starts to focus on the numbers on the page.

They don’t seem right, and he doesn’t know how much time passes before a loud clatter makes him bolt upright. He dashes to the door, opening it to find Annabeth walking around her desk to help the man in front pick up some plastic tubes he’d clearly just dropped.

The man is probably only slightly older than her, and though he’s embarrassed, he’s also unashamedly staring at Ms. Chase as she hands him a tube with a smile on her face.

“It’s alright,” she says. “You’ve got a few minutes until—”

Her sentence cuts off when she turns to see him standing there. Her smile cuts off too, and his eyebrows scrunch further together. How come that guy gets a smile and he doesn’t?

“Mr. Jackon,” the man is saying as he notices him. “I’m a bit early, Nate Smith from Neptune Inc.”

Right, his 3 o’clock appointment. How did he forget? And the way he’d rushed to the door at the sound probably means he’s looking disheveled. He needs to get it together.

KEEP READING ON AO3

[justanotherduck26]

Welcome home Percy.

Wait for me series

Book Annabeth chase x eventually adopted Jackson gender neutral Reader

This series will go through Percy jackson and the olympians & Heroes of Olympus

Trigger warnings ⚠️ swearing, smelly Gabe

Also yes I know Excalibur isn't part of Greek mythology but Welsh mythology that will be explained later why Y/n has it

I woke up in a cold sweat in my bed. I had that dream again although it felt more like a distance memory. The dream there was 4 other people 2 females and 2 males. The one male had furry legs ,horns,curly hair and brown eyes he looked around probably like 13 if she had to guess. The second male had blue eyes and blonde hair he looked around 14 he was also carrying the younger girl one his back she was asleep so I could only see her wavy blonde hair covering her sleeping face. The oldest female looked around twelve she had choppy short black hair with striking blue eyes and.......she was shouting my name as if she was looking for me. Why did they seem so familiar? And why can't I remember them? Honestly I can't remember much about my life before Sally and Percy jackson found me.

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" Good morning mom." I said as I walked into the kitchen ever since Sally found me that day her and Percy became my family and I called Sally mom........ I thought about telling mom but something told me to wait I'd just tell Percy later.......oh yeah I forgot he goes to that fancy school......Yancy fancy......? Or something like that. Even though he's been going there for quiet some time I still forget he's gone honestly it's a very odd felling. Mom left for work shortly after breakfast leaving me alone with my abusive adopted father smelly ass Gabe.

I was hiding from Smelly Gabe and his friends when I heard the door.

"Huh that's odd. Mom shouldn't be home yet." I thought to myself but then I heard a male voice one I hadn't heard in six months . " Where's my mom?" Percy asked. "She's at work ya got any cash?" Gabe replied without looking up. "I don't have any cash. " Percy replied. I felt bad for Percy probably having to stare at the 3 hairs on the back of Gabes head. I'm not exactly sure what happened after that but I heard someone's hand slam on the table and Gabe shouting at Percy. I could hear footsteps coming towards my room and a chill ran down my spine I quickly grabbed the sword that Sally had found me when I was 7 . I was now twelve. Sally always said it was a toy but the sword felt real to me on it in Latin was the name Excalibur on it. How I could read the Welsh word on it i had no idea just like I had no idea how I could read Greek but not English. I pointed it at the door as the door swung open.

"Whoa Whoa no need to get all defensive it's just me." Percy said his goofy grin as he waved his hands in mock surrender. " ........Hey Percy have you ever gotten the feeling....." I started. " That someone or something is watching us?" Percy finished and I nodded Percy was about to reply when the front door opened. "That's mom you better go say hi." I said and pushed him out of my room .

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I didn't really paying attention to what was being said in the other room because I still had the feeling I'm being watched but Montauk was mentioned and that's how I found myself in the back of the car with Percy and mom. Once we got there I stayed back a little bit to let Percy and Sally have quality time together. As I moved about the cabin I remembered the times Percy, Sally and I had spent on the beach the sand castle contests, who could find the prettiest shells mom always won those. Roasting food on fires. Once it got dark and both Percy and I fell asleep it was like Percy and I were sharing a dream both staring at the white horse and eagle trying to kill each other neither of us knew what to do so we both just stood there... Until Percy started running towards them although he was doing it slowly and the Eagle's beak was pointed at the horses eyes . We both woke up in a cold sweat.

" Did you see what I saw?" Percy asked and I nodded.

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With the next clap of thunder mom woke up . "Hurricane!" Mom exclaimed. That's odd Long Island never gets Hurricanes. Mom sprung up when someone pounded at the door when she opened it she revealed a familiar presences one from my dreams and by the look on his face when he saw me he recognized me too.

"Grover....." Percy said

[stargazinglesbian]

More than anything i feel like Percabeth is just too......boring.The development is very predictable at best and toxic at worst and ngl i feel book!Annabeth wouldn't be the best partner for a transfem,much less an afrolatina trans femme who is also punk like Percy.She's not a bad person but she has.SO many issues to unpack but Rick refuses to adress them and i need them away from eachother asap.Wdyt?

ugh well, my opinion on percabeth is. complicated i guess. like, i can understand why people like it? because it does have a lot of fandom appeal (which imo is mostly because of the boring parts..), but i also agree with you in the sense that it just doesn't work in so many ways.

people really find the idea of characters 'going through hell and back' together but i hate the way that kind of stuff just starts to define relationships, like are you guys even in love or are you just hardcore trauma bonded. a lot of percabeth 'moments' (in tma especially) are just made up of annabeth talking about different times theyve saved each others lives, but we never even really learn that much about *why* they like each other. annabeth thinks percy is funny and percy thinks annabeth is smart? i gues??? but beyond that its jsut ???? do they share any common interests?? from the way they talk sometimes it doesnt even really seem like theyre interested in each others hobbies!! (if your eyes 'glaze over' while you listen to you partner talk thats a bad sign actually) their relationship seems to only really revolve around camp and/or quests and it annoys me because theyre supposedly really close but we never actually see any evidence of that.

you're spot on about annabeths issues. i think away from source material she has so much potential to be an interesting character. she has so much stuff happen to her (she ran away from home!!! at SEVEN!!! and was straight up homeless and alone until she ran into luke and thalia + she got groomed) i could write like ten thousand words about her, but fandom interpretations, her relationship with percy and the fact that so many actual aspects of her character are never addressed in text is just so frustrating. she shouldn't be in a relationship during the timeline of the books, and i think this would be true of a lot of people but ESPECIALLY for annabeth. she and percy get together right after the titan war, and neither of them spend any time healing or processing any of their trauma from it! they are so young and yet they launch themselves straight into a relationship and its meant to be seen as sweet and romantic because 'who knows how much time they might have left'. unpopular opinion but if you're trying to hit as many relationship milestones as possible as fast as possible because of the imminent threat of death i think you maybe have some issues to resolve and that relationship might not actually be healthy!

i think in the end their relationship would, realistically, be so much more unhealthy than its depicted. people ship percabeth because the text convinces them it works but then you look at it and its like Oh wait Ok No.......

i also have a lot of thoughts about the pressure surrounding them (its been a while since i read the og books but if i remember correctly there were a lot of people making jokes about them getting together. that might be wrong though!) as some idealised couple, annabeths self conscious and equally headstrong nature (again i need to reread the books a bit but the tunnel of love scene comes to mind as well as her constantly overthinking) as well as her internal and external biases but im just gonna leave it here for now

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: How are we feeling? We're halfway through this book hang in there! -Danny Words: 2,468 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Renegade' -by Big Red Machine ft. Taylor Swift

XXXIII: Depression Isn't a Joke, but My Will to Live Sure Is

I watch Annabeth and Percy huddle together in front of a broken altar. Behind them is Bob, the titan Percy fought with Thalia and Nico. I'm guessing he's there to help, cause he's not trying to kill them while their backs are turned.

