#so I’m pretty sure my dad is a half blood from the Apollo cabin

[gossip-girl-of-middleearth]

Drunk and bleeding at a bar and struggling with the epiphany I just had that the reason I love Dandelion so much is because he looks like my father (blonde one from the books, at least) and maybe that’s the reason I’m clinging to his character, because my dad left when I was a kid

Like link to this dude’s art because I was just stalking my estranged dad’s Facebook with a cocktail whilst I wait alone for my food and he had a photo that looks exactly like the one depicted below HELP

[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.”

[poppitron360]

Okay so @green-tea217 requested that I share this fanfic based on this post that I made.

I never usually post my fanfics, but I’m feeling brave. This one isn’t finished, but I’ll post the first chapter ‘cause I’m really proud of it. I’m working on the other fanfics that were requested, but I’m posting this one first because I’ve worked rlly had on it.

Summary: Kind of an OC/FanChild fic about my hcs for Percabeth’s kids. VERY Leo/Nico heavy bc they’re my two favourite characters, particularly Leo.

TWs: Swearing, lack of smut (she is a teenager)

Disclaimers: I was still reading SoN when I wrote this chapter, and I am currently on HoH, so if I’ve missed anything that gets revealed later, that’s why. Also I listened to the audiobooks, so if I spell a name wrong, that’s also why, either that or I’ve spelt something the British way.

Chapter 1:

Olympia hated stories.

She hated telling them. She hated hearing them. She hated the way they were often twisted and bent to contain some kind of message. She hated the theatrics of sharing them around the fire, the hushed voices and dramatic tone. And she hated how every story she heard was almost always about her dad.

Olympia Grace Jackson-Chase.

Of course.

For as long as she can remember, people had told her stories about her parents. About her and her birth. How she had been born on Olympus. How Apollo himself had delivered her, and named her “Olympia Grace” so that it would rhyme with her last name. That wasn’t entirely true. “Grace” was the last name of her Auntie Thalia and Uncle Jason. She hated the stories about them too- about all her parents’ friends. They were myths and legends in the eyes of the other campers, to her they were just people who babysat her sometimes. The Cabin 9’ers had been shocked when she’d told them that the heroic son of Hephaestus who had saved the world from Gaea and her evil forces was actually just Little Uncle Leo, and the first Fire User in three and a half centuries isn’t very mythical and legendary when he’s running in from the kitchen, waving a tea-towel at the fire alarm and yelling “Oh shit, the guacamole’s on fire. I set the guacamole on fire. Don’t tell your mom.”

People never wanted to hear those stories. Only the exiting and dangerous ones.

“Percy Jackson fought the Minotaur when he was only ten years old!!!”

“Percy Jackson keeps insisting I tidy my room.”

Suffice it to say, she was sick of it.

“Dad,” she asked, approaching the kitchen table.

Perseus Jackson, the man, the myth, the legend himself, looked up from his comic book and ginned at her.

“What is it, dolphin?”

“Can you… like… not send me to camp this year?”

Her dad frowned, put The Amazing Spider-Man down on the table and leaned back in his chair.

“Why? What’s up? Are the other campers not nice to you there?”

“It’s not that… in fact, it’s the opposite. The attention is getting too much. I wanna learn to fight, but… I’d rather you just teach me yourself. You can show me how to use my water powers.”

“Oly, I know it’s hard, especially as you’re one of the first Legacies at Camp Half-Blood. I can absolutely arrange for you to not go anymore if you don’t want to… but there’s only so much I can teach you on my own, particularly with your mother’s workload. I want to make sure you’d be protected. Could you maybe give it a try, please?”

Olympia was pretty sure she’d been “giving it a try” for the last 14 summers, but she didn’t want to argue with her dad.

“Fine,” she said.

“That’s my girl,” he beamed, “Now, remember to pack your armour for Capture the Flag, I don’t want to have to drive out there and back just ‘cause you forgot it again.”

She sighed and left the room.

She just wished that he had stayed in the car when he’d dropped her off, but no. He insisted on walking with her to the Big House, saying hello to Chiron and generally being a huge embarrassment. It didn’t take long for the crowds of campers to form around them, whispering behind their hands. She hugged her dad, and said goodbye to him as quickly as she could.

She dumped her things in the Poseidon Cabin. She was allowed in both her mom and her dad’s old cabins, but she preferred to be alone to sleep. She did her activities with the Athena kids though, she didn’t want to stand out any more than she already did.

Olympia sat alone, perched on the edge of the Athena table, when suddenly a kid shuffled up next to her. She looked about twelve, with the same grey eyes of her mother.

“What’s your name?” The girl asked.

“Olympia Jackson-Chase,” Olympia sighed.

“I’ve noticed you doing cabin activities with us, but you don’t sleep with the other Athenians? What’s up with that?”

Olympia took a deep breath, and began to explain, “I’m a-“

“Wait. Jackson-Chase?” The kid gasped.

Oh, here we go, Olympia thought, preparing for the usual swooning and/or geeking out.

“Your mother was Annabeth Chase?”

Olympia was slightly taken aback, “Usually, people talk mostly about my father. I’m always “The daughter of Percy Jackson,” never “the daughter of Annabeth Chase.””

“Oh but she’s a legend! She re-designed Olympus! She led our cabin in battle against the Titans! She even held up the sky! I mean, I know your dad did that too, but-“

“She did it for longer. She was under that thing for over a day, he only held it for at most 20 minutes.”

The girl laughed.

“And, if you ask me, she was the one who did all the work when it came to defeating Kronos. Dad did jack shit, just handed a knife to a guy.”

“Exactly! Just because he was in the Prophecy-“

“Nah, it’s a lot simpler than that,” Olympia said, “It’s because he’s a man.”

They sat in silence for a bit.

She never blamed her dad for overshadowing her mom. He didn’t mean to. In fact, he openly hated the stories that didn’t recognise her for all she did. They were so in love, it was sickening.

“I can’t believe she’s, like, my sister.”

The girl gasped, and grabbed Olympia’s arm, “Wait, does that make me your aunt?”

Olympia shook her head, “Don’t bother with family trees, man, otherwise you get into the whole “my dad’s dad is my mom’s mom’s uncle, which makes me kinda my mom’s second cousin, and my dad her cousin-once-removed”- it’s just too much to get your head around.”

She looked directly into the girl’s grey eyes, “My advice, kid, believe whatever bullshit they tell you about the Gods not having DNA, and just try not to think about it.”

The girl’s face fell. “Oh.”

Then she looked exited again, “Did you come out of her tummy or her head like I did with my mom?”

And there we go, Olympia thought. Geez, they didn’t hesitate to ask the really invasive questions, did they?

She took her three-pronged fork out of her pocket, and fidgeted with it, twirling it in her fingers. Instantly, she realised her mistake.

“Why do you carry a fork around and never eat with it?” The girl asked. More questions.

Might at well get it over with, she thought.

“Gift from Grandpa,” she replied.

“A gift from Poseidon? What does it do?”

She sighed again, and dangled the fork over the girl’s glass of orange juice, and let go. It dropped into the glass with a satisfying plop, and then rose to the surface. No, it wasn’t rising. It was growing. It’s shaft elongated, and the prongs stretched to become longer and way more deadly. Intricate designs started carving itself into the metal. Olympia stood up, and grabbed the shaft of the fork just as it finished growing. A three-pronged death skewer of pure celestial bronze. A Trident.

The surrounding campers gaped at her, open-mouthed.

“Woah,” said one of the Hephaestus campers, clearly someone who hadn’t seen the spectacle before.

“OLYMPIA JACKSON-CHASE! NO WEAPONS AT THE DINNER TABLE! CAMP RULES! YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THAT!!”

“Sorry Chiron,” Olympia called. She twisted a little ring of metal around the shaft of the trident, and it shrank back into a fork. She sat back down.

“It responds to water,” she explained, “get it wet, and boom, Trident.”

She had named it Blue. It was her first word, after all. Or at least, that was the story. Poseidon had given it to her on her second birthday, and she had just looked at it, holding it in her tiny fist, and cried “bloooo!” It was probably just baby babbling, but Dad said it counted.

“So what’s Poseidon like? Do you have water powers too? Can you get me your mom’s autograph? Is your dad really 7ft tall?”

She ate the rest of her lunch in silence, only answering the onslaught of questions from the young camper when she had to.

Cabin 3 offered a pleasant respite from the crowds and the people. She dropped her armour and weapons from the day’s activites by the door and kicked off her shoes.

She looked at herself in the mirror.

(Drawing of Olympia: Art by me)

Her curly black hair, which she’d dyed the tips of blonde, was pulled back into a messy ponytail. Around her neck hung a necklace of leather chord, fourteen different coloured beads threaded onto them, each painted with a different design. Her broad shoulders and thick muscles bulged through her plain navy-blue tank top. Her skin was tanned from spending long hours training in the sun. She had a battle-hardened look to her that meant people often mistook her for a daughter of Ares. But her eyes was what made her stand out most- one grey, like her mother, one green, like her father. Her parents had told her how her birth had ended the centuries-long feud between Poseidon and Athena for good, and she had been given those eyes as a way of symbolising that. Another story. It felt like every part of her body had been attached to a story about something her parents had done. Why couldn’t she just be herself? She had spent 16 years living under the shadow of her parents, she was homeschooled from an early age, and had been going to camp since before she could even hold a sword- the demigod life was all she’d ever known. Someday, she’d get away from it all. She’d sink to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and just study the fish, and she wouldn’t have to worry about people or monsters

Suddenly, she felt something tap her on her shoulder. Quick as lightning, she grabbed Blue and spun around. Blue, still in fork form, was about a centimetre away from the neck of her intruder, who held up his hands in surrender.

“Whoah there!” He said.

When she saw who it was, she lowered the weapon and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Leo!” She cried.

“Hey, how’s my favourite cousin? Or… whatever.”

She looked at him and smiled. Despite him being old enough to be her dad, he was about half her size. With a thin, wiry frame and very little meat on his bones. His wild, curly brown hair framed his pointed face and elfish features. His dark skin was covered in a thin layer of motor oil and grime of unknown origin. He tapped her cheek affectionately, leaving a grubby handprint on her face. He walked over to her bed and leaped onto the top bunk, his legs dangling off the ladder.

“You need to stop growing,” he instructed, “You are getting too big, it’s not fair.”

“You need to stop being so short,” Olympia retorted, then her face broke into a huge smile, “I feel like I never see you anymore!”

“I know, you’re too old for me to babysit now, kiddo,” He complained.

“Well that always ended in disaster anyway. There’s still burn marks on that wall.”

“Did your mom find out?” He asked.

“Nope. Dad told her he just wanted to hang more pictures up. And then he went on a long speech about how nice she looked in that wedding photo, and then took her out for ice cream. I think she bought it.”

“Good.”

They stayed in comfortable silence for a few seconds, and then she asked, “So… it’s great that you’re here and all, but… why are you here?”

“What, I can’t come and visit my favourite partner in crime every now and then?”

“Leo…” Her tone was firm.

Leo’s face was suddenly dark and serious, he paused before speaking, but said, “I think I have news about your brother.”

That was Chapter 1- if this post gets… let’s say… 30 notes, I’ll post Chapter 2.

[ask-half-blood-hill]

Meet the Demigods: Ren Takayama

Testing, testing! Sephora Chambers here, LIVE from Cabin Two in Camp Half-Blood, ready to interview all the lively and rowdy faces of Half-Blood Hill! Welcome to Meet the Demigods! Today, we have a treat! I’d like to introduce my best friend, Ren Takayama! There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get on with the broadcast!

Q1: How would you describe how you look?

“Different from my half-siblings here. Most of the have light hair, or light eyes. I’ve got a sort of golden-brown eye color, and my hair is black. Serenity did offer to put some blonde streaks in it though… I’m about five foot seven, and I’ve always been a bit on the lean side.”

Q2: Who is your godly parent?

“I was claimed by Apollo! I think it was a little obvious, now that I noticed all those nuances in my life. Yellow this, music that, yadda yadda yadda. He’s the god of a lot of things, actually. Medicine, the sun, music, archery, poetry, stuff like that. You name it, there’s a 30% chance he’s the god of it. He’s probably also the god of overachievers… No offense, dad. You know you’d live up to that title.”

Q3: What’s your talent?

“Like all of my siblings, I have a talent with medicine and archery. My actual power that makes me stand out… Geez, I guess that’ll have to wait. I’m not sure if I want to expose myself just yet, Seph. I guess it’s also cool that I can tell the time of day, no matter where I am. Isn’t that neat? What do you mean that’s lame?! You’re full of-”

Q4: What are your hobbies?

“I really like music, but I guess that’s just a given, since I’m a kid of Apollo. I also have a passion for painting and acting, which my mom got me into. I also really have a good hand with gardening, too, but for some reason all my flowers end up turning yellow…”

Q5: Who’s your favorite cabin mate?

“Oh geez, this isn’t a fair question. Cyrus is a little cutie, he even offered to let me snuggle one of his frog plushies the other night. Serenity is cool, but a little too cool. Kieran is strange, and a little too in the clouds sometimes, and Alexander is a force of pure chaos. Dawn is sweet, but you can’t get away with anything when she’s around- she can detect liars. Sebastian is cool, but he’s always cooped up in the workshop… Caroline? She’s a doll, but she’s very shy. I guess that leaves Myra. I admire how hard she works, and since she swore off violence, it’s mostly just her running the clinic almost all day, every day.”

Q6: If you could live in any other cabin, which cabin would you choose?

“Man, have you ever been in the Hypnos cabin? It’s the most comfortable place ever. It would be paradise just to go to a sleepover there, let alone live there! The Hebe cabin is also pretty nice, so that’d likely be my choice. It’s got this sort of… nostalgic feeling to it. Maybe it’s just the aura of youthfulness.”

Q7: How would you describe yourself, personally?

“I guess I’m a bit of a scatterbrain. I mean, most demigods think at a million miles a minute, but I genuinely feel like I will explode in the sunlight. I love my family, I love my friends, but I’ve been noted to be reckless at times. I zone into things, and it’s like a trance to me. Um… I guess I’m average in terms of intelligence, but sometimes I can think of quick solutions to issues. Maybe I’m more like a problem solver, than a long-term thinker, or strategist…”

Q8: Do you have a crush on anyone here in camp?

“What? Seph, you can’t just ask that! What do you mean ‘Yes I can?’ Fine! Fine, yes, I do, but like heck would I tell you!”

Well, thank you all for tuning in to the first ever ‘Meet the Demigods!’ Join me next time, when we take on the spooky, haunted face of the Hades Cabin, Jasper Graves! Until next time, stay safe and praise the gods!

[witchywriterlythings]

Something This Way Comes

Chapter Fifteen: All My Choices Are Horrible

I knew it was going to be a big deal for us to come back successful, but with everything else happening I forgot that we would be the first questers to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke. Despite Annabeth and Grover returning before me, it wasn’t until I got there that the party really started. 

According to camp tradition, we wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence.

Annabeth's shroud was so beautiful—gray silk with embroidered owls. Her siblings had made it themselves, even the fabric had been woven by her oldest sister still at camp. 

“It’s a same you won’t get burned in it,” I told her, worried she wouldn’t understand. 

“Shut up, Seaweed Brain.” She punched my arm, but her grin told me she got it. When she caught sight of my shroud on the other hand, she wrinkled her nose. “I’m glad we aren’t burning you in that, it would be a waste of good wood.” 

I really couldn’t disagree. Being the son of Poseidon, I didn't have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make my shroud. I wasn’t really sure what I was looking at since it seemed like the War God’s cabin couldn’t agree if they were mad at me or not. The color scheme was on point, with a sort of tie dyed mix of blues and greens, but it was on an old fitted sheet and someone had written LOSER in bubble letters. 

It was fun to burn.

Then it was normal camp activities, like the Apollo cabin sing-along with smores. The entire Hermes cabin surrounded me as if nothing had happened, as if they didn’t abandon me the second my “parentage” came to light. But some of Annabeth’s siblings and Grover’s satyr buddies came over to hang out with us as well. 

Grover was beaming as the center of attention, the rest of the satyr’s were admiring the brand-new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders. “They called me brave, can you believe it? I was just keeping those two alive, that was terrifying!”

“OI! Who hit Medusa in the face with a club? I’d say that’s pretty brave.” No one was allowed to discount my satyr, not even Grover himself. 

All his sputtering protests did was draw Annabeth’s attention, as she budged in with her own retellings of how Grover had been amazing and brave on our quest. And tghen I started telling her siblings about how she got us “maximum lift” in Waterland and almost splattered us over the waterpark, which made her blush and steal my s’more. 

The only ones not in the party mood were Clarisse and a few of her cabinmates, whose poisonous 

looks told me they'd never forgive me for beating their dad in a fight.

While having people hate me always sucked, it wasn’t like it was anything new. What was new though, was having friends. Like, more than just Grover. I moved back into cabin three, but it didn't feel so lonely anymore. I had Annabeth and some of the other campers to train with during the day. At night, I lay awake and listened to the sea, knowing it would welcome me when I was ready. 

I missed my cousins though, and it always hit me at night when I was laying there in the dark that I didn’t know what happened to them. None of my Iris-Messages were going through and now that I had returned to camp, I wasn’t allowed to leave again unless I was headed back to my mom. 

As for my mother, she had a chance at a new life. Her letter arrived a week after I got back to camp. Using the gift I had left her, she removed Gabe from her apartment and made sure he wouldn’t be coming back. Though it appears he’s gone missing, so she gave  a statement to the police. Her letters might be flown to us by Hermes express, but I figured she wanted to be more safe than sorry. “Your Uncle and Sister have been more than kind enough to take in that stray we found. They’ll make sure he gets what he deserves.”

On an unrelated note, she'd sold her first life-size concrete sculpture, entitled The Poker Player, to a collector, through an art gallery in Soho. She'd gotten so much money for it, she'd put a deposit down on a new apartment and made a payment on her first semester's tuition at NYU. The Soho gallery was clamoring for more of her work, which they called "a huge step forward in super-ugly neorealism." I don’t think I will be making any more statues, she wrote, but it’s always smart to keep tools on hand. I’ve given them to a Friend for safe keeping if I ever need them again. 

