#there’s a reason Annabeths fatal flaw is pride

[booksanddarkchocolate]

Since it’s the last day of pride, I’m just here to say that Percy and Annabeth are both bi 🫶🏻

[curseofdelos]

I think all female characters should be a little unlikeable. as a treat

[blahwithasideofblah]

Ok, but how did I only just realize that their fatal flaws are the reason Percy and Annabeth fall?

Like, we've got Annabeth, who's fatal flaws is pride, who has known her fatal flaw is pride since she was thirteen! And here she is riding high after beating the quest noone else has even survived!!! She found the Athena Parthenos!!! She beat a giant spider using only her wits!!! Of course she managed to cut all the spiderwebs first try, of course she doesn't need to double check that!!!!

And Percy. Percy "my fatal flaw is loyalty" Jackson. He doesn't even think. Of course he's not letting her go. Letting anyone go would be a betrayal, but this is Annabeth. Nothing else matters!!! No! Other! Choice! Matters! It doesn't matter that they'll probably die. It doesn't matter he might be more help above. It doesn't matter that he's been missing for a year and has not seen his mother once that entire time!!!!! It does not matter!!!! Because Annabeth is hanging off a cliff and he's the only thing keeping her from falling and letting her go would be a betrayal of the highest order and he cannot do that. So of course he falls with her. What other choice is there?

[actuallyprobablyafaerie]

pjo episode four parts that made me scream

Them starting with sally trying teach percy how to swim and percy being scared is fantastic for two reasons: number one, its a normal kid thing and number two it ties into later in the books when we find out percy has a fear of drowning. Its like hoe thalia has a fear of heights and kind of ties into the idea that forbidden children are often afraid of some part of their parents element. I love that theyre bringing in elements of that idea so early!!!

percy’s “can i ask a stupid question” and annabeths “are you trying to make me make fun of you” akdbdkbaaksbdkjsbakks shes so funny

I LOVE THAT THEY BRING UP PAN AND SPECIFICALLY TIE HIM TO MANIFEST DESTINY AND AMERICAS HISTORY OF KILLING ITS INDIGENOUS PEOPLE!!!! ITS IMPORTANT FUCKING HISTORY AND IM SO GLAD THE SHOW ACKNOWLEDGED IT

percy and annabeths little banter, percys stupid accent and then him collapsing on her. That and the scene where theyre talking on the train is the percabeth we deserve!!!!!! God i love them so much

ALSO going back to the scene where theyre talking in bed on the train i love how annabeth knows that grovers grumpy in the morning and percy doesnt. Grover was her protector once too!! (Like they said last episode) and theyve traveled together before!! He was annabeths friend before he was percys

ok everyones already said this but the parallels between annabeth and medusa?!!??? With medusa saying “i was you” last episode and now annabeth getting punished for something percy did ghe same was medusa was punished for something Poseidon did????? Absolutely insane i love it

also the fact that it hurt athenas pride specifically, much like how medusa mentioned the “pride of athena” in reference to annabeth last episode, which all ties back to the fact that hubris is annabeths fatal flaw and she gets it from her mother

THE CUT TO PERCY IN THE FOUNTAIN AND THEM SPLASHING WATER ON HIM AHSKSBJAHAJSJSB theyre so funny for that

Percy just looks like a wet rag this episode and its so well done you can even tell the makeup on his face was done to make him appear paler and sicklier and it works so well

ok PERCY PULLING ANNABETH INTO THE STAIRWELL AND SHUTTING THE DOOR???? Because hes loyal to a fault!!!! And theyre becoming friends!!!!!!!!! And he cares about her more in like a week than athena ever has and its shown to us so clearly in this episode!!!!!!

ONCE AGAIN LUKES MOTIVATIONS ARE GOING TO MAKE SO MUCH SENSE BY THE TIME WE GET TO THE END OF THIS AND WE DONT EVEN HAVE TO SPEND TIME WITH HIM TO UNDERSTAND THEM god this series is so well done

Also the chimeras design looks so cool i love it so much

AND WE FINALLY GET AN ANSWER AS TO HOW PERCY GOT IN THE RIVER FROM THE TOP OF THE ARCH!! (At least in the tv world, in the book world the arch might very well just be in a different spot lol)

Poseidon saves him!! Hes a better parent than athena is apparently

god the episode ending with percy breathing underwater is so good i was on the edge of my seat until the very end

OK LAST THING is that they are continuing the theme sally brings up about monsters not always looking like monsters and heroes not always looking like heroes so well!!! Echidna bringing it up and saying that to her, demigods are more dangerous was fantastic i love how dedicated they are to this