"What are you doing?" Percy asks, his clothes are ragged and he's got scratches all over his body. The sight makes my stomach churn.

"Sending a message," Annabeth answers, looking as bad as Percy. "I just hope Rachel gets it."

"Rachel?" Percy frowns. "You mean our Rachel? Oracle of Delphi Rachel?"

"That's the one," Annabeth says with a hint of amusement.

I read over her shoulder what she's written on a crumbled-up napkin:

Connor,

Give this to Rachel. Not a prank. Don't be a moron.

Love, Annabeth

"Now I just need to burn it," she says. "Anybody got a match?"

The ground opens and swallows me, then I get hurled back out in the middle of a fight with the Kerkopes. Octavian is screaming curses and orders, Reyna is next to him looking just as harassed, but unlike Octavian, she's fighting. Further ahead I can see my camp.

"Your attempts are useless, daughter of Olympus."

This is the first time I hear Gaea's voice, but I recognize it immediately.

"I was wondering when you'd come," I look at the woman in a dirty veil, dressed in clothes that look like moss and roots. "Hard to fear your threats when every bad guy you've sent has been nothing but embarrassing."

The sleeping lady smiles. "You're as vain and stupid as your patrons." Gaea dissolves only to appear closer. "They chose you as their General because you rather die than let them down, but don't be mistaken, the children of Olympus always fall onto me. I'll feast on your power, and destroy everything you love."

She touches my chest with two fingers, pushing me back.

"And I'll start..." Gaea's sleeping smile grows. "With Leo Valdez."

Ara falls off the bed, scratching her forehead with the nightstand. She swears, getting up and feeling her wound. She's tired of waking up like this almost every day, but at least there is no blood, so she gets up to get dressed.

Ara doesn't bother to check the time, nowadays she can't go back to sleep even if she wakes up in the middle of the night, and she rarely feels tired anyway. Ara guesses that it might be the blessings, all that power ought to do something to a mortal body that was previously below average.

The girl walks to the mess hall, then stops, ponders, and walks past to go to the top deck. As expected, Nico is on the foremast, eyes glossy like his mind drifted away hours ago and he hasn't moved since then. 

Ara tries to whistle and then remembers she's never been able to, but a loud noise comes out effortlessly and makes her stop in shock. Nico looks at her scowling. "Did you just whistle at me like I'm a dog?"

"I didn't know I could do that," she replies in surprise.

"What do you want?"

"We need to talk," she says in her General voice. "Come to the mess hall."

Ara leaves knowing he'll follow her, she grabs two plates from the cabinets and fills them with nice-looking food, when Nico gets there she seizes him by the shoulders.

"You're having breakfast with me."

"Wh—don't touch me!"

"You haven't eaten in a whole day—you thought I wouldn't notice?" Ara sits in front of him. "Don't get up or I'll force-feed you."

"What is your problem?" He fixes his jacket. "I'm not hungry, you can't—"

"But you can meddle in my relationship with Leo?" She asks sharply. "You need to know your place, I won't allow this to happen a second time."

Nico looks down at his plate with scorn. "This is absurd."

"What's absurd is your attitude," Ara scowls. "I mention a tiny mistake I did before coming to this journey, and you decide to poison Leo's mind—"

"I told him what he had to hear," the boy argues. "Hades knows you won't do it."

She keeps her voice steady, furious enough to not lose it like other times. "You don't know what he needs. He's not Michael."

"You're right, he's nowhere near as strong as Mike was, or as strong as what you had with him," Nico grabs a fork begrudgingly. "I won't finish this, by the way, it's too much."

"It's enough for a kid your age and body type. Eat." Ara brushes it aside. "And I didn't have anything with Mike, he was just a friend."

Nico's eyes flare up with irritation. "He made you what you are and you do him a disservice by denying what you felt. And you're not my doctor."

"And you're not my therapist," Ara eats a mouthful of bacon angrily. "I don't want you meddling with my crew and telling them things that you don't even understand."

"I understand way more than you think."

"Why are you trying to get Leo to break up with me?"

"What?" Nico raises a brow with slight surprise. "It was you who tried to end it by dying!"

"How did you find out about the curse?" She presses.

"Why haven't you told Leo?"

Ara tenses at his question. "I wanna trust you, Nico, but then you do this... Is it impossible to understand why I said what I said to Lily?"

"You're blessed, and you waste yourself on what? Teen romance? Your selfishness is gonna get Percy killed!"

"And Annabeth."

Nico blinks. "What?"

"Percy and Annabeth," Ara corrects him, prowling to a subject she knows she shouldn't touch. "You always skip her when you're agitated."

Nico's face flushes. "I gotta give it to Valdez, I didn't think he'd ask you, considering he eats out of the palm of your hand. Perhaps he will dump you, eventually. He should. I'm not sorry I told him."

Ara jumps out of her seat, but Leo enters the hall at that moment. He notices Ara and stops. "Am I interrupting another murder attempt? Should I come back later?"

Nico pushes his plate—almost empty—away. "You know what, arae? I wish it'd been you instead of Percy and Annabeth, maybe the fall would've fixed whatever's wrong with you."

Nico walks past Leo, and Leo looks back at her and whistles lowly. "That was cruel."

"That is Nico," she retorts with composure. "The one I know, anyway..."

"Were you arguing about what I said last night?"

"I was going to kill him for three years' worth of disrespect," Ara pushes her plate—almost full—away. "I'm sick of having him on the ship, he brings out the worst in me."

Leo thinks what she says is true, but that's probably not smart to admit out loud. He watches intently, the vibrant energy she used to have during their first quest is sorely missing. "What's the deal between you two?"

"He wants to see me alone in the world," she states with certainty. "He can't hate Percy, so he puts it all on me."

"You haven't been a saint, though, have you?" Leo asks pointedly. "Not with him."

"Do you think..." She can't even finish the sentence.