She told me she would understand if I chose to live at camp year round, considering who your father is, but that there was always a place for me with her. 

I folded the note carefully and set it on my bedside table. Every night before I went to sleep, I read it again, and I tried to decide how to answer her. Did I stay here where I could train?  Did I return home to one of the few people I would burn the world for? Could I leave Annabeth and Grover like that? 

Did I choose blood over whatever these invisible strings pulling me towards my new people were?

It was easier to think about staying when I was in the training arena with Annabeth, her knife against Riptide, or her showing me wrestling moves in case I ever slipped up and got too close to Clarisse. The more we practiced, the more I started being even with her. I was nowhere close to her skill level, but I was starting to learn her tells and I could sometimes use them to my advantage. 

She never let me use the same move twice though. 

It was easier to accept staying inside the barriers of camp when she was shoving me off the dock when we said we were going to go swimming, when I could reach out and pull her in with me and I could hear Grover laughing from shore. He got wet in the ensuing splash war, but then again we were all out of breath at  that point and grinning so I don’t think he was too upset about it. 

It was easier to connect with my new home when I was on the sand with Grover as he helped me learn some basic weavng with the Neireds, or when we helped clean up the forest with the dryads. 

But I still couldn’t choose. 

On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus's kids, they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions. They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. According to Annabeth, who'd seen the show before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, then explode into a million colors.

I had seen over the past few weeks a lot of the older gets get all blushy and gross over who they were going to watch them with, but Luke had told me most people just went with their friends. I didn’t even have to ask Annabeth, she just told me to carry the picnic blanket while she got the snacks. 

Grover was starting to smell of the Wild, of something animalistic and older. The Cloven Council were like a stale version of all the younger Satyrs, the ones who were searching. Some came back to help with half-bloods, taking breaks from the dangers. Others gave up, and they were the worst. But he made something inside me ache for an old friend I knew nothing about. 

"I'm off," he said. "I just came to say ... well, you know." He shuffled awkwardly in the sand. 

Annabeth gave him a hug. “Keep your feet on, you don’t want any mortals getting in your way.” She kept asking him questions about if he had everything, what his plan was, until she finally stopped when he put his hands on her shoulders. 

“You are an old mama goat in disguise,” he teased. But he didn't really sound annoyed. He gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker you might see on an American highway—nothing like the little runty boy I used to defend from bullies at Yancy Academy. He looked…almost like an adult. "Well," he said, "wish me luck."

He gave Annabeth another hug. He clapped me on the shoulder, then headed back through the dunes.

Fireworks exploded to life overhead: Hercules killing the Nemean lion, Artemis chasing the boar, George Washington (who, by the way, was a son of Athena) crossing the Delaware.

"Hey, Grover," I called, as my fingers itched and my gums felt sore. 

He turned at the edge of the woods.

"Be careful of traps. You’ve got a good nose, trust it.” I paused, knowing I didn’t want those to be the last words I said to him so I smiled broadly. “And wherever you're going—I hope they make good enchiladas."

Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him.

"We'll see him again," Annabeth said.

“Yeah,” I agreed.

We have to, went unsaid. 

I spent my days devising new strategies for capture-the-flag and making alliances with the other cabins to keep the banner out of the War Children's hands. I got to the top of the climbing wall for the first time without getting scorched by lava.

At one point I woke up to a stuffed animal in my arms that I definitely hadn't owned before, Gabe wasn't big on toys and most boys I had roomed with before would have torn apart anything “kiddy” I brought with me to school anyway. 

It took me a minute of blinking at it to realize that it was a dog, a three headed dog to be exact, and it smelled like dark soil and pomegranates. I decided to make an executive decision that Cabin Three would skip Arts and Crafts that morning for a lie in, and I pressed my face into it as I drifted back to sleep.

From time to time, I'd walk past the Big House, glance up at the attic windows, and think about the Oracle. I tried to convince myself that it's prophecy had come to completion.

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.

Been there, done that—even though it came from a manipulated God of War instead of my Uncle as everyone feared. 

You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.

Check. One master bolt delivered. One helm of darkness returned to its rightful owner. 

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.

This line was what truly bothered me about the whole thing. I could understand the last line just fine. And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end, meaning my family. I was forced thrice over  to leave them behind, once each when I only had three pearls. And then the third time when I walked away from Gabe without his throat in my teeth. 

But no one who called me a friend had betrayed me. He Who Bears Arms didn’t claim my friendship, though He did manipulate me. But He was manipulated in turn. 

Did it still count?

The last night of the summer session came all too quickly.

The campers had one last meal together, siblings saying goodbye while I sat alone. Would this be what it was like if I stayed? Or would it be better because there would be so few of us? 

At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads. I got my own leather necklace, and when I saw the bead for my first summer, I was glad the firelight covered my bared teeth, or at least turned it into a smile. The design was pitch black, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center.

"The choice was unanimous," Luke announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!”

“But what about Annabeth and Grover? Where’s their part?” I go unheard over the cheering of the other campers, and I move to step forward, frustration building in my gut. I wouldn’t have survived without them, where is their recognition?

A hand on my arm stopped me and I relaxed into Annabeth’s hold even if it was light. 

“It’s okay, you know, that we aren’t on the bead. We’ve already received our laurels.” She used her free hand to findle with her new bead. “It was your quest, Percy, and you led us home. You deserve the credit for this one.” She looks up to smile at me and I grin back, everything about her telling me she’s not lying or hiding. “Good work, hero.” 

I was about to say something, I don’t know what though because she reached over and hugged me. A solid hug, with no life thrteatening dangers to be safe from. 

I think my brain short circuited a little. 

The next morning, I found a form letter on my bedside table. I knew Dionysus must've filled it out, because he stubbornly insisted on getting my name wrong:

Dear Peter Johnson,

If you intend to stay at CampHalf-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit.

Have a nice day!

Mr. D (Dionysus)

Camp Director, Olympian Council #12

That's another thing about ADHD. Deadlines just aren't real to me until I'm staring one in the face. Summer was over, and I still hadn't answered my mother, or the camp, about whether I'd be staying. Now I had only a few hours to decide.

Nine months of private school away from my mother, only coming home on holidays or free weekends if it was close enough, maybe looking for Nico and Bianca with my mom…or nine months of hero training with Annabeth, learning different dialects of Greek, swimming in the lake and not having to worry about anyone calling the cops on the weird kid swimming in December. I could make more friends, find some kids who might be like me and just are waiting in the shadows for the right moment. 

I swear one of the Fruitbearer’s children withered the grass with her anger over one of the Stoll brother's pranks, turning it pitch black. 

But I had to think so I decided I'd go down to the arena and do some sword practice. Maybe that would clear my head.

The campgrounds were mostly deserted, shimmering in the August heat. All the campers were in their cabins packing up, or running around with brooms and mops, getting ready for final inspection. Argus was helping some of the campers bfring their bags down to the camp shuttle, which would take them to the airport or station of their choosing.

Don't think about leaving yet, I told myself. Just train.

I got to the sword-fighters arena and immediately wanted to step away. My skin itched in the same way it did after a long day at the beach and sand had entered places it shouldn’t, the kind that you needed a hot shower to remove. 

Whatever was in that arena, it was wrong. 

And then I saw Luke. He was working solo, whaling on battle dummies with a sword I'd never seen before. It must've been a regular steel blade, because he was slashing the dummies' heads right off, stabbing through their straw-stuffed guts. Typically, the celestial bronze of our weapons took longer to affect mortal objects. The armor would clang, sure, but the first hundred or so swipies would pass right through the dummies. 

They were only dummies, but I still couldn't help being a bit uneasy. Luke always seemed so calm and brotherly, at least on the outside. This side of him was…

He saw me, and stopped mid-swing. "Percy."

"Um, sorry," I said, embarrassed at being caught. "I just—"

"It's okay," he said, lowering his sword. "Just doing some last-minute practice." Now that his sword wasn't swirling around, I could see that there was something wrong with it. The blade was two different types of metal—one edge bronze, the other steel. 

Being near it just made my skin itch worse. 

Luke noticed me looking at it, and I hoped my expression was schooled enough that he didn’t realie I knew anything was wrong. "Oh, this? New toy. This is Backbiter."

"Why?"

Luke turned the blade in the light, not really seeming to hear me. "One side is celestial bronze. The other is tempered steel. Works on mortals and immortals both."

"I didn't know they would make weapons like that." As far as I knew, Chiron’s policy was non-violence against mortals. Even if a few of them deserved to be punched in the face. 

"They probably can't," Luke agreed, his smile shifting away from his eyes and more into his teeth. I tensed at the threat. "It's one of a kind."He slid the sword into its scabbard and suddenly it was like the old Luke was back. He was still . "Listen, I was going to come looking for you. What do you say we go down to the woods one last time, look for something to fight?"

I don’t know why I wanted to go. Luke had always been one of Annabeth’s people, someone she’d try to get me to be friendly with and that I only really tolerated for her sake. And yet something was pushing me to go. "You think it's a good idea?" I asked, still hesitating. 

"Aw, come on." He rummaged in his gym bag and pulled out a six-pack of Cokes. "Drinks are on me."

I stared at the Cokes, wondering where the heck he'd gotten them. I was not heavy into soda like a lot of other kids my age, but if there was one thing I couldn't resist it was a Coke. Cherry Coke and I might have actually drooled, but the regular stuff was enough to break the last of my resolve as is. 

Maybe he just wanted to connect for Annabeth's sake, so when he came back next summer it wasn't as awkward. I could work with that. 

"Sure," I decided. "Why not?"

We walked down to the woods and kicked around for some kind of monster to fight, but it was too hot. All the monsters with any sense must've been taking siestas in their nice cool caves. I could smell faint traces of them on some of the trails, but they hadn't been through for a long time. 

We found a shady spot by the creek and sat on a big rock, drank our Cokes, and watched the sunlight in the woods.

It was actually sort of nice, sitting with someone in silence. I was curious where the naiads were, usually they liked quiet moments like this and would come say hi. 

After a while Luke said, "You miss being on a quest?"

“With almost dying every ten minutes to a new kind of monster?” Without everyone judging me and faking being my friend? “Parts of it. At least now I know my mom's alive.” 

A shadow passed over his face and I was forcefully reminded of the sandy feeling that I had been ignoring since the arena. I was tempted to look down at my arms, check to see if the skin was as rubbed raw as it felt. 

"I've lived at Half-Blood Hill year-round since I was fourteen," he told me. And for a moment what he was saying reminded me of Annabeth wanting a quest so badly, to prove herself. Did camp not welcome him back? Did he not receive his laurels? And what about his questmates?

He crumpled his Coke can and threw it into the creek, rolling his eyes when I immediately reached down to grab it. “Don’t bother, Percy. The nymphs won’t be able to take their petty revenge on me.” 

“You’re leaving.” 

Luke gave me a twisted smile to which I bared my teeth. "Oh, I'm leaving, all right, Percy. I brought you down here to say good-bye."

He snapped his fingers. A small fire burned a hole in the ground at my feet. Out crawled something glistening black, about the size of my hand. A scorpion. "I wouldn't," Luke cautioned. "Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You'll be dead in sixty seconds."

It hit me then what Luke had been trying to do all summer, what place he was trying to make for himself in my life. You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend. Not who I call a friend, who called me one. 

“Time to show your true colors then?”

He stood calmly and brushed off his jeans.

The scorpion paid him no attention. It kept its beady black eyes on me, clamping its pincers as it crawled onto my shoe.

"I saw a lot out there in the world, Percy," Luke said. "Didn't you feel it—the darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? I thought that you might have already been touched by it, you always were a bit different to the rest of us."

I snarled and let my facade drop, pleasure rolling through my shoulders as he actually took a step back away from me. The scorpion paused on my ankle. “You know nothing about me.” 

“I might not, but my master does. He’s very interested in you, Percy, but I don’t think you’ll listen. You’ve never really been fooled, have you? I thought I was making progress but your face when you saw Backbiter…” 

“The Crooked One got you in your dreams, is that it? He got you to steal the master bolt. Did he tell you to steal the helm too or did you come up with that on your own?” 

Luke's eye twitched. "He spoke to you, too, Percy. You should've listened." And like any Disney Villan, he began his monolouge. Of his plans, of his ‘rightceous’ anger. How it was worth throwing away Thalia’s sacrifice to get him and Annabeth here safely, how it was worth abandoning Annabeth. Just like her dad. Like her mom. 

The creek churned with my rage, though Luke was too involved in his own head to notice. "The flying shoes were cursed," I said. "They were supposed to drag me and the backpack into the Pit. But you almost sent Grover in instead, your old protector."

"He wasn’t my protector, all he cared about was Thalia! I was a tagalong! And you, you gave the shoes to the satyr, which wasn't part of the plan. Grover messes up everything he touches. He even confused the curse." Luke looked down at the scorpion, which was now sitting on my thigh. "You should have died in Tartarus, Percy. But don't worry, I'll leave you with my little friend to set things right."

"Thalia gave her life to save you," I said, gritting my teeth. "And this is how you repay her?"

"Don't speak of Thalia!" he shouted. "The gods let her die! That's one of the many things they will pay for." He looked like he was going to say something else, but then his face closed off.  "Good-bye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it."

He slashed his sword in an arc and disappeared in a ripple of darkness.

The scorpion lunged.

I reached out to swat it. 

Something lunged from the darkness and sliced threw the scorpion, a whir of black. When the world focused enough for me to see the shape of the being holding the sword, I could feel a feral grin spread across my face to match his own. 

I lunged. 

Nico had apparently been training as much as I had, because he immediately moved to trip me and moved his body out of the way instead of running. I was still bigger than him by a bit, he was only ten after all, but his excitement reminded me of a puppy and so I let him eventually get me on the ground. 

“I did it!” he exclaimed proudly while Bianca laughed from the shadows, and I was sure he was looking at her for approval. This is how you do siblings, right? You let them win sometimes?

I growled playfully and rolled out from under him while he was distracted. “How did you get out? I…we were in front of your dad and we didn't have time to get to you.” I rubbed the back of my neck, and I had to force myself not to pick at my scales. “I only had enough pearls for the three of us.” 

Bianca skipped over and gave me a hug, her scent oddly covered by something faintly pomegranate. “It's okay, we were never going to get out. Our Father came for us as soon as you disappeared, or at least he directed us towards somewhere safe while he dealt with you. He wanted to send us back to the hotel. Wipe our memories.” 

I growled lowly at the thought and reached out to grab Nico. He was very happy to stand there while I nuzzled his hair and Bianca just put a hand up when I went to do the same to her. 

“Our Step-Mother is Queen and She holds the right to oversee any decisions about Underworld citizens. Our Father might have the realm, but She is the one who controls its people.” Bianca dropped to sit on the ground, beaming. “She said we could keep our memories and be trained in the Underworld until we're ready to rejoin society.” She giggled. “Apparently she also believes in field trips. She quite likes the term.” 

Nico nodded enthusiastically and plopped right next to her. She reached out to pet his hair, making him rumble gently. 

“Is She watching us?” Not that I minded that much if She was going to let them see me, but I didn't like the thought of someone watching me without my knowledge. 

“No,” Bianca said. “Camp is the only place She'll leave us without her and She's been Called.” 

I flinched as I looked back to where the scorpion had been, now just a puddle of tar. “Do they know…?” 

“About you? I don't think so. The Charioteer announced that the prophecy would be coming to fruition soon, so they wanted to be prepared when it did.” 

I huffed. “How am I supposed to convince everyone that Luke was the thief? Yeah he's a son of Hermes, but stereotypes aside there is no evidence. You kind of killed all I had.” 

“Did you want to die?” Bianca raised an eyebrow at me. 

I growled in frustration. “No, but at least I could have proved it!” 

“How? You would have been dead!” 

“You don't know that!” 

Nico sat up glaring at us. “You two need to stop fighting. Here.” He pulled out his sword and before we could question what he was doing, he sliced a decent sized hash in my calf. 

It took a second for the pain to hit, but when it did I had to bite through my tongue to keep from swearing. As it was, I was sure I was making a lot of noise. 

Nico didn't seem phased in the slightest and just put his sword back in the shadows. “You should get help. We’ll make sure you don’t die before you get to camp.”

“What did you do?” Bianca reached over to my wound, her hands lighting on fire to quickly cauterize it. Mostly what she did was make it hurt more and almost make me pass out. “Sorry, sorry. I’m not very good at this yet.” 

“Now he has evidence he got attacked! As far as they're aware, Luke was the only one out here!” 

I growled lowly as I started losing the ability to talk through the pain. The wound itself felt like that one time we lost power in the winter and I ended up with frostbite, while where Bianca had tried to help was on fire. Still smoldering.  I tried standing to head to Camp, but my body just felt so heavy. 

“I’m sorry,” Bianca whispered as she pulled her brother into the shadows. 

I finally screamed. 

I think I blacked out at one point. All I can remember is flashes of green hair and panicked eyes. 

There was Kiron, his arms reaching for me. 

I managed to whisper the traitors name before I was back in the darkness.

I woke up with bees buzzing in my brain and a drinking straw in my mouth. 

Nectar. 

I really didn’t want to open my eyes but I knew I wasn’t alone, their scents spreading throughout the room from their worry. I groaned as I forced myself to look around. I was propped up in bed in the sickroom of the Big House, my leg completely wrapped like I had broken it.

Argus stood guard in the corner. Annabeth sat next to me, holding my nectar glass and dabbing a washcloth on my forehead.

"I didn’t take you for the nursing type.”

"You idiot," Annabeth said, which is how I knew she was overjoyed to see me conscious. "I had to make sure you didn’t die! That cut on your leg…"

“Now, now,” Chiron’s voice said. “Percy is safe, child.” He was sitting near the foot of my bed in human form, which was weird. His scent was muted like that, maybe that's why I didn't realize what he was? Back at Yancy? He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale, the way it did when he'd been up all night grading Latin papers. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a Popsicle."

"Apt, considering that was Stygian Iron that you were cut with. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened."

Between sips of nectar, I told them everything that happened with Luke, up until the part with the Scorpion. I changed it to him summoning something that cut me, but I was too out of it to see what it was.