OK ACTUALLY THE LAST THING i love the dichotomy of different mothers in this episode. We start with sally and percy and immediately see how much they love each other and care about each other!!!! Then we get to echidna who cares about her children too by teaching them to hunt!!! And then we get athena who ducking punishes annabeth for something she didnt even do. And its like. That was a little monstrous athena. Im understanding why someone might want to kill their godly parent

GOD THIS SERIES IS SO GOOD

[aeithalian]

On Apollo and fatal flaws

Vague question for my fellow apollogists out there: what do we think Apollo's fatal flaw is? I write this realizing that, in all five books of the series, all told from Apollo's point of view, we never actually have it explicitly stated, either from Apollo's knowledge and refusal to share (which, strangely, seems to me like something he would tell us), or from him not actually knowing, either.

Simply stated, a fatal flaw is any kind of weakness of a hero, god or mortal, that can be exploited and can cause the downfall of that character. That being said, we already know some that generally scope out the larger range of what they can be:

Percy: excessive personal loyalty

Annabeth: hubris/pride

Nico: holding grudges

Thalia: ambition

Leo: feeling inferior

Piper: low self-esteem

Luke: wrath

Jason: hesitation and excessive deliberation

And we are certain that immortals have flaws like these, too. Although it isn't explicitly stated in canon what Zeus' fatal flaw is, it's exceedingly obvious that it's paranoia and hunger for power, as well as his sexual infidelity.

I feel like we can easily knock some flaws off the list already:

Holding grudges is off the list for the main reason that, if there's one thing Apollo oozes, it's forgiveness, and the fact that he is always ready to give second chances to people who have wronged him and the world (Lityerses, Luguselwa, Meg, etc.)

For the same reason, I'm going to knock off wrath. Yes, he has moments of rage, but so does everybody else! It's human nature, and, as stated before, it's usually overshadowed by Apollo's choice to let go of that anger and choose forgiveness instead.

Ambition is an interesting one, but it's not at all something that really comes up in the series to the point where it ends up being powerful enough to be his fatal flaw. He rarely seeks power he didn't already have before, especially when you consider he is Zeus' most powerful son, and one of the most powerful gods period. Why would he need more power? Unless, of course, you choose to point out that one time he tried to overthrow Zeus, but I'd argue he was acting more out of a place of 'hey please be better at your job' than 'I want your title and position', which actually falls more under Poseidon's motivations in that myth.

Interestingly, there's a certain aspect of Apollo's character in the myths that totally screws the pooch in terms of this discussion, and that's the fact that Apollo, throughout the stories of Ancient Greece, is a typical example of perfection. Literally, he's written to be virtually flawless, the paragon of young men, and (in the context of Ancient Greek culture) doesn't have many moments of rage, selfishness, or paranoia, or at least, not as many as other gods (looking at you, Artemis).

HOWEVER, as much as the myths seemingly act like he doesn't have a glaringly obvious flaw, we as a part of Apollo's inner circle/audience know he's got one - I mean, look at him! It's in there somewhere, nobody's perfect, and I don't think anybody's pretending as such for Apollo. What irks me is that we know Apollo is not lacking in general character flaws, but there is one, beyond a doubt, that shapes his inner core irreversibly. And we don't know it.

Thankfully, though, we've got five books of content that might help us come to a conclusion.

The Hidden Oracle, being the beginning of the story and the beginning of Apollo's character development, is where we would get an inkling of what Apollo wants us to think his fatal flaw is. To us, Apollo appears vain, self-centered, and, frankly annoying. And he does these things on purpose. Or at least, he tells us these things.

That's the thing: if you look past all the fluff Apollo spits out to the audience throughout the first majority of the book, before his children are taken into the forest, you'd find that his dialogue, aka how the other characters of the story hear and see him, doesn't really reflect that. Most of the annoying, self-centered brattiness is only on the page, and not as obvious in his personal interactions (not saying they're not there, but it's so much worse in his internal monologue). So, what does this tell us?

That those aren't his fatal flaws. He's very good at pretending that they are, probably because, as I've read several other metas very cleverly explain, that this is what gods are supposed to be, and, Apollo, in his desperation be his father's golden child again (or, also to avoid his wrath, take that how you will) has built up a very elaborate mask for thousands of years, because that is what he is not. He's trying to be glossed over in the vast sea that is the gods, and it's not really working because, well, he got turned into a mortal. Again.