Leo shakes his head. "I want to feel like before—"

"There you are!" Hazel walks into their conversation. "Ready to train me, General?"

Ara walks out of the mess hall glancing at Leo with concern. "Let's go."

"Before I forget," she rummages through her Octopi bag and pulls out a Ziploc from it. "Ginger. It'll help your seasickness."

Hazel examines it. "Where did you find it?"

"Triptolemus," the girl shrugs. "While Frank and Nico were looking for the barley, I searched through the cabinets to get some."

"Who taught you all this?" Hazel asks with curiosity. "The medicine and healing stuff."

"Michael Yew," Ara hangs her octopi over one shoulder. "Son of Apollo. Taught me many things so I wouldn't be helpless on my own... I owe my level of preparation to him and my friend Lily."

Hazel hums. "Nico told me about him. He used to train you both, right?"

Ara nods, gaze wistful. "Your brother didn't get to know him like I did," she looks back at the younger girl, now much smaller than her. "Ready to start?"

"Before we do that," Hazel lifts the bag of ginger and examines it shyly. "The way you've been acting towards Frank and me..."

Ara's expression fills with guilt. "I'm sorry, I—"

"No, I mean," the girl interrupts her. "You're helping us."

She stares at Hazel blankly. "You don't want me to?"

"You can do whatever you please, it's just... why?"

"Why am I helping?" Ara raises a brow. "I'm not following, Hazel. Why are you asking me about it just now?"

"Well, I kind of got the impression that you knew about Leo's er... situation with me."

Her cheeks get warmer. "Oh," Ara leans both arms on the railing. "Leo and I struggle with the whole sharing-is-caring part of relationships but sometimes it... spills out. I'm sorry."

"I'm glad he told you about it. It might help him."

Ara looks back at her. "What?"

Hazel tries to cover it, but Ara sees her flinch at her reaction. "He might understand the situation better this way. Does your prophecy have to do with a curse? I spent a lot of time around cursed souls during my first life, and Nico called you an—"

"Nico called me Arae, which is my name," the girl scowls at the skyline. "I'll be honest, Hazel, my prophecy didn't sound good the first time I heard it, but as time goes on I like it even less. Your brother thinks he knows all about me, but he doesn't."

Hazel shifts her weight from one foot to the other. "Curses can't be broken by the person who carries them. You've helped everyone here, we owe you our lives one way or another—"

"That's why I haven't..." Ara makes a face and groans. "You're linked to Leo by an old promise his great-grandfather made, right?"

"Yes?"

"This curse is centuries older," she explains. "I shouldn't let just anyone get involved in it—not until I have a clear view of things. I don't want to freak y'all out."

"Ara—"

"The crew is doing well," she holds so tightly onto the wooden rail that her knuckles turn white. "I don't want to taint that... I always end up making things worse, I won't do it this time."

Hazel makes a face. "So what are you planning?"

"I'm getting Annabeth and Percy out of Tartarus," then she remembers her dream. "They're still alive—Bob is with them."

"Bob?" The girl raises a brow. "Who is that?"

"An old friend, Nico knows him. My point is, that their chances of survival have increased. Not by much, but it's promising, I'll put all my focus on that."

"But what if your prophecy comes sooner?"

"It won't."

"Are you sure?"

"No," Ara moves away from the railing. "But I must believe it."

When the giant turtle shows up, Ara isn't surprised. She's been wondering when they'd face their next sea monster, and this seems to be it. They reach a narrow passageway and the turtle stops attacking them, but the real problem shows up.

"Well..." Piper glances at the creature and shrugs. "At least the turtle can't get us. We're safe here."

An arrow comes down flying and pierces the mast only a few inches away from the girl's face. Everyone scatters and gets to the ground, except Piper, who freezes in shock.

"Piper, duck!" Jason whispers hastily.

"Up there," Frank points from his hiding spot. "Single shooter. See him?"

"Who the heck is he?" Leo asks grumpily. "Why is he firing at us?"

"Guys? There's a note," Piper tells them shakily.

"Oh awesome," Ara grumbles.

Hazel gets there first and grabs the note. "First line: Stand and deliver."

"What does that mean? We are standing. Well, crouching, anyway. And if that guy is expecting a pizza delivery, forget it!" Hedge complains.

"There's more," Hazel continues. "This is a robbery. Send two of your party to the top of the cliff with all your valuables. No more than two. Leave the magic horse. No flying. No tricks. Just climb."

"Climb what?" Piper frowns.

"There," Nico points up.

Hazel continues reading "I do mean all your valuables. Otherwise my turtle and I will destroy you. You have five minutes."

"Use the catapults!" Hedge demands.

"P.S. Don't even think about using your catapults."

"Curse it! This guy is good."

"That guy made a mess of our ship with his pet and now he's robbing us?" Ara speaks with annoyance. "I'm done with men thinking they can take away my stuff without a fight. This is—"

"You're going..." Leo interrupts her with a tired tone.

"Well, yeah! He's telling us to climb and I'm the best climber here. Is anyone against it?" No one responds.

"This guy has a sharp aim, you can't fight him even if you reach the top," Leo points out. "Look, that's not a good trajectory. Even if I could arm the catapult before that guy pincushioned us with arrows, I don't think I could make the shot. That's hundreds of feet, almost straight up. He's crazy good."

"Yeah," Frank pouts. "My bow is useless too. He's got a huge advantage, being above us like that. I couldn't reach him."

Ara hates it when people tell her she's got no chance. What do they know about what she can and can't do? She's the daughter of the gods, and this stranger feels like a god sent... which she shouldn't say out loud, they already think she's unreliable.

"I'll go with Ara," Hazel offers.

After their conversation yesterday, Ara wasn't expecting this from her. "Are you sure? I mean..." her eyes go to the weasel that jumps to Hazel's shoulder. "Who is that?"

The creature screeches and farts, and Ara makes a face. Hedge snorts. "Says its name is Gale, and that she's here to check Hazel's skill."

"Listen," Hazel insists, "this robber wants valuables. I can go up there, summon gold, jewels, whatever he wants."

"If we pay him off, you think he'll actually let us go?" Leo asks skeptically.

"We don't have much choice," Nico replies. "Between that guy and the turtle..."

Ara's almost vibrating with the need to hit something. Hazel's horse (he helped them escape the turtle moments before) whines and shakes its mane with indignation. "I have to, Arion," Hazel tells him. "Well, Ara? What do you think?"

"We go together," Ara nods to the group. "You guys keep the ship safe."

"My sword," Jason looks at the water with a scowl. "It's back there at the bottom of the sea, and we don't have Percy to retrieve it."

Hazel doesn't even think about it when she opens her palm and leaves it hovering over the rail. The sword flies out of the water and the girl catches it. "Here," she says handing it to him calmly.

"How... That was like half a mile!" Jason exclaims in awe.