The room was quiet for a long time but clearly something else was going on. Chiron eventually had to go, leaving me with a steaming Annabeth who looked like she could melt the ice in my drink with her glare. 

“Um…I didn’t exactly tell the whole truth.”

And then her glare was on me. I hated how her eyes narrowed like she already knew what I was going to say before I said it. “So Nico and Bianca decided to stop by… think their stepmom is meeting with Chiron right now.” 

Annabeth seemed like she would be the kind of girl to hate swearing but the words that came out of her mouth in ancient Greek were so filthy I was tempted to cover my ears. She finally settled on huffing and sitting on the bed with a pout. “So Nico did this.” 

“How do you know it wasn’t Bianca?”

“Did you do something stupid?”

“No.”

“Then it wasn’t Bianca, she seems smart enough not to hurt someone unless she’s really pissed.” 

I rolled my eyes at her. “You just think that because she’s a girl.”

Annabeth stuck her tongue out at me and we both grinned, before it slipped off her face with the clock announcing the hour. 

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Nothing." She set the glass on the table. "I … just took your advice about something. You … um … need anything?"

"Yeah. Help me up. I want to go outside."

It probably wasn’t the best idea, especially because it just showed off the few inches Annabeth had on me. I was also completely useless at walking as my leg refused to cooperate with me, basically dragging next to me as dead weight. 

Annabeth didn’t seem to mind carrying my extra weight; she had far more training than me after all and her arms showed it. I had heard some of the older kids talking about how girls with muscles were weird and I kind of wanted them to meet Annabeth so she could knock them on their asses.

Eventually we got to the porch railing, allowing me to lean on it instead of her. 

“What are you going to do?”

I shrugged. “I think Chiron wants me to stay here year-round, thinks the world out there is too dangerous for me or something. Plus all that time training? No one would get the better of me again.” I nudged her shoulder with mine and she purposefully ignored me. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “Maybe I should, but I don’t think I could stay. You’ll just have to survive the school year without me I’m afraid.” 

Annabeth pursed her lips, then said quietly, "I'm going home for the year, Percy."

I stared at her. "You mean, to your dad's?"

She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia's pine tree, at the very edge of the camp's magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted—two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blond hair. They seemed to be waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver.

She explained how she had sent a letter when we got back and they’d been writing, since she wasn’t sure if she was ready for a phone call. They’d decided it was time for a second chance, and her dad had promised that this time things would be better. She wrung her hands as she looked at me, before throwing her arms over my shoulders and pulling me into a hug. “We’ll go on a quest next summer, okay? Go after Luke, even if we have to sneak out to do it.”

I hugged her back as tightly as she did me. “Deal.”

She pulled away with a cheeky smile. "Take care, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told me. "Keep your eyes open."

"You too, Wise Girl." And like that, I knew I was headed home to my mom.

<Prev Master Post Next>

[starstwinkleplanetsshine]

Daughter of the Sea

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Beginning of the End (Read on AO3 here)

August 1st came. Seventeen days until our sixteenth birthday. 

And then the 8th. Ten days. 

The whole camp seemed to vibrate at ever-higher frequencies, everyone’s fingers on a hairpin trigger. Campers wore their armor from the time they woke up to the time they fell asleep, their weapons always by their side. People made confessions of love, asked for forgiveness for past offenses (except for the Apollo/Ares feud going on), and gave longer hugs. We all knew our days were numbered, and sooner than we would like, the final battle would come, and nothing would ever be the same. 

The end of the world started when my brother walked out of the Long Island sound onto the deserted beach. 

Deserted, except for me. 

“Percy!” I squealed as I rushed forward and flung my arms around him. I had a strange feeling about an hour before that I needed to go to the beach, that my brother would return that afternoon. I had learned to listen to my twin intuition, it usually never let me down. 

I could tell something was very, very wrong as soon as I saw him. He stood still as I hugged him, his arms limp at his side. When I pulled away to look at him, his face was sullen and his eyes were puffy. A sinking feeling filled my chest. 

“Oh gods, Percy. Did…” 

He shook his head. I stepped away. 

“I’m so sorry.” 

“The mission was a success. We blew up the ship. But Beckendorf—” his voice broke, but he gathered himself, "Beckendorf didn’t make it off in time. I couldn’t save him.” 

“He knew the risks.” I didn’t know what else I could say. “He’s a hero.” 

Percy’s face was as hard as stone. 

“I saw dad.” He said flatly. “I saw his Kingdom. His palace.” I fought back a pang of jealousy. “The war down there is pretty bad, they’re not doing well. Oceanus is getting closer and closer, and I’m not sure how much longer—” 

The sound of a conch shell rang out across the sand. 

“Shit.” Percy breathed out. Our reunion was about to be crashed. “Who’s on lookout?” 

“Connor.” I said, glancing back at the tree I knew the Stool brother was hiding in. Sure enough, he was climbing down it and quickly clambering over the sand dunes. He would be at our side in no time. 

“I’ll fill you in later.” He looked back at the water and rubbed his eyes. “Ange?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m glad you’re the first person I saw.” 

I gave him a weak smile and placed my hand on his arm. Thankfully, he didn’t pull away. 

The dark-haired son of Hermes was by our side quickly, wearing his usual crooked grin and bounding excitedly. 

“Percy!” he yelled. “What happened? Where’s Beckendorf?” And then he saw Percy's dark expression, and his smile melted. "Oh, no. Poor Silena. Holy Zeus, when she finds out . . ."

“Let’s get Percy to the Big House.” I interrupted, and Connor nodded, seeming to get the message. We climbed the sand dunes together, and soon enough we could see campers about a hundred yards away, running up to us excitedly. By the time we made it to the dining pavilion, Percy stopped walking and faced the throng streaming toward us. 

“No use trying to hide anything.” He said, his voice burdened. 

As I waited for the crowd to reach us, I looked out across the valley and thought about what Camp looked like when I first saw it, what felt like a thousand years ago. 

From the dining pavilion, you could see pretty much everything. Hills ringed the valley. On the tallest, Half-Blood Hill, what once was Thalia's pine tree stood with the Golden Fleece hanging from its branches, magically protecting the camp from its enemies. I thought of the stories Percy told me about how they retrieved it. The guard dragon Peleus was so big now I could see him from here—curled around the tree trunk, lending up smoke signals as he snored.

To my right spread the woods. To my left, the canoe lake, one of my favorite places at camp, glittered and the climbing wall glowed from the lava pouring down its side. Twelve cabins—one for each Olympian god—made a horseshoe pattern around the commons area. Farther south were the strawberry fields, the armory, and the four-story Big House with its sky blue paint job and its bronze eagle weathervane.

I had only been here for a year, and sometimes that fact caught me by surprise. It had all become so normal, this crazy world of monsters and gods that I once thought were just stories but now knew were very, very real. Sometimes it was hard to remember what my life was like before I found out who I really am. 

In some ways, the camp hadn't changed. But you couldn't see the war by looking at the buildings or the fields. You could see it in the faces of the demigods and satyrs and naiads coming up the hill.

There weren't as many at camp as even a year ago, and Percy told me that it was even less than it had been four summers ago, when he arrived. Some had left and never come back. Some had died fighting. Others—though we tried not to talk about them—had gone over to the enemy.

The ones who were still here were battle-hardened and weary. There was little laughter at camp these days. Even the Hermes cabin didn't play so many pranks. It's hard to enjoy practical jokes when your whole life feels like one.

Chiron galloped into the pavilion first as the campers opened a path for him. He had been letting his beard grow out over the summer, and only then did I realize how wild it had gotten. 

"Percy!" he said. "Thank the gods. But where . . ." 

Annabeth ran up right past him and grabbed Percy’s arm, not caring that she interrupted Chiron.

She looked a mess. They were all doing so many combat missions recently, she hardly had any time to think about her appearance, much less trying to look good. Her curly blonde hair was a tangled mess and there were perpetual dark circles under her stormy gray eyes. But even so, I watched as my brother’s eyes lit up as he saw her. I saw the way he stood up a little straighter as she ran towards him. I wondered if the two of them would ever get through a conversation without trying to strangle each other, and if they did, maybe something beautiful could come of it. 

"What happened?" Annabeth grabbed Percy’s arm. "Is Luke—"

"The ship blew up," he said. "He wasn't destroyed. I don't know where—"

Silena Beauregard pushed through the crowd. Her hair wasn't combed and she wasn't even wearing makeup, which hadn’t been weird for Annabeth, but definitely wasn't like the daughter of Aphrodite.

"Where's Charlie?" she demanded, looking around like he might be hiding.

My heart sank, and I saw Percy glance helplessly at Chiron. Annabeth seemed to notice, too, because she started shaking her head, looking at me as she put her hand over her open mouth. 

The old centaur cleared his throat. "Silena, my dear, let's talk about this at the Big House—"

"No," she muttered. "No. No."

She started to cry, and then broke into sobs, and the rest of us stood around, too stunned to speak. The energy in the pavilion dropped from frantic to sullen in a matter of moments, like the air was sucked out of the entire world. We'd already lost so many people over the summer, but this was the worst. With Beckendorf gone, it felt like someone had stolen the anchor for the entire camp.

Finally Clarisse from the Ares cabin came forward. She was dressed in her blood red combat armor, her brown hair tucked into a bandana. She was as big and beefy as a rugby player, with a permanent scowl on her face, but in that moment there was no one else that could’ve comforted Silena. They had one of the strangest, but coolest, friendships at Camp and she put her arm around her, speaking gently. 

"Come on, girl," she said. "Let's get to the Big House. I'll make you some hot chocolate."

Everyone turned and wandered off in twos and threes after that, heading back to the cabins. Nobody was excited to see Percy now. Nobody wanted to hear about the blown-up ship.

Only Annabeth, Chiron, and I stayed behind.

Annabeth wiped a tear from her cheek. "I'm glad you're not dead, Seaweed Brain."

"Thanks," he replied numbly. "Me too."

Chiron put a hand on Percy’s  shoulder. "I'm sure you did everything you could, Percy. Will you tell us what happened?"

Percy sighed heavily, like just thinking about reliving everything caused him pain. But even so, he started to speak. 

He told us about what had happened on the boat, and his confrontation with Kronos. I shivered remembering my own conversation with the Titan just a month before. He told us about the dream he had while he was passed out—seeing the Titans on Mount Othrys talking about explosions and storms and the gods answering their challenge. He said he saw Krios, Atlas, and another golden Titan Percy didn’t recognize. And then he explained how he had been woken up underwater by our half-brother, Tyson, and brought to our father's palace. When he stopped talking, I got the sense that there was something he wasn’t telling us, but I didn’t think it would be a good idea to bring it up in front of Chiron. 

There was a long silence before the centaur spoke, his voice sounding ancient. "We must call a war council immediately, to discuss this spy, and other matters."

"Poseidon mentioned another threat," Percy said. "Something even bigger than the Princess Andromeda. I thought it might be that challenge the Titan had mentioned in my dream."

Chiron and Annabeth exchanged looks, like they knew something I didn't. I hated when they did that.

"We will discuss that also," Chiron promised.

"One more thing." My brother took a deep breath. "When I talked to my father, he said to tell you it's time. I need to know the full prophecy."

Chiron's shoulders sagged, but he didn't look surprised. "I've dreaded this day. Very well. Annabeth, we will show Percy the truth—all of it. Let's go to the attic."

When we got to the big house, Chiron told Annabeth and Percy to go into the attic and retrieve the prophecy. Then he turned to me. 

“Go and tell Carsen to call a war meeting, and if you pass any senior counselors on the way, inform them and send them to the War Room, immediately.” 

I nodded and ran out of the big house as fast as I could, not wanting to argue. As I flew by the infirmary I risked a glance inside, but wasn’t surprised to see it empty. I knew Cady wouldn’t be in there, she usually took the night shift and spent her days training the rest of her cabin, but it still would've been nice to see a friendly face. I shook my head, reminding myself I had a task to do, and ran towards the center of camp. 

I didn't stop until I reached the lookout tower, a giant structure resembling a treehouse in the heart of camp that overlooked the whole valley. From the top of it, you could see just about anywhere in the Camp, including its borders. Since I arrived, it was always manned, day and night, with a camper stationed to look for possible threats. It was also the place that they sounded the conch from, signaling meals and other events.

I looked up at the massive structure that stretched into the sky, took a deep breath, and began climbing the wooden ladder. I hated doing it, and I hated heights, since every foot into the air brought me closer and closer to Zeus' domain. But the Lord of the Sky hadn’t blasted me with a lightning bolt for climbing the tower yet, and I figured he had bigger problems to worry about than watching his pesky niece encroach on his territory. 

I reached the top, panting and sweaty, and found Carsen sitting with binoculars up to her eyes. The daughter of Hermes had light hair which she usually wore in a ponytail with freckles on her cheeks. She had been at camp longer than me, and although she was quieter than her siblings and liked to keep to herself, I knew her to be kind and wicked with a sword. She whipped around when she heard me, her weapon in her hand and ready to strike. 

“Angie?” I got the sense she wasn’t used to people in the tower with her. 

“Hey, Carsen. Chiron sent me. We need to call a War Council.” 

She nodded solemnly and picked up the large conch that sat on a low shelf. I felt a thrum of power radiate from the shell, like I always did when I was around anything from the sea. She raised it to her lips and let out three short and very loud calls—a signal that all senior counselors would recognize. A signal that would send them straight to the war room. 

“Thanks.” I said with a weak smile as I turned to start my trek back down the tower. Once the conch sounded, we only had minutes to get to the Big House before the meeting started. 

“No problem…Angie?” 

I turned back to her. 

“Is it true? About…about Beckendorf?” 

My heart sank into my stomach hearing his name. I had no idea how word had reached Carsen already way up in her tower, but I didn’t ask. I just nodded. 

“Yeah.” 

She looked down and let out a heavy sigh, muttering a phrase under her breath. “May his soul find rest in Elysium.” 

I didn’t realize she had spoken in Ancient Greek until she switched back to english. “I’m glad Percy made it back, though.” 

I nodded, turning once again and climbing out the hole that functioned as a door. “Me too.”

[phoenix--flying]

more out of context fic ss

the other one here(different fics)

This is like camera recordings from cabin seven :)

Chase Keys (OC, son of Apollo) : “I got this from a cyclopes” Unknown speaker, off-screen : “You got that from a car accident Chase” Chase : “The cyclops caused the car accident, Theodore”

Lee Fletcher (Canon, son of Apollo), off-screen: “As you can tell, she’s gotten our fathers dramatic flare.” Rowan White (OC, daughter of Apollo) : “Should I be insulted by that?” Lee, off-screen: “Do you want to be?” Rowan : “Not Really”

Blake Summer (OC, son of Apollo) : “I’m a year-round camper, I kinda sorta suck at archery.” Will Solace (Canon, son of Apollo), off-screen : Lies! Michael Yew (Canon, son of Apollo), off-screen : Lies and slander!

Michael, off-screen: “Here we see the infirmary. The natural habitat of the reclusive medics.” [He zooms into the desk, blond hair can be seen over the chair] Chase, off-screen: “Lee Fletcher, the head medic.”

Luke Castellan (Canon, son of Hermes), off-screen: “Lee the cameras still recording.” Lee, off-screen: “What? Oh. Son of a b-”

Luke, off-screen: “Of course they did. What do you think Poseidon’s gonna turn Percy into? Unknown speaker, off-screen : “Because that’s not morbid.”

Luke : “Get out of the water pyscho.” Lee : “Whatever, dad.” Luke : Might as well be.” [Lee snorts] Lee : You’re ‘round more then my actual dad.”

Unknown speaker, off-screen : “Cecil be careful, you’re going to fall off the bed.” Cecil Markowitz (Canon, unclaimed son of Hermes) : “I’ll be fine Travis, what do y-” [Cecil screams as he falls off the bed] Travis Stoll (Canon, son of Hermes), off-screen: “I’ll be fine Travis.” [Travis mimics Cecil’s voice horribly] Cecil, off-screen: “Shut up!”

[Lee gives him an unreadable look, pointing his knife, apple slice stuck on the end, towards Luke]

this is so funny to me out of context??

Unknown speaker, off-screen : “Remind me why I agreed to this?” Michael, off-screen : “Because it’s fun. Live a little.” Travis, off-screen : “Yeah man, live a little.” Unknown speaker, off-screen : “We’re gonna get eaten you fucks.”

Michael, off-screen : “Go- Go!” Jake Mason (Canon, son of Hephaestus), off-screen : “What the fuck do you think we’re doing, Yew?!” Michael off-screen : “Well do it fucking faster!” Travis, off-screen : “Later! Try not to die Jake!” Jake, off-screen : “Fuck you!” Michael, off-screen : “Bye Jake!”

Luke : “Respect your elders kid.” Ethan Nakamura (Canon, unclaimed son of Nemesis) : “You’re nineteen.” Luke : “And? You’re thirteen.” Ethan : “You’re still nineteen. I wouldn’t call you elder.” Alabaster Torrington (Canon, unclaimed son of Hecate) : “I dunno man, I’d say he’s a pretty old man.”

Ethan : “Wh-” [Alabaster presses a finger to Ethan’s lips] Alabaster : “Hush now”

Luke : “Younger siblings.” Lee : “They’re not even-” Luke : “Younger. Siblings.”

Lee, off-screen : “How’s your first Camp Half-Blood Fourth of July? Better then last year?” [Kayla giggles, rolling her eyes] Kayla Knowles (Canon, daughter of Apollo) : “I’m from Canada! We don’t celebrate this!” [Lee chuckles, laying on he ground beside Will and Kayla] Lee : Ohh, that’s right. Totally forgot.

Alabaster : “Can I fight a god?” Luke : “You’ll lose.” Alabaster : “That’s not a no.” Luke : “It’s not.” Alabaster : “So I can fight a god?” Luke : “If you want to. But you’ll lose.”

Alabaster : “We’re hiding from responsibilities.” Chris Rodriguez (Canon, unclaimed son of Hermes) : “Wanna join us?” [Luke sits down beside Chris] Luke : “You four don’t even have responsibilities.”

Lee : “Reassurin’. You will call or IM or something if you need help?” Chase, off-screen : “Dude chill I’m not gonna get them killed or something.” Lee : “Not sure I believe that.”