"I've been practicing. Now, if there are no other objections, we have a robber to meet." 

Ara pats her shoulder and gives her a grateful look. Hazel doesn't return it, she has no choice but to follow her General. Leo seizes Ara by the wrist and whispers in a heavily concerned voice.

"Don't you dare dying. We still need you."

Ara lets out a dry chuckle. "If you say so."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

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[snow-leopard-777]

So! I have just watched the premiere for the Percy Jackson TV show and I am already in love. Let's start off simple.

(Am putting the read more for spoilers for those of you who have not watched yet)

There has been a lot of discourse over Leah Jeffries being Annabeth Chase because she didn't match the audiences vision of her. Yes, the book version was blonde with gray eyes. But I am more than happy to sacrifice looks to get Annabeth. Let's face it, the movies were a giant flop and an even greater disappointment. Annabeth was not Annabeth. Her actress just didn't pull her personality forwards. They shared a name and (in one movie) a hair color, but she did not have the dry wit and sarcasm nor the leadership and sheer defiance Annabeth has been known for since day one. Lovely Lady Leah brought Annabeth's character to life, and she did it well. I don't think I'll ever be able to have a different cinematic Annabeth. It'll always be her I see.

Annabeth was not the only one to change appearance. Percy (Walker Scobell) had lighter hair than he did in the novels, a blond-ish brown instead of black. Luke (Charles Bushnell) is not a white guy with blond hair and a scar over his eye- but he brought Luke's character to life. Many forget that yes, while Luke chose to fight on the wrong side of the war and did bad things, he was not a bad person. He stepped up for Percy when no one else did, made him feel welcome at the camp even when Annabeth stalked him and fought with him and his friendship with Grover was strained. Luke was the reason Percy claimed Camp Half-Blood as home, and Charles displayed that well in his acting.

Walker Scobell, Percy himself, did a wonderful job with Percy's character. The self-blame, wondering what was wrong with him, the grief stricken 12 year old boy, and even the anger towards his father and need to be accepted, he pulled it all off magnificently. The scenes were very touching, and I felt my heart break when he was told to burn the food he wanted to eat most to gain the gods' ears and, instead of talking to his father, he spoke to his mother. I was literally in tears. (Am also almost positive that Rick stuck him on a rock and told him to be a bored preteen. I saw that fortnite dance.)

Aryan Simhadri, sweet Grover, also did a great job with his character. Grover's nervousness, his want to help Percy, his desperation to keep him safe and looking traumatized before we're told his backstory... Absolutely wonderful. He did a wonderous job at showcasing Grover in his entirety- the dedication to friends despite his fear and his desire to protect them. He's willing to bend the rules to make sure Percy has what he needs and justifies it as helping Mr. D and Chiron convince Percy to accept the quest (no sneaking out this time!)

Now! Into the meat of the story- I, for one, think that this was put together very well. There are some differences, some of them threw me for a moment, not going to lie, because my brain was looking for how the events went in the book. There are some differences, but nothing exceedingly major. Nothing like, oh, I don't know, telling Percy the prophecy his second year at camp and bringing back Kronos with the first attempt, (Can anyone tell I'm still salty?) The fight with Mrs. Dodds was a touch different, Sally and Percy interacting with Gabe before leaving was a touch different, and Percy's claiming are all examples that, for whatever reason, are at the forefront of my mind. Mostly minor things, like Sally doing a seven layer bean dip in the books and threatening to eat Gabe's sandwich in the show. A minor difference that has no overall change, just something that, for whatever reason, my own ADHD brain latched on to. But there are also similarities. I noticed that the episode names correspond with chapter names and the opening of the premier was exactly what Percy said to kick off the Lightning Thief.

Sally was still an amazing mother. Annabeth was still stern and cold. Luke was warm and welcoming. Clarisse was mean and ready to shove Percy's head in a toilet- and she had her spear! The characters were diverse- which is something that Rick has aimed for with his characters from the begining- and none of them were flat or seemed like they were acting. It was lovely.

Now! Camp itself! The design was wonderful. It's big, the cabins have Grecian designs, there are different training fields, the Hermes Cabin is overcrowded, Dionysus is an asshole, Dryads are in the woods, and we even see people picking strawberries in the background at one point. A lot of subtle things that add up and really make this Camp Half-Blood.

All in all, I definitely recommend this to people. I myself will be continuing to watch it so I can see my babies come to life (I know it's going to take years but I can't wait to meet Nico) and I am rooting for these people. The set designers, the actors, the moral supporters, the producers, and, of course, Uncle Rick himself have done a phenomenal job with finally bringing life to these books. They aren't just the same names and locations while being a completely different story- this is Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

[slipping-through-my-fingertips]

In My Head, I'm Yours

Chapter 6: Women's Hearts are Lethal Weapons

AO3

Goddamnit we look good together

Wasn’t that the truth? Tonight, Percy was wearing an orange camp shirt and black jeans. Maybe Annabeth would be able to restrain herself because these weren’t clinging too tightly to his thighs. But she could see the sweat on his brow.

Gods, Percy Jackson was going to kill her.

I’ll take what I can get from you

Annabeth ordered a drink. She found Thalia almost immediately but her best friend hadn’t spotted her yet. For just a moment, Annabeth wanted to watch Delphi alone.

Not seeing Percy for two weeks was supposed to make this easier. Sure, Annabeth had actually been busy with schoolwork but she could’ve made time to see him. She chose not to because frankly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be just friends with him.

Usually when she felt like this, she cut herself off from the guy instantly. But she kept coming back to Percy. Her brain couldn’t let him go, why?

Anytime she had wanted to go see Percy, she went and saw Hazel instead. The bookstore was quickly becoming her own version of therapy.

“People are gonna start talking, Beth,” Hazel had teased. “We can’t keep meeting in the stacks.”

In the last two weeks, Annabeth estimates she’s made six trips to Pages a Plenty. Two days ago, Hazel hadn’t been standing at the checkout counter so Annabeth wandered down the aisles. Annabeth had found Hazel restocking the romance book section and felt like the universe was laughing at her.

“Better they talk about us then me and Percy,” Annabeth had said.

“Okay, girl, we need to sort this out. I cannot have you showing up at my place of work to have the same conversation with me for the next four months or until you get your shit together and admit you like him.”

“Can I corner you at the Columbia library instead?” Annabeth asked, half jokingly.

Hazel rolled her eyes. “Out with it, Beth. What’s bothering you today about Mr. Jackson?”

“I miss him.”

Hazel paused her restocking. Annabeth wouldn’t meet her gaze.

“Annabeth.”

“It’s true, how can I miss some guy I slept with a few times this much?”

“Because he’s not just some guy,” Hazel replied, “and the sooner you admit that to yourself the sooner you can take this load off your shoulders.”

Annabeth knew she was right.

They restocked the shelves together in silence. Annabeth read the back of a couple books, looking at those happily ever afters. Guess none of those women felt like Annabeth did about graduating.

She wanted to be the best architect Columbia ever saw. She wanted to be at the top of her class. She wanted to be working at a top firm within a year of graduation.

But there’s one thing she had in common with all these women, she wanted Percy. Just like they all wanted their respective love interests.

Gods, why hadn’t she met him two years in the future? When she was already at a firm, established, and ready for a relationship?

“I’ll see you at seven?” Annabeth had asked.

“At the table in the left corner of the library by the windows,” Hazel confirmed.

They ended up working at the library until it closed at midnight. Annabeth had her noise canceling headphones, a pencil case filled with freshly sharpened pencils, and hours of work ahead of her. On the other side of the table, Hazel had her laptop and its charger.

“History majors have it easy, huh?”

“I’m sorry, do you want to write a 35-page thesis paper and an annotated bibliography on Terror Trophies of World War I in America?”

Annabeth smiled at Hazel’s frazzled expression. “I just meant, you don’t have to carry a bunch of supplies.”

“Oh, yeah that’s true. Most of my sources are online journal articles…”

Annabeth was really grateful for Hazel’s friendship but it did make her feel guilty for not telling Thalia. They rarely kept things like this from each other. Annabeth suspects the only reason Thalia hadn’t figured it out yet is because Annabeth had been avoiding discussing all things Percy since her best friend returned from California.

They still talked about Percy. In the abstract sense. About Delphi’s gigs, which Annabeth was now a regular attendee, about their new songs, about Percy’s weird thing with blue food, about Jason’s weird roommate.

But Annabeth didn’t tell Thalia about the afternoons she slept in Percy’s bedroom, the things they did to each other on his couch, in his kitchen, against his front door. She didn’t tell her how she dreamed about his eyes, his mouth, his body pressing down on hers, or the way he smiled up at her from between her thighs. She didn’t mention that last time she saw Percy, she went to his apartment expecting sex and instead they made cookies together and then just talked for a few hours. She didn’t ask Thalia if she thought that was odd.

Annabeth sipped her drink and looked up at Percy again. He hadn’t seen her, she was hiding at the far end of the bar, in the shadows.

Piper was singing now.

The men start wars yet Troy hates Helen Women’s hearts are lethal weapons Did you hold mine and feel threatened? Hear my lyrics, taste my venom You are still my great obsession

She really did have a magnificent voice. Annabeth grabbed her drink and stepped out of the shadows to begin walking over to the table Thalia was sitting at.

Maybe in the next six weeks leading up to graduation, she’d be able to put her feelings for Percy into words and if she was really lucky he’d wait for her.

Maybe if she had some more non-sex hangouts with Percy, her brain could make a decision she didn’t trust her heart with.

… Every Wednesday, they gathered in Piper and Jason’s apartment for movie night. Annabeth fit in seamlessly. This was only her second annual movie night.

She was squeezed on the sofa between Thalia and Percy, Grover had taken up residence in the reclining chair, and the love seat held their group’s only couple. Leo had a date and was sorely missing out because tonight they were introducing Annabeth, who hadn’t seen a lot of movies growing up, to the wonder that is Disney’s Hercules. Percy just knew she was going to pick it apart for inaccuracies but he also knew she was going to fall in love with this film just as everyone did, she’d let the inaccuracies go just as everyone else did.

“I still can’t believe we never showed this to you,” Thalia said, “all those Disney movie nights over the years and we missed this classic!”

“It’s really a tragedy,” Grover replied, “to wait this long to see Hercules.”

“So the rules are, take a drink every time Annabeth makes a noise of disbelief,” Jason said.

Everyone held up their drinks in agreement while Annabeth huffed. Clearly, not happy to be the butt of their jokes.

“Does that count?” Grover teased.

“Actually, I think I’ll just leave you all to it, I have some work to do…” Annabeth said, pretending to stand up.

Percy pushed her back down. “Oh c'mon, live a little. Piper press play!”

As they sing along to the opening song, Percy thinks back to last week. Seeing Annabeth with Thalia by the bar; he really hadn’t expected her to show up. Especially when she hadn’t replied to his invitation.

After their set, Annabeth had apologized for not answering him.

“Seriously, I opened it and went into class and totally forgot.”

“It’s fine.” Percy wished his voice hadn’t cracked when he said it.

She was a busy woman. Percy tried to be busy too because every moment he wasn’t, he was obsessing over Annabeth. Which meant, in between classes and homework, he spent a lot of his time writing songs.

“Has Percy told you the band name story?” Jason had asked, clapping Percy’s shoulder.

Annabeth shook her head and had given Percy a look of confusion. “Why haven’t I heard this?”

“So we’re sitting around in this one’s dorm room,” Jason began, pointing at Percy, “I’ve just joined the band at this point.”

“After 3 months of auditions!” Piper chimed in, “I knew he’d be a perfect fit the minute he walked into the room.”

Percy cut her off, “Actually Piper’s exact words were ‘he’s hot.’”

Piper had shrugged, “I wasn’t lying.”

Annabeth laughed.

“Anyway,” Jason said, “we’re sitting in the dorm room, brainstorming names. Percy goes ‘we should just combine our names.’”

“And I said, like what? Perjaser?” Piper said.

“That would’ve been a sick name for a band,” Thalia said.

“Not as good as Percy’s next suggestion,” Jason replied.

He shook Percy’s shoulder, “tell ‘em!”

Percy mumbled the name.

“Sorry, what,” Piper said, cupping a hand on her ear for emphasis, “couldn’t hear you.”

“PP&J.”

The whole group started to laugh, Percy was pretty sure Jason was tearing up. How many drinks had he had? Because that story was seriously unfunny.

“Oh no,” Annabeth said, putting a reassuring hand on Percy’s arm. “Please tell me you were drunk when you suggested that.”

“Stone cold sober,” Piper assured.

“That’s real bad, man,” Thalia said, still smiling.

Surprisingly it was Annabeth’s outburst that pulled Percy back to the present.

“Oh c’mon!! Hercules is ROMAN, why are we in Greece?”

Percy chuckled.

“Drink!” Jason announced and everyone took a sip.

He was really loving this group of friends.

“But he’s not a god! He’s a Demi-god!” Annabeth said, “Hera hates him for existing!”

“Drink!”

Too soon, the movie ended. Annabeth was sufficiently riled, which had been their plan. Everyone else was fairly buzzed. Since she had spent most of the movie critiquing it, Annabeth had not touched her drink.

“But it’s still a classic right?” Piper asked, “tell us you enjoyed it a little bit?” She held her index finger and thumb close together.

“Yeah Annabeth, it’s a great movie, you have to admit that,” Grover added.

“Plus Hercules and Meg are such an iconic couple,” Jason said.

“Sooo…” Percy said, “what did you think?”