Unknown speaker : “ ‘m glad I’m here too, ‘s good to be able to see you.” [She glances over at Michael] Unknown speaker : “You too, I guess.” [Michael rolls his eyes] Michael : “Love you too.” [Lee chuckles] Lee : “And you wonder why people think you’re actually related.” Unknown speaker : “Oh, shut up.”

Clarisse la Rue (Canon, daughter of Ares) : “Tell me right now that it’s lunch time or I am going to commit a murder.” [Lee snorts, getting up] Lee : “It’s lunch time.”

Chase : “Do we still have to be nice to Tantalus? Lee, off screen : “Look, I want to use him as target practice just as much as you, ~but~ he’s the activities director. We’ve gotta suck it up ‘n be nice.”

Jake : “Toss it up here, then you can get up here.” Michael, off-screen : “You want me to throw the camera?” Jake : “You’re the best archer in camp, you have aim that’s only rivaled by Artemis’s hunters. You’re telling me you can’t throw a camera a couple feet?” Michael, off-screen : “Lee will kill me if it breaks.” Jake : “Did you forget who my dad is? Dumbass. Give it here.”

[whatohitsonfirewelp]

stoll brother headcanons for the soul please

Here we go away for a second fucking time. Anon this is not directed at you but my fucked up Wi-Fi and I’m so very sorry you won’t ever get to see the original masterpiece.

Two hours I worked on that TWO HOURS

TW: mentions of war, death, blood, hinted child neglect and abuse. None of this is really discussed in detail until the very last hc, but that’s pretty tame.

Travis

Everyone seemed him as an open book. The brother who forgives without a second thought, who doesn’t have a care in the world.

That’s actually wrong. Kinda.

He does forgive easily, too easily, but he never forgets and because he never forgets there is a time when he’s pushed too far and will never forgive that person again.

Travis held onto to the hope that his father and mother do care for so long, longer than Connor.

The day he held Connor, who was bleeding out, was the day he gave up on his dad. The day something in Travis hardened when it came to their father.

It was when he found their mother, long after the wars but before he really left camp for good, that he stopped loving her. She had a new family, a new set of kids, one boy one girl. She had a husband and a house and a smile that was real. Her favorite blue dress no where in sight and those blue nails he could still remember were replaced by a shorter set with the color of peach.

He never told Connor about it. Never told him how he prayed and begged for his father to help, how he found his mother livings life without the sons she had given up on.

He loves, he will always love them. But Travis stopped thinking they’d ever love him. And his longing for them, his naive hope, died the same day Connor lived, no thanks to them

Travis will always back up Will Solance for this. He can never than the son of Apollo enough for saving his brother

Travis didn’t steal. Well, he did, but it wasn’t that simple. He was diagnosed with kleptomania when he was 23 years old

When Travis stills it’s not because he wants to, it’s because he can’t help it. He stopped trying to explain that once he turned 13, no one but Connor ever listened.

He hated it. Hated that he took things he didn’t even want, didn’t have a need for. It was the flowers in Katie’s hair, a stray paintbrush at the arts and crafts table, a box of bandages from Will, it was nothing but it was enough for him and his brother to gain a reputation.

Travis hates lying. Hates it more than anything.

He doesn’t lie, never could, hated the bitter taste of it on his tongue. He’s learned to talk circles around people, to say something that has a completely different meaning than they think.

It’s a habit that his siblings who he raises pick up from him, even those with a differently godly parent. They all learned he hates lying, but no one other than Connor knows why.

He always knows when someone is lying. Can feel it burn on his skin and leave a terrible taste in his mouth, even if the lie isn’t directed at him.

This gift from his father is more of a curse than anything else. And he’s so very thankful that no one other than his brother knows about it. He’s not sure he could stomach being used as a lie detector in any war.

When he goes to college at camp jupiter he tries to start fresh

It’s cutting his hair in different styles again and again until he’s so good at it others are coming up asking him to do theirs.

It’s coloring his hair, changing his outfits and listening to every genre of music there is, hoping that when he looks in the mirror he’ll finally feel at home

Despite how nice everyone is, now he isn’t out casted for being a child of Hermes, this place isn’t home. These people aren’t his family and they don’t want to be. It’s just as suffocating as camp half blood if a bit more manageable

Slowly he talks and less with everyone who isn’t Connor. He’s at college, he’s busy and so are they. They don’t have time for big brother Travis, they have their own cabins now. Their own responsibilities. And they’re getting use to not seeing him every day.

It hurts more than he wasn’t to admit

He goes through just about every major there as well until he somehow ends up deciding he wants to work with kids, when then transfers to him wanting to be a teacher

Connor

He’s the bitter brother. Less forgiving, more prone to snap and snarl. The one who people need to work to earn respect and forgiveness

Connor holds grudges easily, he is bitter and you do have to work to earn his forgiveness. But he always forgives in the end.

As he gets older it’s easier for Connor to move on, he’s shared his anger and hurt instead of ignoring it. He’s okay with where he’s at

Connor despite how much he hates his mother, father, and Luke knows he will never stop loving them

In a perfect world if given the chance, if they proved themselves to him, he’s forgive them for everything in a heartbeat

He hates his mom for leaving them without a second glance, hates her for hurting Travis, but he loves her. He loves the woman who held him when he cried, even if it was rare. He misses the woman who made pillow forts with he and Travis on stormy nights, if she was home.

His dad is and will always be complicated. Connor hates him for Luke, blames him for Luke. Blames him for he and his brother and their entire cabin becoming outcasts in the one place that should have been home. Hates his dad for letting them stay unclaimed for a year. Loves him for keeping Travis alive through not one but two wars. Loves him for never actually milking him despite the unkind thoughts Connor has had, has even shared with him in his anger.

Luke his big brother and Luke on the other side of the battlefield are two very different people in his mind. One he loves the other he hates

Connor ends up as a mechanic once he leaves camp.

Travis helped him find a trading school for it once Connor realized it’s what he wanted to do. Connor will never forget the smile on his brothers face the day he was accepted into the school and the day he had a makeshift graduation

Connor always loved pulling things apart to put them together again. But it was never something he could really explore at camp. He was a child of Hermes, and children of Hermes weren’t mechanics

Part of Connor decided to do it to spite his father another part to try and figure out who he was outside of his godly parent, outside of his cabin and camp

Somehow he reconnected with Leo Valdez, who ends up getting him to visit came again and help out with the next generation of demigods

Connor loves it. They accept him so easily and they look up to him. He’s a demigod who found a future that doesn’t have to do with his godly parent and if he mentions how his brother is a teacher despite being a child of Hermes than Travis never has to know

Connor doesn’t stay at camp often but he does make sure to visit

Connor never really cut off contact with everyone but he didn’t try to keep talking to them when they stopped

Part of it was because he was bitter on his brother behalf. They stopped talking to Travis. And maybe his brother didn’t really try to keep contact but Travis was never one to reach out first

But with time Connor ends up sending the birthday texts and does the odd Iris message here and there. If it goes unanswered than that’s not his problem

He’s in better connection with everyone mostly because of and through Leo though. Leo ends up as one of his closest friends, one of his only friends from the world of being a demigod

Connor hates Percy Jacobson

He will always stand behind Percy in war. Will always follow his lead. And he knows, he knows he shouldn’t blame Percy but he does.

Annabeth Chade had a new best friend when Percy came. She left camp, left what he had then considered home still. Left him, left the small makeshift family of year rounders (which had been such a smaller group before the war)

He’s the reason to many are dead. And really that’s not true. Connor knows it’s not Percy’s fault, that Percy blames himself already. But he hates him anyways

And the worst thing of all, he blames him for Luke. Not as much as he blames his father but he still blames him.

Percy Jackson is when his life took a turn for the worst and while the son of Poseidon had no real control Connor can’t help but to hate him

Both

It actually took a bit of time for the Hermes cabin to accept the

Despite staying unclaimed for a year it didn’t change the fact that they were full blooded brothers who weren’t twins. That for some reason Hermes went back even after Travis was born.

Everyone seemed to think this meant they were his favorites, or at least they were favored in some form by him

Travis was pretty sure their dad forgot who their mother was until he went home with her and came face to face with a baby Travis

When they became head counselor’s it was accepted at first. There was two of them, they weren’t even the oldest children of Hermes.

But they were the only year rounder then, the only ones who have been at camp nearly as long as Annabeth Chase.

They may have raised half the camp, they may have been The big brothers but no matter how much they loved their siblings they never truly felt at home in the Hermes cabin.

They each have a shoebox (that can magically expand) which holds the most important possessions they have, even if it’s mostly for memories

Travis has the first birthday card Connor ever made it. Connor was five and he was seven, he had always made sure to get and give something to Connor but on his seventh birthday for perhaps the first time Travis received a gift. A paper filled with a tiny hand prints and splatters of colors.

There’s also a flower, that he convinced Lou Ellen to preserve for him, that Katie had put in his year. A small reminder of a time when they didn’t hate each other’s guts. When they only had soft smiles for each other and bright eyes.

Travis has at least one card from every sibling. Which isn’t much, no one really paid attention to his or Connor’s birthday, but the fact that there were any at all meant the world to him

He has one picture of his mother and father, funny enough it has both of them. From before even he was born, both with smiles on their faces.

He has many pictures of everyone else in his life and only one with him. He’s with Connor and they’re caught mid-laugh, bandages wrapped all over them and there’s a finger cutting off a corner of it. Travis distantly remembers a laughing Will taking the picture.

Connor has an old stuffed bunny, he can’t remember when he first got it but he knows Travis is the one who gave it to him.

He has a origami flower, a gift from a son of Aphrodite. Connor’s not sure why he kept it but he’s never been able to throw it out

He has letters, letter after letter from Travis. All from when his brother left camp, some from his time in college and some from his time in the mortal world.

They have matching bracelets from their father

Neither have any idea what they actually do, if they do anything at all

Both say they keep it on, as a reminder of each other when apart. Something that shows how connected they are.

Which is true but it’s also nice to have a reminder that even if it was just once, their dad has thought about them.

It’s leather bracelets, with one green gem in each, and a small charm for their father. A shoe with wings.

They both hate strawberries

They never enjoyed them before camp. The fruit always either too sweet or too bitter

It always felt like no matter what every corner they turned there was a strawberry. Strawberry this strawberry that, at every meal every day. Loved by all campers except them.

The smells of strawberries brought them back to moments full of blood and screams. The color made them sick, too similar to the blood of their friends.

Strawberries reminded them of camp, of summer, of war and death. Strawberries was something they hate and would always hate.

[myopinionhi]

A Will Solace Character Analysis: the Underappreciated Soft Side

I've noticed many fanfictions have Will Solace OOC. So I’ve been thinking about aspects of Will’s personality fans seem to either gloss over or exaggerate. Here, this post is me doing an in-depth analysis explaining Will Solace’s canon personality in the books, and how it can sometimes differ from fanfictions. Sprinkled in this analysis are tips to fanfiction writers on how they write Will as more in-character.

There is one major aspect of Will that people seem to ignore or underemphasize. Nico best explains it when describing Will in this quote

Jason was a fighter. You could tell from the intensity of his stare, his constant alertness, the coiled-up energy in his frame. Will Solace was more like a lanky cat stretched out in sunshine. His movements were relaxed and nonthreatening, his gaze soft and far away. In his faded SURF BARBADOS T-shirt, his cutoff shorts and flip-flops, he looked about as aggressive as a demigod could get, but Nico knew he was brave under fire. During the Battle of Manhattan, Nico had seen him in action - the camp's best combat medic, risking his life to save wounded campers.

To sum it up, Will Solace is a very chill and calm character. A lot of writers make Will more irrational, impulsive, overbearing, and emotional than he actually is. Will is not the type of character to create drama unless he's, as Nico puts it, "under fire." In other words, the intense side of his personality doesn't come out unless the situation is urgent or dire.

Fans remember during the Second Giant War how he gets angry and argues with Nico over Nico's health and shadow-traveling, so many assume Will is going to be this fiery over a lot of other things regarding their relationship. For example, fanfic writers may make Will controlling or overly sensitive with Nico. However, keep in mind, Will gets heated with Nico during the Second Giant War because Nico's shadow-traveling is killing him. This is how Will describes Nico's dire state.

"Coach Hedge told me all about your shadow-travel. You can’t try that again."

"I just did try it again, Solace. I’m fine."

"No, you’re not. I’m a healer. I could feel the darkness in your hand as soon as I touched it. Even if you made it to that tent, you’d be in no shape to fight. But you wouldn’t make it. One more slip, and you won’t come back. You are not shadow-travelling. Doctor’s orders."

Will is a healer. When he touches Nico's hand, he can sense how little sleep and food Nico has been getting and how Nico's being taken over by darkness. Nico is on the verge of death and hasn't cared about his health for a long time. Nico is also stubborn about it, so Will has to be aggressive in order to save Nico's life. This aggressive behavior is not the norm for Will, but it can sometimes come out when he has to assert control in a life-or-death situation.

Will is a calming prescence. He's a diplomat. He stops violence on multiple occassions.

He's one of the few people who's able to calm Clarisse's violent rage, and he does so in a gentle manner.

Clarisse pointed her dagger at Rachel. "What about their allies, huh? Did you see that tribe of two-headed men that arrived yesterday? Or the glowing red dog-headed guys with the big poleaxes? They look pretty barbaric to me. It would’ve been nice if you’d foreseen any of that, if your Oracle power didn’t break down when we needed it most!"

Rachel’s face turned as red as her hair. "That’s hardly my fault. Something is wrong with Apollo’s gifts of prophecy. If I knew how to fix it –"

"She’s right." Will Solace, head counsellor for the Apollo cabin, put his hand gently on Clarisse’s wrist. Not many campers could’ve done that without getting stabbed, but Will had a way of defusing people’s anger. He got her to lower her dagger. "Everyone in our cabin has been affected. It’s not just Rachel."

One of the most underrated Will Solace moments is when he stops a bloody battle from happening between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter.  

But he knew it wouldn’t do any good. After weeks of waiting, agonizing and steaming, the Greeks and Romans wanted blood. Trying to stop the battle now would be like trying to push back a flood after the dam broke.

Will Solace saved the day.

He put his fingers in his mouth and did a taxicab whistle even more horrible than the last. Several Greeks dropped their swords. A ripple went through the Roman line like the entire First Cohort was shuddering.

"DON’T BE STUPID!" Will yelled. "LOOK!"

People are so used to seeing demigods, especially male demigods, being aggressive fighters that they can't wrap their heads around a brave and strong demigod who actively tries to avoid unnecessary conflict and destruction as much as he can.

And that's Will Solace's strength: he has the ability to prevent as much harm as possible.

Will is a difficult character to write. There's a lot of dueling factors with his personality. He's calm and pacifying while also being brave and assertive. He's fun and lighthearted while also being intelligent, logical, and grounded. He's laidback while also being responsible and hardworking. He's insecure but not melodramatic. He's very caring and protective but not pushy.

Will's personality confuses Nico sometimes too.

He’d always thought of Will as easygoing and laid back. Apparently he could also be stubborn and aggravating.

The trick to writing Will is to keep in mind his default personality is a soft and lighthearted character. Writers tend to overemphasize the hard side of his personality when his default personality is actually the soft side.

Think of the relaxing, lanky cat metaphor Nico uses for him. He and Nico bicker often, and it works for Will because he rolls with everything and doesn't take things too seriously. He's able to alleviate Nico's moodiness with humor, wittiness, groundedness, and patience. Nico affectionately calls Will a "dork" because Will usually keeps things light. Interestingly enough, he's able to be lighthearted without coming across as insensitive or an airheaded goofball, the latter of which is something Nico dislikes about Percy's personality. On a related sidenote, another way writers make Will OOC is they make him too dumb or too immature. I know I mentioned to focus on Will's soft side, but be careful to avoid that too. He's a SENSIBLE, lanky cat.

The way Will keeps his composure during a stressful situation by using laughter while still being mature is expressed well in this exchange with Apollo. (Yes, Will has a lot to manage.)

It was difficult to think of this young man as my son. He was so poised, so unassuming, so free of acne. He also didn’t appear to be awestruck in my presence. In fact, the corner of his mouth had started twitching.

“Are—are you amused?” I demanded.

Will shrugged. “Well, it’s either find this funny or freak out. My dad, the god Apollo, is a fifteen-year-old—”

“Sixteen,” I corrected. “Let’s go with sixteen.”

“A sixteen-year-old mortal, lying in a cot in my cabin, and with all my healing arts—which I got from you—I still can’t figure out how to fix you.”

“There is no fixing this,” I said miserably. “I am cast out of Olympus. My fate is tied to a girl named Meg. It could not be worse!”

Will laughed, which I thought took a great deal of gall. “Meg seems cool. She’s already poked Connor Stoll in the eyes and kicked Sherman Yang in the crotch.”

The fiercer side of Will's personality comes out only when the situation calls for it; this happens sometimes when he has to be a caring family member, a responsible healer, or a warrior in a dire situation. Even when he gets more forceful, he doesn't get more forceful than he has to.

Since Will has such a balanced and lighthearted personality, what are his flaws? What are the dark sides of his personality? There are four main things that stick out.

1. He's insecure about his self-perceived lack of abilities.

"I agree," Will said. "I wish I was a better archer … I wouldn’t mind shooting my Roman relative off his high horse. Actually, I wish I could use any of my father’s gifts to stop this war." He looked down at his own hands with distaste. "Unfortunately, I’m just a healer."

2. He sometimes struggles to endure the heavy responsibilities he has as a healer and as a protector to his family.

“I got it reattached,” Will told me, his voice shaky with exhaustion. His scrubs were speckled with blood. “I need somebody to keep him stable.”

I pointed to the woods. “But—”

“I know!” Will snapped. “Don’t you think I want to be out there searching too? We’re shorthanded for healers. There’s some salve and nectar in that pack. Go!”

I was stunned by his tone. I realized he was just as concerned about Kayla and Austin as I was. The only difference: Will knew his duty. He had to heal the injured first. And he needed my help.

3. He forces himself to bottle his emotions to keep his composure.

Will laughed under his breath. “I’m terrified. But one thing you learn as head counselor: you have to keep it together for everyone else. Let’s get you on your feet."