Annabeth paused, considering, “it’s inaccurate for sure, completely and utterly wrong about…well everything. And yet, I still found it to be enjoyable.”

“Enjoyable?” Piper repeated, “I’ll take it.”

After Thalia and Annabeth left, Grover hung around for another hour or so before heading out too. Percy stayed and helped his bandmates clean up. He was washing dishes while Piper dried when the call came.

Jason answered it. “Hey, Mr. D, what’s up?”

Unusual for their manager to be calling. Most days it seemed like Mr. D only wanted to be their manager when it was convenient for him.

“Okay, let me put you on speaker.”

If asked, Percy would swear he blacked out during this call. It had nothing to do with the alcohol he drank tonight.

“Yeah, sounds great, thanks Mr. D,” Piper said. “We’ll be in touch.”

“You better be! This is big for me, I mean us, I mean you! Ugh, just make a quick decision.”

And he hung up.

“He’s right,” Jason said, “this is big.”

Piper nodded. They all just stood in the kitchen wondering what to make of it.

An actual tour. People wanted to hear their music outside of New York? Apparently Mr. D discovered Delphi’s music was popping up all over the West.

“We’re almost done with school,” Percy said, “it’d be a cool way to kick off our summer.”

“I’ve always sorta pictured us touring in California,” Jason said. Probably because he had family out that way.

“So we’re doing this?” Piper asked.

“All in favor?”

They all raised a hand.

Delphi was going on tour.

[drasticbookishsoda]

Ok gonna rearticulate this now that I a) re-read the waterland section of TLT real quick and b) have thought about it for a few seconds.

I still don't like the changes to waterland.

1) there's no scarf of Aphrodite, which is a very huge bummer for later, becuase now what's gonna make Percy be all weird when he goes to the attic and sees Annabeth filed it away as a trophy?

2) why is Percy always wet? Like...c'mon now. Thats his whole thing, he doesn't get wet unless he wants to. Kinda seems like it's getting set up to be the opposite, which is irksome

3) Why is Hephaestus here? Why is Hermes gonna be in Vegas? Why are the gods so present????? Thats...thats the whole thing? The point? Ares is only here because he's *spoilers* possessed. The rest of them don't start playing along until Percy sasses them at the end of TLT

4) Are we trying to establish that Annabeth is a hero/protagonist in her own right here or not? Because it seems like they're trying to give her more, but its really kinda felt more like the show is pulling her back. Prime example: in the book she saves their asses from the smashing boats with lightning fast physics and Percy would've gotten them killed. In the show he saves her ass and then they only get out of it because Hephaestus, who again, shouldn't even be here, let's them go after she just sorta prods at some gears and gets stumped because it magic.

I guess maybe they're trying to focus on her emotional development, but that had already been done just fine the first time around. They really didn't have to tweak it this hard. It feels like she's losing a lot along the way, and I'm not really seeing that it's worth it.

I'm really not even sure what these changes are trying to do. I get some- leaving Grover behind with Ares gives us a vehicle for exposition that we had gotten through Percy's thoughts. Great. We don't need to waste time getting from St. Louis to Denver, fine, it literally doesn't matter where Waterland is. Awesome.

But now we're in a death by a thousand cuts thing here, and it's getting worse not better. I'm losing faith that this thing is gonna stick the landing truthfully. The only thing holding it all together for me is that Leah and Walker really do have some mad Percabeth chemistry and I'm so obsessed with that dynamic that it's working enough to keep me here, but man...I'm sitting at a firm 50/50 now and the preview does not inspire confidence

[deliajackson]

When I reread the saga I tought about it too. I mean, I don't believe she is an awful human being. And I don't like HoO for so many reasons regarding relationships. Like Nico - Percy being reduced to "he is not my tipe" proceeds to ignore the entire importance of their relationship; Hazel - Frank - Percy becoming good friends and after MoA they literally barely interact again; Grover literally disappeared from the story too; whatever the hell Rick did with Percy - Annabeth.

Idk what he wanted to do making Sally pregnant during that saga. And I really believe we should have had a better insight of her. And that was something possible to do due Annabeth's POV. We should have seen her being worried. To see Sally having a mental breakdown with the fact her son - that due a miracle survived the war, was now what? Vanished? Kidnapped? Shouldn't Percy be safe now?

But we don't. We see her later being married and pregnant. This is a little bit odd.

I like to think, as a HC that Sally got pregnant before Percy was gone, and only found about it later on, and Paul was a gentleman, or one of these men who thinks like: Pregnancy = Marriage. It helps that he loves Sally. Or turned to love her on the way. And the entire relationships turned out fine.

Regarding Sally keeping Percy, I can see where it comes from. She was an orphan girl, really young, I believe she was what? 19? When she had him. I can see why she wanted to keep the only family she had, specially if she was afraid Percy could become one of the kids who stays the entire year for his own safety - after all, Poseidon DID explain to her why the camp was the better choice. It was implied in the book. And that was the reason Sally chose to marry Gabe instead. To keep Percy "safe" from monsters, while still being able to be by his side. She just forgot the monster she put inside her house could also hurt him as well.

She had full conscience of what she was doing when she chose Gabe. She didn't marry him not expecting him to be abusive. She married him because he stinks, and since the very beginning Percy said Gabe treated them poorly from the very start point of their lives together.

It was selfish. She knows it. She admits it herself. Even Mr. D on camp during the show is not impressed with her decision to keep a demigod child. Because it is an imprudent and mostly important, selfish decision, which only ends with children being slaughtered.

She also could have lived under the sea, in a palace that would be hers. She could have raised Percy well, still be his side, honestly, she would have been more present in his life that way, since she wouldn't need to be on a full-time job. That was also an option. Poseidon offered that to her.

And she said no. For many understandable reasons. I understand that. But if we get to analyze, she made the worst decision regarding Percy's sake and well-being.

The funny thing is that if it wasn't for that, we wouldn't have the Percy we had.

I really believe that if Percy went to camp half-blood way earlier he would join Luke - since I believed Poseidon wouldn't claim him as fast as he did, specially for Percy's own safety.

And if he lived under the sea, why would Percy ever go to camp half blood, out of his father's domain to deal with Gods? - If we push a little we can still make it happen, I believe. But eitherway, it wouldn't be the same. His self steem for example wouldn't be crippled and I don't believe he would be half as depressed as he was.

Side note: I really wanted to know why Rick is so obsessed with making these sagas while they are all teenagers. It passed six months after the war with Kronos. The entire HoO Saga took what again? Six months? And then ToA happens on the same fucking year and lasts *checks notes* also six months.

I didn't read the Kane Chronicles, CoTG, only WoTG - purely out of spite... But I don't believe Percy was mentioned to be 18 or close of 18? I mean? How many days Rick Riordan believes a year have. Let alone a month. Just let them become young adults.

Unpopular Opinion: Sally Jackson wasn’t a good mother to Percy. She chose to keep him in the mortal world with her when she could have sent him to camp and just asked for access to CHB. It was that easy and she didn’t do it.

She not only put him into danger with monsters, but put him in an actively abusive environment. Not just from Gabe, but her, too. Gabe was verbally abusive and she knew that, if you go back and look at the first book, Gabe is verbally attacking Percy and Sally sees and hears it. She’s not even phased.

Also, she worked a job, leaving Percy alone with an adult who physically abused her, knowing that he at least verbally abused her son. If he felt confident abusing her, a grown woman, then he felt comfortable hitting a child who was left alone with him. I don’t understand her lapse in judgment here. It’s not like she made him promise not to touch Percy, and if she did, then she’s a fool to take a man like Gabe’s or just anyone’s word for it.

She also knew that it was extremely likely that Percy would have ADHD and dyslexia because of him being a demigod and she still chose to make him go to schools in the mortal world, schools who wouldn’t be able to accommodate for him as CHB would be able to. She had to have known that it would be hard for him in the mortal would with his learning disabilities and that he would likely be bullied and discriminated against and yet, she chose not to raise him in a healthy environment where he would learn how to cope with his disabilities in a way that has been finely tuned to kids in his exact situation, but rather to make him go through all the bad things that happen to kids with ADHD and dyslexia.

She manipulated him (telling him that CHB would take him away from her) and bribed him (the coming home with candy after leaving him with Gabe) and gaslit and lied to him (the whole beginning of the TLT) for years and didn’t feel bad about it, assured that somehow, an unstable home with people who don’t want the best for him, but rather themselves and a hostile school environment was better for him than CHB. You know, just the place where demigods are supposed to thrive, where everything is made specifically with demigods in mind.

Sally knew that Percy was the son of Poseidon and was therefore more at risk than most other demigods, she most likely knew about the oath because I see no reason that Poseidon wouldn’t tell her, and yet, she still kept him with her in a toxic home and toxic schools, putting him in danger with monsters (the Gabe plan wasn’t infallible and she hadn’t even tried to do anything or asked Poseidon to supply her with anything until years after Percy was born and therefore already in danger) and subjecting him to all the horrors that come with a bad home life and just the mortal world in general, especially the mortal world of New York City where I used to partially live. And, New York being the place where both camp and Olympus were located had to have meant that there were more monsters there than anywhere else, except maybe San Francisco and Alaska, which just upped the danger for Percy, strong smelling Big Three child,

She didn’t even stop to think that maybe the life she was giving him was better than any life CHB could give him? If he went to CHB, he’d learn how to survive in a world that is actively trying to kill him, he’d learn how not to piss off the gods, he’d be more prepared for the Great Prophecy, he’d grow up knowing that there were people just like him who understood him and would help him. He’s grow up in a safe, nurturing environment that prepared him for the real world outside of the borders, maybe even be assigned a quest and learn what they’re like before being thrown into stopping WWIII.

And if she kept him with her not because she thought she’d give him a better life than camp would, then it would be because of her own selfish and completely irrational reasons. Poseidon told her that Percy should be sent to camp and she was so blinded with her selfishness, her own wants and desires, that she didn’t stop to think that maybe a god who’s had countless other children just like Percy for millennia, that maybe a literal god who is a king and thousand of years old might be right? That he wouldn’t know what would be the best for their child? But she kept Percy with her. Despite everything, she kept him with her, using the excuse that camp would take him away from her. As if mortals can’t be taken into camp as long as they have permission—permission that is granted through like ten words.

I just sincerely don’t understand. You can say that Gabe would stop her from taking Percy to camp, that he had them trapped. She trapped herself, and by extension, Percy, into the marriage and she could have run away at any point to CHB. Do you really think Chiron would have turned her away? That Gabe would have found her in a magically warded camp for the children of gods, one of which she had herself? She was the one who decided that marrying him would be better than sending Percy to CHB when he had already been born. When he encountered his first monster, when Gabe had shown himself to be an abusive person, she should have gone to camp so both Poseidon and her could keep an eye on him in a safe, stable as can be environment.

Now listen, I have a lot of empathy for people in abusive relationships, I’ve been in one myself and I know what it can do to you, how the signs can be missed until it’s too late. But Sally did not choose Gabe because he had manipulated her or because she had fallen in love with him, no. She chose him because he smelled bad. She chose a completely random human to marry and thought that it wouldn’t backfire on her or her son, the person she was allegedly doing it for.

I don’t understand her thought process on this. What could she possibly have thought of camp, of her whole situation that made her make the choices she made? Because I just can’t see it.

The books have shown that Sally can be a good mother to Estelle, to Nico, but the only person she seems incapable of being a good mother to is Percy.

I can see it being a part of the future that Percy and Sally have a falling out of sorts. Estelle is a fully mortal child with a loving father and a loving mother. It would be interesting to see Percy realising that his childhood could have been better, watching Estelle grow up in a healthy environment that his mother actively kept him from.

Paul is cool and all, I don’t really fault him for much other than him rushing his relationship with Sally, whose last marriage was abusive and by association, Percy who is a victim of abuse and very clearly also dealing with other trauma. I do, however, fault Sally for pursuing a relationship like that with a man only two years after she and her son were subjected to abuse by a man in the same exact position. Why would she choose to bring another stepfather into Percy’s life when she knew the other one was at least verbally abusive and when he was in the middle of a freaking war. He didn’t really have the time or the ideal circumstances (to put it lightly) to have to deal with Gabe trauma rearing it’s ugly head when another man walks into her life. She never even really fully discussed it with him? Like it’s never shown in the books that she and Percy had a conversation about Gabe and about Paul, a full, in-depth conversation about their troubles, about what it would mean, and whether or not they should be doing that with a mortal when Percy is a demigod—a demigod from the Big Three who is the centre of a world ending prophecy and the leader of a demigod war with the Titan king, no less. They never sit down and talk with Paul about it, either.

I really don’t mean for this to be a victim blame-y post or anything, but I think that Sally just made some wrong choices and she suffered for them. I blame her for that, for the harm it caused Percy and the fact that she didn’t even wait or examine Gabe to see if he would be a bad person or not. And you can’t tell me that the gods or demigods haven’t found a way for half-bloods’ scents not to be found yet, after thousands of years other than forcing a child into a home with an abusive man. It just doesn’t make sense. There were better options, some of which I already listed.

Not much of what Sally says or does really makes me think she’s a good mother—or even an average one even though the fandom tried really hard to make people think she’s the perfect mom. She does a lot of harmful things and gets away with them because she what? Talks nicely when her words aren’t full of manipulation? When she isn’t lying to her son and leaving him in the dark—something that could literally kill him? Acts nice when she isn’t absent and leaving her son with and abusive man? When she isn’t bribing Percy as a half-assed apology when she does?