Here's a second example.

I rested my hand on Will’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back by dawn.”

His mouth trembled ever so slightly. “How can you be sure?”

4. He constantly worries about his loved ones.

Nico rested his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Apollo, we were worried. Will was especially.”

In conclusion, Will Solace's personality is difficult to get correct. But don't worry, if you write Will as a laidback, witty cat in your fanfics, I guarantee he'll be more in-character than many other fanfics with Will Solace.

(Note: I am only human. If you believe I'm misinterpreting some aspects of Will's personality, feel free to express it. What I say isn't 100 percent the right interpretation.)

[mari-writes]

☀️🏹🖤

Note: This is a drabble I wrote for a Haikyuu + Percy Jackson event on Twitter. Thought I’d share it on here, too. Of course I made it BokuAka, haha. Enjoy! ;)

//

Akaashi was anxious. 

This wasn’t too unusual—Akaashi was often in some state of worry. It was just part of his nature. 

His father, a salaryman from Tokyo, had passed down his tendency to overthink things, and even his mother’s godly gifts of wisdom and courage hadn’t been enough to cancel out those particular traits.

So yes, anxiety wasn’t uncommon for Akaashi, Son of Athena. 

But this was different.

Bokuto had disappeared from Camp Half-Blood earlier that afternoon. He had even missed dinner—and it had been barbecue, his favorite.

“Bokuto-san, where are you?” Akaashi cupped his hands around his mouth, amplifying his voice through the dense forest. His heart pounded hard in his chest, worry coursing through his veins.

Bokuto wouldn’t run off like this without telling him. They were best friends. Whenever Bokuto did anything, Akaashi was always at his side, at Bokuto’s request. That was just how it was.

Finally, as Akaashi approached the river on the edge of camp, he spotted him.

His friend was sitting on a large boulder half-submerged in the shallows. He was looking up at the sky, arms pulled close around his legs, which were pressed up to his chest. His feet were bare, shoes tossed aside on the shore, along with his signature orange camp shirt— 

Oh, he’s shirtless. Akaashi tried not to react to as he made his way over. But his eyes couldn’t help but soak in the boy’s rippling back muscles, sculpted from long hours of fight training.

Ordering himself to calm down, Akaashi tried to scramble up to join his friend. Bokuto offered his hand, which Akaashi gratefully took, allowing Bokuto to hoist him the rest of the way. 

He sat down, legs crossed, ignoring the thrill that shot through him as his knee touched Bokuto’s thigh. “What are you doing out here, Bokuto-san?” He asked, locking his gaze to the rushing water. “Are you okay?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Akaashi saw Bokuto shrug. “Not really. But it’s okay. I’m just… having one of my moods, you know.”

Yes, Akaashi did know. Bokuto’s erratic moods were known by everyone at camp. But he usually wouldn’t run off to be alone if he was feeling sad, or nervous, or grumpy. He’d let anyone in his immediate vicinity know, right away.

“Did something happen?” Akaashi kept his voice low and steady. “Please, talk to me.”

Taking a deep breath, Bokuto unfolded himself, stretching his legs over the boulder and leaning back on his palms. Akaashi’s eyes widened. The sun was dipping low in the sky, and through the trees its rays hit Bokuto’s skin, illuminating every dip and curve.

Akaashi gulped. It was unfair, how attractive his friend was. He seemed to shine—like a shooting star, or the sun itself.

Appropriate, Akaashi mused, for a Son of Apollo…  

“Do you think I deserve to be here, Akaashi?”

Akaashi blinked, tearing his gaze from Bokuto’s chiseled form. The boy’s brow was furrowed deep. “What do you mean?” Akaashi felt his face slip into a frown. “You’re a half-blood. Of course you belong here…”

Bokuto hummed, shoulders tensing. He shrugged again. “But… Do you think I’m good enough to be in that cabin?”

Akaashi was confused. “I’m not sure what you mean. You’re a son of Apollo. So you’re in the Apollo cabin.”

“Yeah, but…” Bokuto interrupted, voice raising in pitch. “Maybe I’m just a third-blood, or something? Maybe I don’t have as much of his lineage in me than I thought…”

Akaashi leaned in, trying to catch his friend’s eye. “You’re an incredible archer, Bokuto-san, and your sword fighting is unrivaled…”

“Those are just physical things.” Bokuto’s lip juts out into a pout. “Anyone could be good at those with practice.”

Akaashi pondered his words. “You’re a natural at healing…”

“But there are so many other things I’m just not good at!” He threw a hand up in frustration. “I can’t understand music theory at all! And I’m just not smart, in general. I hate reading and philosophy is so boring. I can’t concentrate, I get anxious all the time when we have to memorize things…”

Akaashi couldn’t stand to see his friend like this. What had brought this on? Had he failed a task? Had someone said—

“They said I’m too stupid to be Apollo’s.”  

The words sank into Akaashi slowly. When they finally solidified, he felt his fingers, which he’d been fiddling with absently, curl into fists.  

“What?! Who said that?!”

“A couple of my cabin mates. I heard them.” Bokuto continued. “They said I’m not well-rounded enough. That I’m a ‘meathead,’ whatever that means. One of them said I wasn’t worthy of my dad’s lineage…”

Fire burned inside Akaashi, anger welling up from his belly to his throat. Involuntary thoughts began circulating, detailed battle strategies of how he was going to annihilate Bokuto’s cabin mates in the next Capture the Flag.

No, the chariot races! They would team up and leave them all in the dust! He would show those assholes not to mess with his friend…

“Akaashi?” Bokuto was looking at him with one eyebrow lifted. “What’s wrong?” Akaashi realized his face was probably betraying his emotions; he didn’t usually allow that to happen.

But gods, Bokuto’s own cabin mates—his siblings, had said such awful things about him! Who gave them the right? How dare they?

Huffing, Akaashi shook his head. “I’m fine.” He turned to face his friend, reached out and grabbed Bokuto’s forearm. “Bokuto-san.” He swallowed. There was so much he wanted to say. So much he absolutely adored about Bokuto, loved about him… But he had to focus.

Now was not the time for romantic confessions. 

“Listen to me. Yes, you are a son of Apollo. You do have some of his traits, and those make you a strong, capable demigod.” 

Bokuto opened his mouth, ready to protest, but Akaashi continued. “But Apollo is not all of who you are.” 

Bokuto cocked his head. “Huh?”

Akaashi smiled. “Your mother. The person who raised you and your half-sisters. The one who you told me was the most important person in your life, and maybe the whole world. What about her?”

Bokuto bit his lip. A small, crooked grin creeped onto his face, and his eyes seemed to glow. “Oh. Yeah. My mom’s pretty great.”

Akaashi nodded. “She’s caring, and always knows what to say when someone is feeling down or scared. She uplifts everyone around her.” 

Bokuto chuckled. “She does.”

“And so do you.” Akaashi squeezed his arm softly. “You’re all of those things, and more. You make us all want to be better people. I’m a better person for meeting you, Bokuto-san.”

The smile grew. “Yeah?” He turned towards Akaashi so that they were face-to-face. The sunset cut a shadow over half of Bokuto’s features. His eyes were wide; he seemed eager to hear more.

Akaashi leaned in. “Yeah. Those traits, not your godly ones, are my favorite things about you. They’re… why I like you so much.”

He watched in delight as his friend’s face bloomed red. “Really?”

Again, Akaashi nodded.

Bokuto was silent for a moment. He just sat there, eyes scanning Akaashi’s face rapidly, like he was figuring out some challenging equation. There was energy flowing between them, something Akaashi had never felt before. It probably had nothing to do with the fact they were half-bloods.

If Bokuto wasn’t in such a fragile state, Akaashi might’ve thrown caution to the wind and kissed him, right then and there. He was just so beautiful, so precious, brave, and good…

“We should head back,” Akaashi said, desperately trying to reign himself in. “The others will probably wonder where we’ve gone.”

He didn’t think it was his imagination that Bokuto’s face fell as Akaashi pulled back. But the older boy nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “Let’s go.”

//

I had so much more planned for this fic, but I totally burned out this past month because of my jobs. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! If so, please comment and share! <3

[rainecreatesstuff]

I saw a PJO/dsmp au over on Instagram and I was inspired to make my own so

Here’s the SBI + Bee duo to start :)

(btw all the characters here are mostly based off of their dsmp characters, not the actual ccs)

Tommy- Apollo kid. Can do that loud whistle thingy, and can sing very well. He can play a few instruments really well as well. His weapon of choice is a sword bc he thought it looked cool when he was ten and never looked back. He’s also fairly good with a bow tho bc Apollo. Didn’t really inherent any of the prophecy or healing stuff from his dad. Was orphaned at a super young age and juggled between foster homes for a while before he ran away at around nine years old. Lived on the streets with Tubbo for a while before being picked up by Wilbur and introduced to Phil, and taken into Camp Half-Blood (He took one look at Camp Jupiter and immediately went No <3)

Tubbo- Hephaestus kid. Obviously a great tinkerer, he‘ll spend a lot of time making cool little bots and contraptions. Has made an entire army of robees that help him when he’s working on bigger projects. Can’t control fire, but he does have an immunity to it. Makes him really good for working in the forges. He’s also stupid strong because he works in the forges so often. His weapon of choice is an axe. It was the first weapon he made after arriving at CHB and he’s become very well practiced in fighting with it. Also orphaned, Tubbo’s mom was from New Rome, but died during a monster attack while outside of the city. He was about ten when it happened, and took to the streets in a panic. He was presumed dead by New Rome. Ran around with Tommy for about a year before being found by Wilbur, then followed Tommy to CHB.

Wilbur- Also an Apollo kid, with an affinity for music and prophecy. Technically head counsellor of the Apollo cabin, but lives in the big house as a senior counsellor that oversees all the cabins and handles events and whatnot. His weapon of choice is a bow. His mother was pretty much out of the picture from a fairly young age, she dropped him off at CHB and he hasn’t heard from her since. He met Phil while on a field trip to New Rome, and Phil took Wil under his wing almost immediately. Phil would call him at least twice a week via Iris message, and they would exchange letters often as well. Phil also introduced him to Techno, who became a lot like a brother to Wil, and was soon added to the Iris messages and letters.

Phil- Second generation descendant of Zephyrus, Phil was born and grew up in New Rome. He went to Camp Jupiter when he was old enough, and then travelled for a while before settling down again with Kristin in New Rome. He works closely with Camp Jupiter, patrolling borders and helping with field trips between the camps as a chaperone. Though he doesn’t have wings like his grandfather, he still loves being in the air and has become really good with Pegasi and other flying monsters. He also inherited his grandfather’s generally chill personality, as well as his ability to suddenly become very threatening. While he is looked up to by many, he is also a fairly scary force when you’ve pissed him off. His weapon of choice is a sword, but he is also very good with a bow. He met both Techno and Wilbur while chaperoning events, and while Techno treated him more like a mentor, he fully regarded Wil as his son, and eventually legally adopted him.

Techno- A Mars kid. An incredibly skilled fighter with a terrifying aura. He is definitely capable of leading legions, but has turned down the role many a time because he hates the social responsibility that comes with it. His weapon of favour is a sword, but he is also very skilled with an axe and a crossbow. Stumbled upon Camp Jupiter when running from monsters, and was welcomed in. Met Phil at a sparring tournament when he was eleven, and decided he liked him, promptly challenging him to a duel. Phil defeated him, but was impressed, and became something of a mentor to Techno, though Techno was also always welcome to come by Phil’s house whenever he wanted or needed to. He was introduced to Wilbur when he visited one time, and the kid promptly adopted him as a brother and never looked back. He went to university in New Rome as an English major, dropped out, and started working with Camp Jupiter beside Phil, more as a strategist and patroller than a chaperone though.

Ranboo- An Aphrodite kid. Yes, I said it. Don’t shoot the messenger. While he doesn’t enjoy it, he can charmspeak, very well actually, and had to learn how to hold it back in certain situations. Wears a mask most of the time, simply because he can and it makes him feel safe and cool. After being severely injured by a monster when he was younger, Ranboo experiences memory problems, and cannot remember his past beyond being brought to CHB. This did however convince him to learn how to fight, and while he’s not the best fighter, he is still a very respected fighter at CBH. His weapon of choice is a sword. He has ridiculous luck, alternating between incredibly good and horribly bad; he once went on a quest and came back victorious, almost completely unscathed, and then promptly fell ill for a week with the flu. He arrived at CHB when he was thirteen after being found by a wandering satyr, horribly injured with no memories of his past or how he got injured. He became friends with Tubbo fairly quickly, and by extension, Tommy as well. Met Phil and became part of the unofficial family, and joins in on their weekly iris messages.

I’ll probably do a few posts like this bc they’re fun, and I really enjoy writing them :) I’m not sure which characters I’ll do next, feel free to recommend any tho! :)

[xbaepsae]

the ebb and flow | part two

“It’s probably foolish to engage in this trivial bickering with Jeongguk, but you can’t seem to help yourself. He always manages to get under your skin—knowing exactly what to say to tick you off.”

[demigod!jeongguk x demigod!reader]

genre: percy jackson!au, mythology!au, demigod!au, enemies to lovers!au, action

word count: 2.1k

rating: pg-13

warnings: capture the flag but demigod style (aka kind of dangerous), language, the reader and jk arguing A LOT lol

a/n: & here is part two. takes place two years prior to the first drabble! also, as an fyi, the series timeline will be continuing to jump around a little throughout each part (to help give context to the reader and jk’s relationship!). xoxo

→ series masterlist!

the third summer �� in which you don’t capture the flag

As a year-rounder at Camp Half-Blood, you’re used to not having that many campers being around all the time. Of course, you enjoy the stillness of the morning—if you ignore the nymphs who have nothing better to do than sing their hearts away—and the smaller classes, but there’s just something special about the bustle of full cabins and warm campfires.

So, when the summer session finally begins, you can’t wait to see all of your friends again. Since you don’t get to venture out into the real world all that often, except to visit your dad a few times a year, you listen intently to everyone’s stories. Like your friends, you wish that you had super interesting stories about near-death experiences with monsters; however, maybe not having any is actually a good thing.

“I was just casually walking down the street when this Fury just attacked me out of nowhere,” Haru explains with wide, animated eyes.

Your eyes part equally as wide, taking in every word that drips from her lips. “How did you escape?”

Haru smirks, highlighting the glossy pink of her lips. “Charmspeak.”

Although charmspeaking is a trait that children of Aphrodite can possibly possess, there aren’t actually that many demigods you know who have the ability. “That’s so cool! I can’t believe you and Seokjin can both do that!”

Sometimes, you wish that you had special abilities like other demigod children. All your mother gave you was the innate ability to strategize and create, which isn’t that helpful all the time. You voice this thought out loud to Haru, to which she just scoffs like you’re an idiot for even thinking that.

“Y/n, that is a great skill—it’s super helpful when you face adversity and during capture the flag, which is tonight by the way.”

A beat of excitement courses through your veins at the reminder.

The first capture the flag game of the summer is always an adrenaline rush. Not only does it set the tone for the rest of the season, but it also brings forth some interesting alliances. After all, everyone wants a good track record.

From what you heard in your cabin earlier, Athena was trying to form an alliance with Ares; in a sense, it would be an automatic win. Battle strategy and brute force is always a good match in any given situation. However, rarely does Athena and Ares play on the same team—both cabins are too competitive for that.

“Are you going to participate today?” you ask, nearly laughing at the scrunch of Haru’s face.

“I mean, I guess so,” she shrugs, but you aren’t convinced. Aphrodite’s cabin usually doesn’t partake in rougher activities. “Now that I know I can Charmspeak, I want to try it out.”

Haru does have a good point. You really want to see it in action too. “Why don’t you join my cabin?”

“I thought head counselor was the only one who could make alliances?”

“I mean, I’ll mention it to Jinyoung if you’ll mention it to Sora?” You smile, and Haru agrees with a laugh.

Later that evening, before dinner, Jinyoung collects you all for a quick debriefing. He agreed earlier to your proposition about Aphrodite joining your ranks; however, you are almost positive he only agreed because he kind of has a thing for Sora. He just doesn’t realize it yet.

“Okay, gang…the plans with Ares fell through—as expected—but do not fear,” he combs a hand through his blonde hair. “Tonight we have alliances with Aphrodite, Apollo…”

You zone out as he lists a few of the smaller cabins of the minor gods, already thinking about the best way to approach the game tonight. From what you can remember about the games that Ares has led, their flag isn’t placed somewhere tricky—they’re not super good at that. However, what are good at is defense; they’re not children of the war god for no reason.

“…and last but not least, I snagged Poseidon’s cabin!” Jinyoung finishes with a triumphant smile, like he’s so proud of his accomplishment. Unfortunately, you catch what he says and your stomach sinks, an irritated sneer already stretching across your face.

“You’re joking.” The words pass your lips without a second thought.

Jinyoung settles his eyes on you. “Now, y/n, I know you aren’t too fond of Jeongguk, but—”

“He’s insufferable,” you argue, interrupting him. “After what he did to me last year, I can’t stand him.”

“It’s just one game of capture the flag,” Jinyoung tries to console you. “From what Poseidon’s head counselor already told me, Jeongguk expressed the same feelings when our alliance was announced earlier.”

“Good,” you scowl. “As he should, that little punk.”

Realizing that he isn’t going to change your mind, Jinyoung continues with his debriefing as you mull over the thought of having to be on the same team as Jeon Jeongguk. In the past, you’ve both been on the same team a few times; but that was before all the arguing started. Before all the pranks and determination to beat each other surpassed everything else.

At dinner, you scarf your food down as you burn holes in the back of his head. Namjoon catches your intense stare and knows that he probably should leave you alone. By the time your cabin’s flag waves to the sound of the conch horn being sounded, you’re no longer feeling as heated by the idea of Jeongguk’s irritating presence.

Until he settles beside you on the pavilion.

“Go away, Jeon.”

“Is that really how you should speak to someone you haven’t seen in months? Much less, someone on your team?” he smirks with sparkling eyes, clearly enjoying your reaction.

“I don’t give a shit about you,” you narrow your gaze on him, before picking up a sword and shield that suddenly appears on the table. “So, would I care about how I speak to you?”