I see it a lot in the fandom, fanfic especially where Sally is this perfect mother and perfect person as if she didn’t screw up all the time. As if she and her selfishness and her lack of thinking didn’t traumatise Percy and leave him an abusive home and school environment. People talk so much about her being the perfect mother, her being the ideal when she really isn’t. Yes, she is a victim, but she’s a victim who dragged a child down with her and a victim who didn’t even think of saving herself or her son. And I despise people who don’t try to save themselves, people who don’t think, and people who drag others down with them. Sally Jackson is all three.

TL,DR: Sally made a lot of selfish or straight up stupid parenting choices that blew back on Percy and the fandom needs to hold her more accountable instead of glorifying her and ignoring all of her flaws.

[mila-s]

Honestly i just need a rewrite of the heroes of olympus books from like the lost hero to the end

Like keep the plot, and the same characters but stick to their development, and don't discourage yourself to dive deep, I want Percy and Annabeth's struggle to be real, and not just staring blankly at walls and not even giving them povs in the end

I want Nico to talk to Percy, not just tell him he's over him, I want them to talk, because they were friends, Percy thought of him as a friend, I want them to just talk it out, for Percy to explain things to Nico, not Jason bur Percy, because no matter how much he denies it, Percy is Nicos only link to his old life, and no matter what, he does get him in some aspects

Don't get me wrong, i love Jason but it shouldn't have fallen on him to help Nico, because he didn't know him, and Nico didn't want to know him, it's that simple

But Rick got caught up in the story and forgot it's characters and their feelings and past, he just made a new set with their names and some vague notion of them

I was so pissed when they thought of Nico as a traitor, Percy should have felt conflicted but not to the degree that he almost abandoned his friend, and i hate it

His fatal flaw is supposed to be loyalty, and it only seems to activate in the face of Annabeth and just, no

I love Annabeth, she's a treasure, and i do belive her and Percy are good for eachother, but Rick made it an obsession, not love and i hate every second of it

When he did such a good job on the first set of books, I was hooked, but the second set was awful truly, and don't get me started on Trials of Apollo, god it was just awful

I stopped reading after that set, i still haven't read the Egyptian and Norse ones and I don't want to because he'll ruin those too

I have complaints about the other characters too, but since it's the first time we meet them they don't seem to bad so it's almost fine

Back to my rant about percy and nico. I do believe in canon percabeth is logical and okay, and i love them, to a certain point, later it just seems fabricated and thats awful, i much prefer percico, as such au's, so I'm a bit biased but still. Nico searched for six whole months for Percy when he went missing, and the only thing that stopped him from telling him everything when he found him was the threat of Juno, so you can't tell me he just stopped at least crushing on Percy, let's not even talk about love. Back to the first set of books. I mean the moment Nico disappeared Percy put out search parties for him, even looking himself, and Bianca saw him as the only one to entrust her visions or whatever they were (never clarified), as such to find him, and Percy chose to be the one in the prophecy to protect Nico, not himself, because that boy was so scared to die, but he did it anyway, and all this in pretence of friendship, I'm sorry but that's a load of shit, still on the bias, I know, but I can't help it

Anyway in my search for different ships i stumbled apon an Apollo and Percy one, where they read Percy's thoughts and everything from the books, and I love the authors take on it, even if it dismissed percico but still i digress, they don't have to be together but they could be great friends if Rick wasn't so involved in the story to forget about the people in it

It's long, but it's from an outsiders point of view, and you see Percy's struggle and pain and everything, it's great, I can't say it's the best writing I've read, but i love it

[forevfangirlwrites]

Hello!!

I’m just looking for a fluffy childhood friends to lovers fic. Doesn’t have to be long, and you can (ofc) take as much time as you need!!

Happy writing!!

((PS: Im sad I haven’t discovered your blog earlier- I LOVE your writing so much!))

Her feet are starting to hurt, but she pushes herself to keep going. Hope is dwindling with every tick of the clock though and there isn’t much time left until she’s going to have to face this.

One more, she tells herself, one more and maybe he’ll be here by the time I get back.

So she starts her eleventh lap around his block, heart breaking with every step as the empty driveway disappears behind her.

There was a time where he would be the one to knock on her door, her heart racing from her mad dash down the stairs, to him.

But now each step feels heavier, her heart pounding with the ache of cracking.

What had she been hoping for all these years? What had she been dreaming off when they walked into their high school reunion arm and arm?

The kiss from the homecoming dance she never got? The slow dancing in the gym with their bodies up against each other?

There was a time when she hadn’t dared to dream of such things.

“Percy! This is a horrible idea!”

“Who cares? Come on, don’t you want to see the view?”

She must still look unconvinced because he reaches out his hand and pulls her along.

“Come on Annabeth, I promise it’ll be fun.”

Those wide green eyes are pleading at her, and she’s never really been able to deny him after that. Her sigh is his signal, and the grin is back as he’s pulling her along.

There’s a metal fire-escape looking ladder that he pulls all the way down and takes a tentative step.

“Ready?”

She’s not but she follows anyway until they make it to the small roof.

They sit side by side, his arms brushing against hers as they look out over the street. They aren’t that high up and there’s not that much to see but his warmth feels good against the cool breeze.

“Can’t believe we ditched homecoming for this,” she complains anyway.

“We were there for a little bit so it’s not ditching, it’s leaving early,” he responds with a wink that makes her heart flutter.

“Plus,” he adds, “you can’t deny this is way more fun.”

His smile is bright, lips close enough that she could lean forward just a little bit and kiss them.

She doesn’t though. She doesn’t deny his claim either or tell him that everything is always fun when she’s with him.

Maybe she should have. Should have just swallowed her fear and confessed that their friendship had always meant more to her.

But they were Percy and Annabeth. Best friends, partners in crime, and the gossip of everyone in school because they must be together right?  

Yet Percy had never acknowledged the potential that everyone else saw, always laughing it off as a joke.

So who was she to tell him that she saw it too? That they were too good with each other, that they were meant to be something greater than this.

She knows she was right because she got a glimpse of it once.

And it ruined her heart in a way that’s made her screwed up enough to walk this eleventh lap.

“So you’re finally leaving, huh?”

“Wow, finally? Don’t sound too sad about it,” she replies with a glare. It’s already upsetting that they’re going to different colleges and that she won’t be seeing him, but he’s starting to annoy her now.

Is she the only one who’s going to be missing him?

Percy grins despite her glare. “I mean took you long enough.”

“Hey!”

He laughs as she swats his arm in incredulous anger.

“Annabeth,” he complains when she swats him again. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.”

But she goes for a third swat only for him to catch her hand before she can complete the action. And despite her frown he pulls her closer to him.

His green eyes are wide and sincere and oh lord she’s jumping into them.

KEEP READING ON AO3

A/N: Thank you so much for the prompt! I appreciate the support! And so glad to hear you like my writing! Thank you again and I hope you like how this turned out!