You can tell that he wants to say something else, but Chiron’s voice stops him. “Okay, heroes, you all know the rules. Like always, the forest is fair game, and the creek is the boundary line. You can use your weapons. Don’t kill anyone—gods forbid—and only two may guard the flag. I’ll be around if you all should need me.”

As everyone picks up their own weapons, Jinyoung yells for your cabin and alliances to follow him to the north while the other team heads south. Behind you, you can hear Jeongguk following closely, but you don’t spare him a single look. Instead, you turn to Haru.

“I’m glad you decided to join.”

“Yeah, Sora was super excited when I told her,” she says, and you both laugh. “Of course, I might’ve added a little white lie about Jinyoung personally wanting her on the team. I’m sure it’ll be fine though.”

Haru looks ahead and your eyes do the same, catching the pretty brunette walking alongside your head counselor. “I agree.”

When Jinyoung stakes the flag along the creek, much to the delight of Poseidon’s cabin, he motions you towards him. When you’re beside him, he says, “I want you and Jeongguk to guard the flag.”

Your mouth drops. “Jinyoung, I always play offense. What the Hades?”

“Let’s call this, a test, shall we?” his eyes bright under the setting sun.

“Is this because I questioned your judgement on having Poseidon’s cabin join our team?” you frown.

Jinyoung sighs. “Like I said, this is just one game, y/n. There are still plenty of Friday’s left in summer. You can retrieve the flag another day.”

Even though you abhor the idea of having to defend the flag with Jeongguk, you know Jinyoung’s right—it is just one game. You should trust the plan he has today—even if it’s different from the one you originally had in mind. “Fine.”

As the game begins, you settle close to the flag, eyes sharp and body on guard. You also make sure to stay a considerable distance from Jeongguk, not wanting to get distracted by his big mouth or annoying attitude. However, this proves to be difficult because he can’t seem to take a hint.

“What’s your strategy today, miss goody-two-shoes?” he asks, taking a step closer to you.

Turning to face him, you offer a glare. “Be quiet and watch for red.” You’re referring to the other team.

“Don’t you say that Athena always has a plan?” Is he mocking you?

“Athena does,” you reaffirm, crossing your arms over your chest. “What about Poseidon? Bet you don’t have a plan at all.”

Jeongguk shrugs. “Dad always relies on instinct, you know; going with the flow.”

You hated that so much. “That’s stupid and reckless. One should always have a plan.”

“Who needs a plan when you have water on your side?” And as if he’s trying to prove something, he begins to bend the water in the creek. The only reaction you have is to roll your eyes. Yes, being able to yield water is a beneficial skill, but—

“Jeongguk, you’re not always going to have water around,” you say, causing him to drop his act. “What in Zeus’s name are you going to do if you’re stuck in a fucking desert?”

“There’s water in the desert.”

“If you’re lucky.”

“Then, I guess I just have to be lucky.”

You can’t help but roll your eyes again. “You’re impossible. You would die in the desert.”

“What would you do in the desert?” he throws your question back at you. “I bet you can’t think of a plan off the top of your head.”

Jeongguk takes another step closer to you and for the first time, you realize that he’s taller than you this summer. In fact, he towers a few inches above you. When did that happen? Shaking the thought away, you proceed to answer his question. Little does he know, you’ve actually thought about this scenario; unlike him, you have a plan.

It’s probably foolish to engage in this trivial bickering with Jeongguk, but you can’t seem to help yourself. He always manages to get under your skin—knowing exactly what to say to tick you off. And in the heat of this back-and-forth, you fail to catch the movement within the trees. By the time your reflexes kick in, it’s already too late to have the upper hand in the situation.

From the corner of your eyes, Park Jimin lets out a battle cry as he suddenly leaps for the flag. For a son of Ares, he’s small and doesn’t seem like much; however, in the years you’ve known him, you know that he shouldn’t be underestimated. After all, he’s his cabin’s pride and joy.

“The flag is mine!” he yells, fingertips within reach of the gray flag.

“Oh, no you don’t Park!” you yell equally as loud, moving to step in front of him. Just as you bring your sword up, ready to force Jimin back, something strange happens. Suddenly, your feet are no longer on the ground. You’re being swept away—by water. Your entire bottom half is soaked. “Jeongguk!”

As your head falls underwater, you realize that Jeongguk used the creek in attempt to stop Jimin. However, why are you the one getting caught in the current? When you get out of this mess, you are so ending him.

After a moment, the water recedes, and you finally catch a breath. Jimin—who is completely dry, by the way—already has the gray flag in his hand and a triumphant smile is plastered on his face. Around him, his cabin begins to cheer and praise him. You’re irritated that the son of Ares managed to snag the flag from right under you, but you’re even more furious at the person who caused you to stumble.

By the creek, Jeongguk stares at you with wide eyes and parted lips—like he didn’t mean to almost drown you. You realize that the son of Poseidon tends to fuck up a lot in your presence because this isn’t the first time you’ve been drenched in water due to him.

“Holy Hera, what happened to you?” Haru suddenly appears in front of you, a confused expression across her face. “Why are you wet?”

If you weren’t so mad, you’d be shivering due to the cool evening. However, all you can see is red. “I am going toss him into Tartarus!”

By the murderous expression on your face, Haru doesn’t even need to know who you’re talking about. All she does is look at the son of Poseidon with pity as you begin charging towards him, probably with the intent of causing serious damage.

[thejudgingtrash]

@aph-usa-is-my-dad​ Thank you, thank you! 🙇🏽‍♀️

Alright lads, looks like it’s time for hot takes part III!

Here’s Part 1//Here‘s Part 2

Apollo won’t get Zeus position. Why is everyone wishing for that? And why should he? All of you really want to romanticize/project yourself onto him, huh?

Casual Reyna >>> praetor Reyna

Grover has the fattest ass in the Riordanverse, I don’t make the rules

People lack of basic reading skills part III

The fact that adults in New Rome let kids rule the fucking place is still mindblowing

Rick apologists are lame. People calling out shit isn’t an attack on you. Stop defending a product‘s/public figure‘s honor. Defending Rick Riordan is the equivalent of you defending the honor of a snickers bar. Dude doesn’t know you and dude doesn’t give a fuck about you. You are a walking dollar bill at best

Romans are still fucking wacky and despite Camp Jupiter being superior allegedly it’s a whole damn chaotic mess. Where are the supposed civilized Romans because I don’t see them?

Camp Half-Blood >>>> Camp Jupiter, especially when Percy trains in his summer vacations and beats praetor Jason’s goddamn ass who’s been training for 12 years

Why did Riordan even try to make Jason appear to come close to Percy’s level? The imbalance of power is so abundantly clear and makes Jason seem even smaller in that regard. Riordan is truly Percy’s biggest hater

The fact that CHB also glamorizes child soldiers in a more fun and relaxed way. Yikes

Nico is a white™ (again, he is European)

Rachel was annoying but didn’t deserve the blatant hate.

Annabeth should’ve had another possible love interest to spark some pissed Percy. Luke doesn’t count. Percy’s jealously revolves around (the possibility of) her not being around him (e.g. the hunters), not him ”losing“ her to someone else romantically speaking

Silena is the OG Aphrodite kid, fuck the rest

Amazons >> hunters by a slight margin. They’re also an awful bunch

The execution of the hunters is so bad omg, just let me revamp them, Ricardo

If a different take on a headcanon/characters really offends you/paint that much of a different picture of op, then I’m not sorry (only exception if the headcanon is based on discriminatory means. Someone saying they don’t like A and someone using slurs and being a douche are two different things)

The entire Aphrodite cabin is pan FYI

Team demigods who receive periods would probably be extra fucked when it comes to monsters and stuff. Let’s address this

Why exactly couldn’t the gods handle their own shit? Hunting monsters in your area makes sense as a demigod job. But stuff like retrieving Hermes‘ staff (especially when the dude is the speedy traveler guy) makes no goddamn sense

Let’s face it: Annabeth is the only good female character that Riordan pulled off. Also wasn’t she based off his wife? If so, that’s why.

The lack of irl examples for his POC and other women is abundantly clear as he can’t lure everyone from his environment into the stories especially because he has no irl connection to minorities. So he fabricated stuff/did his 5 mins of wiki and got it severely wrong. Clock that tea!

Camp Half-Blood t-shirts belong to the trash. Orange is Yellow‘s cousin and both are ugly to the max. Let’s just switch colors of both camps. Let the Romans deal with the hideous shit

Chiron and Paul are Riordan‘s self-inserts

Tbh giving Hazel super mist powers and tying Frank to Poseidon was stupid

Skater!Percy is pretty much canon but I just can’t envision it? The thought of it is cute and so 2000s but my brain goes fjfldlsöwlwbvd (and tbh gymnast!/dancer!/Parcours!Percy >>>>> skater!basketball!Percy)

People are forgetting that Percy is the unpopular kid both in the mortal realm and at camp and partially chose to be so? Let me remind you of the truth real quick

Beckendorf and Silena are the horny bastards of the Camp Half-Blood. Issa fact

The gods not really immortalizing Chiron and simply saying that he’ll live as long as he’s needed turned him into the cryptic fuck we all know. That’s why he barely helps out (On that note a tiny Chiron essay)

A headcanon, regardless of how popular it is, isn’t factual/reality. So fighting over different takes of the exact same issue is rather pointless but you do you. Some popular blog having an opinion with a large following doesn’t automatically negate your sentiment

Piper being ”unconventional“ as in hating make-up and being dressed up is in itself more than fine but the execution was lacking and her coming off as pretentious and annoying was the result

Piper also has no taste in men if she thinks that amnesia brick boy Grace > Percy. Just no. Lesbians claim haaa

If I see another Amandla or Zendaya or another biracial/lightskinned face claim for Hazel I will lose it

Everyone and their mother having a crush on Percy fuels them Gary Stu feelings, just saying

The fact that Riordan casually drops the abuse that Percy has suffered from like some fucking tic tacs just to never be spoken about should be a reason enough to whoop his ass

Not maturing and darkening HOO (there were good thoughts but also many whacky executions) was the biggest mistake Riordan had made. He should’ve went the Rowling route and transitioned from kids books to YA

The whole fire stick thing that Riordan ripped off from Meleager and slapped onto Frank was terribly executed

A lot of you people should open up more to jokes and not take everything all too seriously

The fact that people seriously ship/ped Reyna x Apollo is proof enough that this fandom should burn

Why do Luke discussions at this point still exist? You’re essentially glossing over the same four things

Hyping up fanfics to the max is a terrible idea. Also don’t shy away from giving writers constructive criticism

Stoner headcanons are here to stay and slay!

On one hand seeing discussions from the science side of PJO talking about the biology, physics etc. is super interesting but on the other hand getting heated over the illogical basis of ”magic“ is pretty much a waste of time

Riordan‘s world building is truly awful

Frazel is a crime against humanity

If you don’t get someone‘s post actually look op up and read the tags? No need to spam the exact question to everything

Fat Frank stays. I get it, Greek gods are hot, they are conceited and choose to fuck people that they perceive as attractive, so their offspring also has some higher levels in the beauty realm. But why not explore the opposite? Why does every character need a makeover or a blessing that gives them enhanced looks?

Clarisse‘s thigh can break ya neck

Also Riordan is Annabeth’s biggest hater. Let’s throw all of her most important possessions away to proof that the smart one can survive without any of it. Sure, but the emotional attachment to the stuff still remains especially when everyone else is walking out of Annabeth’s life

Making Leo another horny bastard was an accurate portrayal of your casual 16 year old boy. Annoying, but realistic

[soldrawss]

Ares kids giving percy shit and then they just see... luke... standing in the background... staring at them... and they suddenly decide to leave percy alone, because they 'just FEEL LIKE IT, oKAY???' jhgfgdhfdhggfjghg

Despite what everyone else thinks, Luke is always angry. He just also happens to be really good at hiding it. He probably had his dad to thank for that, being able to redirect and reassure others with a flash of a smile and a wave of his hand to disarm anyone who’d think otherwise. He hardly ever lets his temper get the best of him anymore. He’s too old for that. Too tired to let the little things get under his skin and leave bruises that the world could see. He can’t afford to wear his anger out like tattooed sleeves, the same way Silena Beauregard wore compassion on hers.

And it would be too easy. Too easy to just let his anger for the world and for the gods fuel and feed the hurt bleeding into his rationality and blaming all his problems on everything other than himself. It would be way too fucking easy to go about his days in a blinding rage that left nothing but empty holes in the places that should have held love and forgiveness and all the good he tries so desperately to instill in the younger campers. It wouldn’t solve anything. It wouldn’t help the hurt and it wouldn’t end the suffering. Luke knew this. Luke knew the world didn’t need one more angry, unwanted kid adding that kind of gasoline into the fire. Kronos was wrong, even if his tempted whispers late at night tried so hard to convince him otherwise.

So he hides his anger. Buries it under daily counselor chores and making sure the Stoll brothers don’t get too rowdy during their free time and just keeps busy enough to ignore the pounding tremor in the back of his chest. It works for the most part. It’s easier to smile nowadays, he barely even has to force it anymore, and when he laughs along to campfire stories and songs, it’s something lighthearted and genuine.

But his anger is always right there, like it’s something second hand and lingering. There without him having to reach for it. 

And when he notices Percy get dragged behind the armory by the scruff of his neck by some older kids, he lets that all too familiar anger consume him in seconds. He pushes away from the handful of campers he was monitoring by the amphitheater, ‘Activity’s over. You have free break until lunch’, he calls over his shoulder, and doesn’t wait for a response as he marches his way in the direction of the armory with a speed Hermes would probably be proud of if he ever cared enough to check-in.

Luke doesn’t have special skills or powers like other Demigods. He can’t build things like Beckendorf and he can’t charm speak like Silena and he certainly can’t summon lightning from the heavens like Thalia could. But he was respected and feared in equal measure all the same, and no one could deny that he worked hard to earn the title of the best swordsman in camp. 

His was still a presence that demanded attention and authority. Even if he lets the seven-year-old from the Haphestus cabin ride on his shoulders after breakfast most mornings, or moves over on his already tiny bunk in the dead of night so that little unclaimed Lily Anderson can sleep with him after a bad nightmare.

He was a self-designated older brother to pretty much anyone who needed one, and Luke took a quiet sort of pride to that so many people liked and needed him.

But he was still a threat when he wanted to be.So when he saw Percy on the ground, with a nose bleed that stained the front of his shirt an awful rusty color, all Luke had to do was growl a low, ‘walk away. Now’, and the three boys took off at a sprint. He only vaguely recognized two of them from the Ares cabin and one from Aphrodite, but he didn’t care enough to do more with the information at the moment because Percy was staring up at him with green eyes electric and burning. 

And Luke recognizes those kinds of eyes. They’re the same as his. There's a light like dying stars in them. Angry and terrified and burning with something terrible and so full of single-minded devotion that it has to hurt. And it leaves something aching and red hot in Luke’s stomach when he takes a step forward only for Percy to flinch away out of reflex.

“I’m fine,” Percy said like a knee jerk reaction before Luke could even ask, barking it in a mean and biting way that Luke didn’t take any offense to because he remembers what if felt like to be twelve and have your pride hurt. So Luke doesn’t question it, because Percy is scrappier and stronger than anyone probably ever gave him credit for, and offers a silent hand and the gentlest smile he can muster. Luke does his best to ignore the thumping jolt of anger that vibrates through him when Percy takes it almost immediately and so desperately, like it’s his only lifeline in the world, and wonders what kind of people were in Percy’s life before camp that made him so hungry for a positive human connection. 

Percy apologizes a second later with a horrified expression, jumping out of reach when he notices he got blood on Luke’s hand.

“Don’t worry about it. Let's just get you to the Apollo cabin. Lee keeps a first aid kit and a jar of ambrosia superglued to him at all times after Cecil Markowitz’s third greek fire burn.” The comment was supposed to lighten the mood somewhat, but Percy’s face darkens as he takes a step back from Luke.

“Um, no thanks,” Percy says in almost a pained whisper, hugging his middle and trying to wipe the continuous flow of blood from running down his chin by holding his head back. “It smells too much like the infirmary in there. And I hate the way ambrosia burns down my throat. I’m good, Luke, really.”

And that should have tipped Luke off to some bigger problem, but he can’t concentrate on it because he’s already closing the distance between them faster than Percy could object, and softly pushing the back of Percy’s head down towards the ground. “Pinch here, just above your nostrils, and lean forward unless you want the blood to go down your throat.” He instructs, guiding Percy’s bloodied hand to his nose.

Luke can’t rightly blame Percy for his hesitance. The kid’s first moments of conscious grief since his new life as a half-blood began was spent in the camp infirmary, nursing the pain of losing his mom while also nursing actual physical wounds with acidic nectar and ambrosia that even Luke can attest to growing disgust for after the first few battle wounds of his own. Anyone would have some kind of underlying trauma from that, and Percy didn’t have to outwardly admit how uncomfortable he was at the idea for Luke to understand.

Being a 12-year-old without a mom was hard enough. The problems of a half-blood added on top of that was almost a cruel joke that Luke bitterly couldn’t believe was a reality for most the kids at camp.

“Annabeth used to get into a lot of fights too, I’ve gotten pretty used to fixing noses the old fashioned way. Come on, I have a spare medkit in the combat arena,” Luke says, pressing a hand to Percy’s back, not giving him a chance to escape because dammit, someone had to care for this kid. And Percy doesn’t smile, but something in those sharp green eyes turn leaf like and muted as he lets himself get led from out from behind the armory.

No one really bats an eye towards Percy as they walked, and Luke could only assume it’s because he looks like he’s about to kill anyone that tried with a stone-cold glare that could rival Medusa’s. 

No one was is in the arena when they get there, and Luke instructs Percy to keep the cold washcloth Luke had snagged for him on his nose for about ten minutes, keeping upright to help stop the bleeding. They don’t say anything after that, they just sit on the arena steps and watch the campers from the Demeter cabin try to flip the canoes of some Aphrodite kids with little success, while they wait. 

Luke doesn’t ask any questions on what happened or why, he feels like the answer wouldn’t matter anyway, but Percy eventually softens in the silence between them. Luke pretends he doesn’t notice Percy’s eyes get red and wet as he rubs at them angrily with the palm of his hand.

After about fifteen minutes, and a fresh camp shirt that Luke had given him to replace Percy’s stained one, Percy looked no worse for wear, at least.

“Thanks,” he says softly, like he was thanking Luke for a million things at once, and Luke was all too aware of the crack in his voice and the angry hunch of his shoulders that made him look whole years to young to be angry at the world.

“Don’t thank me just yet, I need your help with something,” Luke decides as he stands up and walks back into arena, not looking back to see if Percy is following him because he knows he is.

“Alright,” he says once they make it to the middle of the dusty pit, holding his hands out in front of his chest and adjusting his stance as Percy looks at him with a doe-eyed curiosity and confusion. “Come at me with all you got.”

Percy frowns, and sniffs once before rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. “What? Dude I already got my butt handed to me, I don’t need another nose bleed on top of a few broken bones.”

Luke can’t help but smile at that. “Come on, humor me. I have a few unchecked microaggressions I need to work out and you owe me. I promise I won’t aim for your nose.”

Percy frown deepens, but he sighs like the whole world is weighted on in and gets into a fighting stance of his own, keeping his fists close to his chest.

Now it was Luke’s turn to frown. “Aww dude, you’re breaking my heart here.”

He relaxes his stance and walks over to where Percy stood, dodging the lame attempt of a punch and catching Percy’s fist in the palm of his hand, readjusting Percy’s fingers. “Thumb goes here unless you want to break it. And you wanna keep your fists closer to bottom of your chin.”

Luke uses his own foot to shift Percy’s into a more stable stance. “Feet this far apart and bend your knees, or you’re gonna get knocked down no matter what happens. Try to punch me again.”

Frowning more out of concentration then confusion, Percy took another swing that Luke caught easily and without letting go, pulled it back towards Percy’s shoulder and used his other hand to straighten Percy’s back. “Use these muscles here and punch straight out. You keep swinging too wide and putting all your force behind it, leaving you open.”

He guided Percy’s hand with his own, twisting it slowly in the form of a punch. “You’re gonna feel the bones in your arm want to move this way. Let them and you’ll get more force out of it.”

Percy hummed something like acknowledgment, so Luke let go and retook his stance in front of Percy, mimicking his same posture from before. “Try it again.”

Luke still caught Percy’s fist in his own, but a smile broke his face in two when he, not unkindly, pushed Percy back aways. “A couple more hits like that, and my hand may actually start to hurt, Jackson.”

And the grin that crept upon the twelve-year-olds face was something bright and delighted and outshining the stars as easy as breathing, and Luke soaked in every inch as they continued for the better half of the morning sparing till the lunch horn sounded.

Percy was so much like a younger Luke that is actually scared him, but moments like this, where he knew practical methods of defense would help Percy better than any reassurance that bullies would eventually leave him alone ever could. And Luke knew that Percy wouldn’t be ok with anyone fighting his battles for him, even if it would have been so easy for Luke to channel some of that unchecked rage into beating the ever-living snot out of anyone who looked sideways at Percy again. Just like he knew that Percy wouldn’t ask for help if it wasn’t already freely giving, or that trust was a hard thing to earn when your whole life was built around people burning that bridge before you could ever extend it.

But Luke was prepared for the challenge, and with Percy chatting happily away from underneath where Luke rested his arm across his shoulders as they made their way to the dining Pavillion, Luke could feel the edges of his anger slowly quiet into something barely there. And it’s a feeling that carries him throughout the rest of the day. A feeling that he wants to bottle up and keep on a shelf whenever he wants to forget what hating the world feels like.

Because if it feels like it’s worth it just to keep kids like Percy smiling for the rest of forever, well then, Luke could handle forgiving some of his anger, and letting his heart rest on his sleeves just a little bit more.

[thegoodgayshit]

Luz’s mother really doesn’t want to send Luz to camp. She knows once she leaves, there is no going back. But Luz has a knack for getting into trouble, and one day she stumbles into the same type of people her mother would have preferred she avoided. After helping Luz dissolve her high school bully into dust, Eda and Lilith know right away that this kid is just like them - a child of the gods. So Luz hops on a Pegasus and heads to Camp Half-blood, where she embarks on a dangerous quest that makes her both friends and enemies... and she might even save Olympus along the way.

Chapter 2: I Meet the Camp's Talking Hellhound

The introduction to the camp was pretty brief. Eda more or less just waved nonchalantly with her hand to the gathering crowd.

“Luz, these are the other campers. Other campers, Luz.”

A chorus of hellos rang throughout the clearing, and Luz slowly began to relax. A lot of the campers looked like kids like her: the youngest being six or seven and the oldest being around college age. There was a huge diversity of campers, kids of all different races and ethnicities, and most of them sporting an orange shirt that Luz could now read: “Camp Half-Blood, Long Island Sound”.

“Alright, with introductions out of the way, all of you should be heading back to your activities for the day.” Eda drawled, and the crowd began to disperse. There was a handful of campers who stuck around though.

There was a girl who looked about her age with black curly hair and green eyes, and Luz thought that she looked like the friendliest person she’d ever seen. She carried a bronze Spartan kopis on her belt, and in her left hand, she was holding a pot that was growing a golden plant unlike any Luz had ever seen before.

Next to her was a skinny boy with dark brown skin and dark eyes, who was both shorter and younger than Luz herself. His hair was styled into a fashionable fade, and if Luz had to guess he was maybe twelve. He was wearing a bronze chest plate that was clearly a size too big, but despite how uncomfortable it must have been he was smiling brightly.

“Eda, I helped the naiad in the forest like you asked.” The girl said, her voice mellow and soft. “It turns out she was still upset about the visiting party ponies”.

“A centaur from the Florida chapter trampled under her tree,” the boy added. “Willow fixed up the roots super-fast!”

Eda nodded at the pair, “thanks, kids. I swear to Zeus, Fennel has some knack for holding grudges… the party ponies left three weeks ago.”

“Eda?” The noise came from a second camper, who had been standing awkwardly off to the side. She was also around Luz’s age but maybe half an inch taller. She had dyed green hair pulled half back that exposed brown roots at the top of her head, and Luz found herself looking curiously at her eyes. At first, she thought they were brown, but then she realized they were, in fact, gold like Eda’s. The girl had her arms crossed, and she was standing a noticeable distance from the other two campers. The pair shared a look with one another that Luz understood immediately, and she felt that feeling of discomfort beginning to prick at her belly, the one she often felt on the first day of a new school. Luz immediately pegged this girl as the bully type.

Eda hummed, looking up at the girl like she had just noticed she was standing there. Luz felt a small grin starting to poke at the corners of her mouth as the girl’s face began to tint red, clearly embarrassed. The girl caught Luz’s expression and her face darkened, giving Luz a glare. Luz cut the smile right away. Despite the fact that she didn’t seem to be carrying a weapon, Luz thought this girl would have no hesitation gutting her with her bare hands. If looks could kill…

“Where’s Lilith? She told me she’d train me tonight when you got back.” The girl said, turning back to Eda with an airy and impartial look.

“She’s still at Olympus,” Eda said with a shrug. “We found Luz here in Manhattan so Lily and I decided I should take her to camp. She should be meeting with the council right now.”

“Oh…” The girl said, clearly not expecting that answer.

“Anyways, since I’m back I might as well head to my cooking class,” Eda shrugged, gesturing to the three other campers. “Show Luz around camp, will you? When you’re done introduce her to Cabin Eleven.”

Eda didn’t wait for them to respond. She just turned tail and walked away, leaving Luz and the other three campers standing there a little awkwardly. Luz smiled nervously at the three of them, and the girl scoffed turning on her heel.

“She doesn’t need three tour guides. You can show her around. I have better things to do.”

As the girl walked away, Luz felt like she had been slapped. “So much for a warm welcome…”

“Ignore her,” the girl said with a shrug, shifting the pot in her hand. “Amity is just like that.”

The boy smiled and extended his hand, and Luz took it with a nervous smile. “I’m Gus from Cabin Six.”

The girl smiled brightly at her, waving with the free hand that wasn’t around the pot. “I’m Willow, from Cabin Four. Eda said your name was Luz, right?”

“Yeah, Luz Noceda,” she said, blinking at the way they introduced themselves. “From Cabin… I don’t really know what happening”.

Thank God (or… I guess… gods?) the pair laughed. Luz felt herself relax a little. She already found herself liking Willow and Gus, and she wondered if Eda had been right when she said that everybody here was a little weird.

“Don’t worry, it can be overwhelming at first, but you’ll get the hang of it,” Willow encouraged with a smile.

“Come on, we’ll show you around!” Gus said excitedly, and Luz grinning, following after them as they turned around and started to walk.

They showed Luz the archery range, and the rock climbing wall, (Luz winced thinking about how her Mami would kill her if she ever tried that, she watched another camper scrape past the lava with the hairs singed off her arms) the canoe lake, and the pavilion where Willow said everybody met for dinner. Then they guided Luz through all the cabins if they could even be called that.

“Why do they all look so different?” Luz gasped, taking in the arrangement of colors and designs that varied from cabin to cabin. Cabin Four, which Luz remembered Willow was in, was covered in flowers and tomato plants growing up the walls. It had a roof made of real grass. As they passed, Willow waved to a girl with blonde hair standing on the porch watering wildflowers.

“Each cabin represents a patron god,” Willow explained. “You get sorted based on who your godly parent is.”

Luz hummed thoughtfully, “ok I get it. So Cabin Four…”

“My mom is Demeter,” Willow said. “Goddess of the harvest”.

“Well… technically-” Gus was about to speak, but when he caught Willow’s look, he swallowed his words and quickly changed the subject.  

“And I’m Cabin Six!” He said quickly, gesturing to a different Cabin that was grey with white curtains. There was an owl design hanging over the door. “My mom is Athena, the goddess of wisdom.”

Luz noticed the awkward tension between Willow and Gus, but she was so impressed by what she just heard she let it slide.

“Wow, so you must be pretty smart then,” Luz said, and Gus’ cheeks pinked.

“I mean, not really…”

“He’s being modest,” Willow deadpanned, rolling her eyes affectionately at the younger boy. “He skipped three grades.”

“Oh wow! Good for you, Gus,” Luz said, and she meant every word. Considering Luz had barely managed to pass most of her classes, and considered a C a job well done? That really impressed her.

“So, what about you Luz?” Gus asked, now so embarrassed he had to change the subject again. “Is your godly parent your mom or dad?”

“My dad,” Luz said, humming as she looked around at all the different cabins. “I wonder which god he is?”

“Well, let’s see what kind of skills you might have!” Gus said excitedly, and the trio began to compare the different cabins to try and narrow down the results.

She saw some campers by the basketball court shooting baskets, and some of them were crazy shots too. Willow had said they were from Cabin Seven, Apollo. From what Luz remembered he was the god of music and poetry. Luz didn’t have a musical bone in her body, so she could cross that one off the list. She wondered if maybe Zeus was her dad, like Eda and Lilith, but then Willow gently explained to her that their cabin was pretty exclusive. She was a terrible swimmer and hated the water, so she was definitely not a Poseidon kid. She got pretty angry a lot, but she didn’t think that was because she was a child of Ares. Luz was pretty sure she was just frustrated with her situation at school. Maybe she belonged in the wing of the minor gods. She could see her mom falling for one of those guys… someone more lowkey. But her mom had always told her that her father was a very successful businessman… that didn’t sound lowkey.

Luz was going to raise this concern to her new friends when she noticed something she had ignored earlier. Around both Gus and Willow’s neck was a brown leather necklace, with beads strung around it. “Cool necklaces,” Luz comments, pointing to them. “Did you buy them together?”

Willow chuckled, reaching under her orange shirt to give Luz a closer look. “Nope, everybody at camp gets one when they’ve stayed for at least one summer. A different cabin every year designs the beads based on an event or memory the camp has and gives them to each camper at the end of August. I have four beads for four summers.”

Gus reaches down to show Luz his own necklace. “And I have three beads for three summers!”

Luz awed over the different designs, the art on them was so intricate and beautiful Luz couldn’t help but ask about the shared designs, especially since one of them had what looked like a hot air balloon on fire.

“Oh, that was a crazy summer,” Gus said with a grin, launching into the story.

The trio talked for so long, that soon the warning bell rang for dinner. Willow jumped up like she’d been burned.

“Oh shoot! We were supposed to introduce you to Cabin Eleven. We can go there now quickly.”

“Cabin Eleven?” Luz said with a raised brow, but she couldn’t say much else as Willow grabbed her arm and practically dragged her across the U shaped wing of cabins. Eventually, they parked her right outside one of the cabin doors, and there was a girl standing outside the porch. She had tied back brown hair and a single fishhook earring. She looked a little older than Luz, maybe sixteen. Luz immediately liked her, she looked pretty laid back and cool.

“Hi, Viney!” Gus grinned, and the girl shot him a friendly smile.

“Hey, guys! Eda told me there was a new camper, so I decided to wait around here until she showed up.”

“Sorry we’re so late, I know you need to get your cabin to dinner,” Willow said apologetically, and Viney just shrugged her shoulders.

“We’re always late. It’s no problem.” She turned to Luz, who for the first time all day didn’t feel anxious around someone new. “You must be Luz. Welcome to Cabin Eleven! I’m Viney. Hopefully, you’ll be comfortable here. All new campers stay with us until they get claimed.”

Luz had a couple of follow up questions to that, but she didn’t really have time to ask them, because Willow and Gus were now waving goodbye.

“We’ll see you later, Luz. Let us know if you need anything!” Willow said, and Luz nodded to them before they headed out, likely back to their cabins.

“If you’re looking to make friends, they’re a good start,” Viney said to Luz with a smile. “Almost everybody at camp likes Willow and Gus.”

“Not everybody though,” Luz said with a frown, remembering that other girl, Amity.

Viney shrugged, “you win some and lose some. Now come on, let me introduce you to the rest of the cabin.”

The cabin itself looked pretty unassuming from the outside. It was a light brown, it looked like it had recently been repainted, and there was a caduceus over the door. Inside, there were about a dozen bunk beds, each with a simple brown chest at the end of it. Some of the bunks were decorated with posters or pictures, but a lot of them kept a simple kind of design. Luz already liked it in here, it was homey, but not busy enough for her ADHD brain to hyper-focus on any one thing. Luz counted about eighteen campers in total, which meant there was a good number of empty beds. The campers all turned to look as Viney and Luz walked in.

“Alright Cabin Eleven,” she called to them. “This is Luz, our new undetermined camper. Play nice. We’re leaving for dinner in five minutes, so be ready.”

Luz waved awkwardly, but thankfully most of the cabin seemed just as friendly as Gus and Willow.

“Hey Luz, you can have this bed right here,” one of the boys said, gesturing to the bunk above the one he was sitting on. The boy had brown hair and a pointed nose, and he fidgeted with his hands. It didn’t bother Luz. She could relate to that.

She grinned at the nice gesture, hoping it revealed just how relieved she was. “Thanks.”

Luz walks over to the bunk and takes off her backpack, and is about to throw it on the bed when the boy shakes his head quickly.

“Don’t leave that there, it’s a rookie mistake,” he says, and Luz eyes him uncertainly.

The boy sighs and then gives her a crooked smile. “Our dad, Hermes, is the god of merchants and travelers… but also thieves. If you have anything valuable, leave it in the chest. We can share it.”

Luz understands immediately. Opening her backpack, she pulls out her sketchbook and a pack of drawing pencils, her phone charger, and her earbuds. Her phone and wallet with her MetroCard and the remaining change she has are also there, so she leaves those things in the chest and slings her backpack over the edge of the top bunk. The boy shuts it when she’s done, and tells Luz the code.

“Thanks for the warning,” Luz whispers softly, and the boy shrugs.

“Don’t mention it. We were all new once. I’m Jerbo, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Luz.”

Viney stands from the front entrance of the cabin and holds up her hand to get everyone’s attention. “Cabin Eleven! Fall in!”

The cabin falls into rank by order of seniority, so of course, Luz is last, but she doesn’t mind. Together the Hermes Cabin walks towards the pavilion, where all the other cabins have gathered for dinner. Luz spots Willow and Gus with their siblings, and then Amity sitting over at the table right next to Luz. She makes eye contact with Luz, and then scoffs, turning away. Next to her, a pair of green-haired campers that are no doubt twins say something to her, and her face goes red. She elbows the boy hard, and the girl laughs loudly.

At the head table, Eda is sitting there with Lilith, who must have gotten back while Willow and Gus were showing her around. There’s also a boy with red hair and glasses, chatting amicably with what Luz can only describe as a talking black mastiff. It has a red collar, and Luz’s mouth can’t help but drop open at the sight. But she guesses she’s seen weirder things today.

“That’s King, the camp's loyal hellhound,” Viney says from across Luz, noticing her staring. “Hellhounds are usually ten times that size, but King’s always been special.”

“He can talk.” Luz just says, and Jerbo laughs.

“Oh yeah. Thinks himself real special for being able to as well. He follows Eda around everywhere.”

"Who's the boy next to him?" Luz asks curiously.

"That's Barcus, the camp's oracle. He's human and lives here at camp during the summer. When campers go on quests they get a prophecy from him."

That is way too weird for Luz to process, and she opens her mouth to ask a hundred follow-up questions but doesn't get the chance. Eda and Lilith get to their feet, and the camp quiets. Lilith is the first to speak.

“Good evening campers. Today we welcome a new half-blood to our ranks. Everybody, please welcome Luz Noceda.”

There is a series of whispers as people turn to look at her, and some of the campers say hello and wave in her direction. Luz rubs her neck in embarrassment when Gus whoops from next to his brothers and sisters. Viney pats her back encouragingly.

“As you all know on Friday we will be having our weekly game of Capture the Flag.” Eda continues once the murmurings settle. “The captains have been randomly selected, and this time the teams will be the Hermes cabin against the Aphrodite cabin.”

Luz’s table erupts into cheers, and Viney grins from ear to ear. Luz notices the table Amity is sitting at also explodes with noise, and she looks quite pleased with herself. Luz wonders if she misheard.  

“Amity’s mom is Aphrodite?” Luz says in surprise, and Viney nods her head.

“Yeah. Why are you asking?”

“It’s just…” Luz isn’t sure what to think about that. “Isn’t she the goddess of love?”

“And beauty,” Viney says as she shoots her a sly smile. “But also passion. Be careful of what you’re assuming. Sure you get the prissy campers every once in a while, but the Aphrodite cabin can be a force to be reckoned with. The Blight siblings make sure of that.” She gestures to Amity and the two green-haired campers who had been talking to her earlier, and Luz hums as she processes this new information. Eda’s voice snaps her back to reality.

“Yes, yes, in any case, captains will have to have their teams ready by tomorrow night.” Eda continues, and she tries to speak seriously, but her smile gives away just how excited she is. “Now, it’s time we eat.”

As if Eda just spoke some kind of spell, food begins to spill out from around the entrance to the pavilion. There are these weird chicken ladies (Viney calls them Harpies) that pass around a variety of barbecued meats, fruits, vegetables, and all kinds of food that makes Luz’s mouth water. She loads her plate and then gets handed an empty goblet, and looks at it uncertainly.

“Say whatever you want, and it’ll appear,” Jerbo says helpfully, and Luz breaks into a grin.

“Lime soda!”

The goblet fills with bubbly light green liquid. Luz takes a sip and her eyes widen in awe. It’s identical to the ones her Mami buys.

Mami! She’s probably wondering where she is right now. She left her phone in the Cabin, but she makes a mental note to call her after dinner.

Before she can dig in, she sees her cabin begin to get up and make their way over to the fire. They take something off their plate and chuck it in, muttering what seems to be a prayer as they do.

“It’s an offering to the gods,” Jerbo explains quickly, before doing the same thing.

Luz approaches and doesn’t quite know what to do. But she takes a cluster of delicious-looking grapes and tosses it in the fire anyway.

Dad, if you’re listening… thank you for letting me come here. I really like it so far.  

The fire roars, and Luz is taken aback by the smell. It’s like parchment and a dewy morning before school. It’s comforting.

Eda and Lilith once again get the attention of the crowd. They raise their goblets, and all the campers follow.

“For the gods!” They say.

“For the gods!” The campers repeat.

Luz eats until she can’t eat anymore. Once you’re done dinner, the rule is campers are allowed to visit other tables. Willow and Gus join Luz at the Hermes table, and they all begin to have a steady conversation.

“So how did Eda stumble across you in Manhattan?” Viney asks, and Luz timidly launches into the story. When she’s done, Gus whistles lowly.

“You helped them kill an empousai?” He mumbles in awe. “Servants of Hecate are no easy win.”

“Gus is a fan of Hecate’s illusions,” Willow explains with a smile. “While some campers might use it for pranks, Gus uses it for showmanship.”

“We’ll let me tell you, she was scary,” Luz says with a shiver. “I don’t know what I would have done if Eda and Lilith weren’t there to save me.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Viney says, reaching over to nudge her arm. “You leaped on the back of a monster with no weapon. That’s pretty brave.”

“Or pretty stupid,” Jerbo comments teasingly.

“Don’t worry, Luz,” Willow says with a smile when her face begins to heat up in embarrassment. “Gus and I can take you tomorrow to find you some kind of weapon.”

“That sounds great,” Luz said, relieved.

Soon, the harpies began to clear the plates, and her new friends got up to head down to the campfire to sing songs and roast marshmallows. Luz was eager to join them, but she remembered the mental note she’d made earlier. Making a promise that’d she be there soon, she was about to leave the pavilion to go get her phone when she was stopped with a firm hand on her shoulder.

“Where are you running off to, kid?”

Luz turned to see Eda, standing behind her petting Owlbert who was resting on her shoulder. Luz broke into a smile.

“Oh, hi Eda. I was just heading to Cabin Eleven to pick up my-”

“I just wanted to tell you that I spoke to your mother this afternoon,” Eda said, and Luz effectively shut her mouth and raised her eyebrows. “She was pretty angry that you ran off from school, but when I told her where you were she seemed to cool down.”

“Is she ok? She’s not worried about me right?” Luz said anxiously, and Eda smiled softly.

“No, lucky for you she seemed to have realized she couldn’t keep you from camp for much longer. She just wanted me to tell you that she loves you and hopes you're being safe and that you made it through the school year. You’ll be welcomed back to the same high school in the fall.”

Luz felt relief hit her like a pound of bricks. She really didn’t want to worry about her Mami needing to find her another school. She worked full time at the hospital, she worried enough.

“I told her that we don’t allow cellphones at camp since they send out a lot of signals to monsters and that if you wanted to contact her you’d have to see me.” Eda finished, and Luz tightened her lips. She wasn’t exactly sure why cellphones weren’t allowed, but she was glad she hadn’t admitted to Eda she had one. “So I was going to ask you if you wanted to call her, but now that I see you’re running off… I’m wondering if somebody might have something they’re not supposed to have.”

Luz began to panic, but thankfully Eda just chuckled. “Well, that look says it all. Just be careful kid. I’m a fan of troublemakers myself, but my sister sure isn’t. Keep it on the down-low.”

Luz nodded quickly, and Eda chucks her one more sly smile. “Your mom sent us over some pocket money for you to get whatever you need while you’re here. It’s at the camp store, so whenever you want to go buy some clothes or whatever just give them a visit.”

The talking hellhound Luz had seen earlier made their way over to Eda and Luz, and sat down at Eda’s feet, casting a suspicious look at Luz.

“Who are you? Who dares disturb the King of Demons?”

“You’re not the King of demons, you’re King the demon,” Eda muttered to the hellhound, rolling her eyes. “There's a difference. And you came over to us."

King just looks up and her and Eda facepalms, waving her hand toward Luz in defeat. "This is Luz, our new camper.”

Now that Luz was face to face with King, she found him a lot less freaky. In fact, he was kind of adorable.

“Awww, look at this little guy!” She said cooing, reaching down to meet King at eye level. “You’re so cute!”

“I am not cute!” The hellhound barked back in annoyance, and Luz reached over and pat him on the head. Despite looking angry, the hellhound leaned into the touch.

“What a sucker,” Eda mumbled under her breath, and King made a noise of annoyance. “Anyway Luz, if you need anything don’t think twice about coming to find me. I hope you’ve noticed, but everybody here is kind of one big family. We help each other out.”

Luz felt that warm feeling again, and without even realizing she was doing it, she leaned over and hugged Eda tightly, trying to express how grateful she really was. Eda huffed in surprise, before hesitantly hugging her back.

“Thank you, Eda,” Luz whispered into her shoulder.

Eda laughed awkwardly, patting her shoulder. “Anytime, kid.”  

[georgescatcafe]

the rising chariot — 2

rating: t warning/s: none pairing/s: platonic dream team, karl jacobs/sapnap genres/tags: percy jackon and the olympians au, friendship, angst summary: Nick Pappas isn’t sure it’s normal for teenagers to be sent across the United States on a quest that could potentially kill them, but Nick has started to realize that everything he thought was normal is entirely false. George Davies doesn’t particularly want to spend three consecutive days with this new camper and that son of Hermes who snagged his win in Capture the Flag two weeks ago, but he knows he has to suck it up and go with them, no matter how irritating they may be. Clay Bryce just wants to prove himself and show that he’s more than that troublesome kid from Cabin Eleven, but even as the leader of this quest, he’s not sure how to when Nick has fire powers and George is practically capable of mind-control.

Yet what they feel and want will mean nothing if they don’t complete their quest. When a petty feud between gods has Apollo threatening to take the Sun from the sky, the three must head out to stop him, but not just that—they’re in a race against an ancient enemy of the god, one who definitely will try and kill him if it gets to Apollo first.

+ao3 +masterpost

Floris came by his house again the next day. Nick stared at him as he stood in the doorway. “School’s cancelled indefinitely,” Floris told him. “They said they’ll work on rebuilding as soon as they can, but while we still don’t have a physical school, we get summer break early.”

“Happy birthday to me,” Nick replied, though there was no mirth in his voice.

Floris smiled anyway before his eyes got all shifty, and he leaned forward, as if looking for something. “Are your parents home?” Nick wondered if Floris knew about his situation. He knew about Nick’s mom; or, at least, Nick assumed he somehow did. It wouldn’t surprise him that he knew about the rest of his living arrangement, either.

“I managed to get taken away by a deranged cop the day they left for their anniversary,” he answered. “And they aren’t putting that on hold for me.” His younger sisters—homeschooled, lucky them—were sent to their grandparents last week. The only reason Nick didn’t go was because he was old enough to handle himself. Or so he thought. “I’m home alone.”

“Nice,” Floris hummed, hand settling on the doorframe thoughtfully. “So about yesterday….”

Nick held up a hand, wincing as a headache bloomed behind his eyes. “I really don’t want to talk more about it.”

Floris made a face, but Nick was being honest. The whole ordeal just made him feel sick. “It’s good to—”

“Talk things out, I know,” NIck replies, “so you said. But, look, man, that was really traumatic, okay? And I think I hit my head too hard on the door because I was seeing things, and it was just really scary. I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

Floris studied him, gaze intense, and Nick straightened up under it, shoulders moving back and chest puffing up slightly. It wasn’t an intimidating look, but there was something… unnerving about it. He felt he had to prove something. Finally, Floris sighed. “It’s probably for the better for once. Just… if something like that happens again, you should take this.” He held out a small card, and when Nick took it, he realized it was a business card.

“Call me, okay?” Floris asked. “Don’t be a stranger.”

Nick stared at the card for another second before looking back up at the other. “Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll call.”

Floris gave him a final smile before pivoting on his heel. He was about to walk off when he spun back around. “Oh, uh, I made these for you.” He held out a baggie filled with what looked like lemon bars. “I don’t recommend eating them all at once. I’ve found they’re pretty good for when you need comfort food, or, like… healing. Or something.”

Nick accepted the bag. “Uh-huh. Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Floris said, before smiling for the last time for real and turning, heading down the walkway and taking off down the road.

Nick looked back down at the lemon bars. They weren’t his favorite. He definitely wasn't going to eat them all at once. Dumb of Floris to even tell him that.

He went about his routine like usual, now that school was out of the picture. It was a bit weird actually, sitting down to a day of mindless video games with no guilt, no homework to turn in or tests to study for. (Granted, most of his homework was left incomplete, and most tests were taken with no studying involved prior. Not that Nick was a dumb kid, school just… wasn’t for him. In case you couldn’t tell by the whole burning it down thing. Not that he meant to do that. Just to be clear. In case you missed that fact.) Nick sunk deeper into his beanbag chair, fingers flying across his Xbox controller as he focused on the small TV in his room. He wondered if his parents knew about his early summer already.

Probably not.

He played until the Sun went down, only stopping to pee or get food, and his routine looked very much like that for the next three days until his parents returned, and he found himself thrown into the monotony of chores and errands. It was preferable to reading-induced migraines, but he also missed the break from home school provided. The town he lived in on the edge of Houston was easy enough to navigate on foot, and his dad had started to give him driving lessons, but the lessons had to be put on hold for work, and walking around the city was a lot less fun when there was no one else to walk with.

The business card he’d taken to keeping in his pants’ pocket ever since Floris gave it to him seemed to become a paperweight then. Nick pulled it out.

Floris Larkspur Keeper Half-Blood Hill Long Island, New York (800) 009-0009

The information on it was terrible to read, in some fancy, looping font, but Nick understood it well enough once he squinted for a while. He frowned at the address and phone number. The number was obviously toll-free, meant more for business rather than personal use, and the location itself… New York? Nick frowned before returning the card to his pocket.

He’d have better luck running into Floris in the grocery store. Besides, the only bit of info on the card that didn’t leave him more confused than how he started was Floris’s name. Nick bit the inside of his cheek. Maybe Floris wasn’t the best person to walk around the city with.

Nick sighed, wondering if his stepmom would maybe send him on a grocery run. He was surprised when he walked into the living room to see his parents sitting on the couch, staring at him expectantly.

“Is something wrong?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to burn down the school. I promise.”

His stepmom rose from her place on the couch. “We believe you,” she said, hand coming to rest on his shoulder. His heart pounded as his gaze dropped to her hand. “You aren’t in trouble. Actually, the opposite.”

He stared at her before turning to his stepdad.

“Your birthday, Nick,” he said.

His birthday. He completely forgot about it. He looked at his stepmom.

“We’re sorry we weren’t here to celebrate with you,” she told him. “That was our fault. So we did something extra special for you.”

“You didn’t miss much,” Nick replied, even as she guided him over to the couch where his stepdad opened his laptop.

“With no school,” his stepmom said, “we figured it would be okay if spring break came early.”

And there, right on his dad’s laptop screen, a ticket to New York City.

Nick’s eyes turned to saucers as he stared between his parents, gaze going from his stepdad, back to his stepmom, then vice versa. “You’re kidding,” he breathed.

“Your flight goes out in two days,” his dad said. “A week there and straight back.”

“By myself?” Nick asked, hardly believing his luck.

“You’re sixteen,” his dad replied, even as his stepmom made a face.

“We have a second ticket,” she explained. “We can resell it, but… if you wanted to take a friend—a responsible one.”

Nick didn’t have many friends. Constantly switching schools did that to a kid. He stared blankly at his stepmom, who offered him a tentative smile in return. He tried to give one back, but his mind was reeling, wondering who to invite—if they’d really let him go on his own or not.

“Y’know,” his dad started, “there’s this one kid I’ve run into a couple times, at the gas station, the store, kind of funny looking, ginger, always asks after you.”

Oh, God. “That’s,” Nick hid his face in his hands, humiliation rising in his throat, “Floris.”

“A friend?” his stepmom asked, hopeful.

Nick nodded.

“Perfect!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “And clearly he cares about you. I think that’s a good one to take.”

“Mom,” he said, even as the name tasted bitter on his tongue, knowing his actual mom was still out there, “no. There’s got to be someone else—or I could go on my own, right? Right, Dad?”

His stepdad said nothing. So that was just a fib, then. Nick’s face fell.

“I think Floris would be good,” she urged. “You don’t have to spend every second together.”

“But you’ll want us to,” he argued.

“I just want you safe,” she said, “and I know your dad wants the same.”

Nick made a face.

Finally, she made one too, expression souring. “Nick, we just want to do something nice for you—for once. Can’t you just accept it?”

“I,” Nick made a frustrated noise deep in his throat, “why now? You’ve never cared. Is it because I almost went to prison?” He looks to his stepdad. “Do you feel guilty or something? That you couldn’t stop them from taking me, just like you couldn’t stop them from taking Mom—my real mom,” he added quickly, unable to stop the glare he shot at his stepmom, polite as she may be.

Her hand flew to her chest, as if stung, and his stepdad sat up, brows furrowing, lips downturned in a severe frown. “Nick Pappas, don’t you dare talk to us like that,” he scolded.

“Or what?” Nick snapped. “You going to kick me out? I bet you’d love that! You wouldn’t have to look for a new school anymore; you wouldn’t have to look at me and be reminded of her. You’d love that, wouldn’t you?”

“What’s gotten into you?” his stepmom cried. “You’re never like this!”

“I’m just tired!” Nick shoved himself up off the couch. “Thanks for the trip, but oh my God, just leave me alone—please!” He stormed into his room and slammed the door shut, pressing his back against it and immediately pressing his face into his hands.

He almost died Friday, and they didn’t care. Of course they didn’t care! And now they wanted to act nice, and he was supposed to just accept it? Without a modicum of suspicion? It was so not fair. He brought his legs to his chest, hands sliding from his face and elbows resting on the tops of his knees. He buried his head in his arms. None of this was fair.

What felt like an hour but was probably just ten minutes later, a soft knock at the door startled him into lifting his head. He scooted away from the door, and it opened slowly. In the doorway stood his stepmom. Nick bit back a groan.

“What,” he said.

The petite woman lowered herself to the floor, closing the door behind herself and taking a seat across from him. “I’m sorry I’m not her,” she replied.

Nick glared at her crossed legs.

“I mean it,” she promised. “I’ve never tried to be her—”

“You wouldn’t want to be her,” Nick grumbled.

His stepmom paused before a hand came to rest on his knee. “I never met her, but if she was anything like you, she couldn’t be bad.”

“You’re just saying that.” Nick’s glare strengthened. “I can’t stay at one school; I’m always setting things on fire; I almost went to prison just last week. I’m a terrible son.”

She didn’t say anything to that. 

Nick flattened his lips. 

“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “We’re… not good parents. I never wanted to be a parent. I am now, and I wouldn’t change it, but I’m not your mom, even with you calling me that, and I don’t want to replace her. And I could never be her because I know how much she meant to you, and I couldn’t do for you what she did.”

“You don’t even know what she did,” Nick snapped.

His stepmom sighed. “Can you please just accept this? I had to talk your dad into keeping the tickets after what you said.”

“You should have let him sell them,” Nick replied. “I deserve it.”

“No, you don’t.” She patted his knee. “You’re right. You did almost go to prison—you wouldn’t have deserved it, though. I think wrongful imprisonment deserves a trip to New York.”

Nick allowed a laugh to fall past his lips, bitter.

His stepmom took it. “Your flight leaves in two days. Tell your friend to come with you. You’ve got a whole week to run around NYC like the teenager you are. Have fun.” She gave a gentle shove to his shoulder. Nick rocked with the motion. “Okay?”

Nick stared at the floor.

“Okay?” she repeated.

He nodded.

“Good.” She pushed herself from the floor, running her fingers lightly through his hair before leaving, closing the door softly behind her. Nick squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath.

Have fun. He can do that.

When he finally hunted Floris down at the grocery store the next day, he told him about the trip. “It’s short notice,” he apologized, “but it’s a week.”

“New York?” Floris asked. Nick felt like if the ginger had a tail, it’d be wagging.

“Yeah,” he replied. “A week and then we come home.”

“Got it, captain,” Floris said. “I’ll pack my bags tonight and meet you at your house bright and early tomorrow morning.”

“The flight doesn’t leave until noon.” Nick frowned.

“I like being prepared,” Floris replied. “Are you ready?”

“More or less,” Nick nodded, “not like I own much anyway.”

Floris stared at him, eyes narrowed, before nodding also. “See you tomorrow then.”

Nick gave him a mock-salute. “See you tomorrow.”