As we pass through books 2 and 3, we're still not quite past the whole "pretending to be petty and self-serving because this is what I am supposed to be as dictated by the laws of my immortal people and my father". That, almost certainly, doesn't come until the latter half of The Burning Maze. So it's further safe to assume that our best guess as to his fatal flaw probably coincides with his more honest moments with the audience, eg. books 4 and 5.

Now, I know a popular common answer to this whole question is that it's his ego and his pride. But here's the thing: as we move on to the second half of the series, we get an interesting revealing of Apollo's perception of himself. To put it plainly: Apollo is not a narcissist, as much as he pretends to be (see the above points). Honestly, he might actually hate himself and what he's become as he learns to take a more critical view of himself as the series goes on. Drawn in direct antithesis to his moments in the first two books, when he tells us that he assumes that anybody he meets is willing to help him, after the peak of his development (marked by his promise and Jason's subsequent death), this isn't the case. That's why I'm pretty okay with putting pride and ego towards the bottom of my list of possible fatal flaws for him.

Honestly, if I didn't know any better as we reach the end of the series, I'd say Apollo's fatal flaw might fall somewhere closer to poor self-esteem, insecurity and self-doubt, but for some reason, that doesn't quite fit. I'd argue that a lot of those feelings probably stem from being stuck in the inadequate body of a mortal with a tiny fraction of his usual power - of course he's going to feel like that. That, and it's almost the direct opposite of what his flaw is perceived to be by other sources, so it feels like too large a leap to me.

I'm deliberating from my point, which is this: I still have no clue what his fatal flaw is.

It's not:

narcissism

pride

OR on the other side of the spectrum:

low-self esteem

self-doubt

OR the list of things we knocked off earlier:

holding grudges

wrath

ambition

And when you compare to other characters he might also be like, I would argue he's a totally different animal. The only character I could see a similarity with is Percy. But, again, it's just not the same. Percy's flaw, excessive personal loyalty, still doesn't really fit because, while I'd argue that Apollo's never really put in a situation where he's had to choose to save the life a mortal friend over his task of restoring the Oracles, I do believe he has a strong sense of duty. No, I don't think he would sacrifice Meg's life to do that job, but it's not something we see him forced to pick between (that I can think of, at least). I like to think that, on one hand, Percy would flat-out refuse to do his duty to save the life of a friend out of principle, whereas Apollo might find a clever loophole to save the friend, do the duty, and end up doing harm to himself. If anything, while Percy would be ready to burn the world to save a friend, Apollo would be ready to burn himself first.

That, I think, is our biggest indicator. Apollo loves his friends and the world. He wears his heart on his sleeve, this is something the Triumvirate exploits to no end.

Athena tells Percy something in the PJO series (the Titan's Curse, I think?) and says that the most dangerous fatal flaws are the ones that are good in moderation. And, of course, Apollo is a main character, so naturally his fatal flaw will fall under this category.

I think Apollo's fatal flaw is of the same breed as Percy's, but isn't really the same creature. I'm sure there's a more eloquent way to put this, but it seems to me that his fatal flaw has something to do with his tendency to be self-sacrificing, easily forgiving, and empathetic. He's been stabbed in the back several times and every time chooses instead to show trust and camaraderie, to see the best in people, and give them another chance to prove themselves: with Meg, Crest, Lityerses, Luguselwa, Meg's adoptive siblings, and many, many more. That seems very dangerous in the wrong situation, yes? Especially someone in Apollo's position - there are plenty of bad people who would be ready to take advantage of this.

And what is a story if not the hero learning to overcome their fatal flaw? And, really what is the Trials of Apollo all about? How do we end? What choices does Apollo make for the future at the conclusion of the Tower of Nero that directly contradict his overwhelming urge to choose forgiveness and let others try again?

The Tower of Nero, Chapter 36

At the end of any good epic story, the hero learns to overcome their weaknesses and flaws and do the right thing regardless. For Apollo, this comes when he refuses to forgive one person: Zeus. Apollo ends his pentalogy with coming to an understanding of himself and his relationship with his father, learning to overcome that tendency see the best in everyone, and realize that not everyone can choose to change for the better like Apollo has.

EDIT: a masterlist of my other metas

[livsoulsecrets]

Spoilers #PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians

.

.

.

.

Annabeth’s fatal flaw is pride, which is the reason why she’s so against asking her mom for help, but she was willing to do that to save Percy 😭😭

[hanziii-11]

ok ok, ik i will say this about every single episode to come but ep5 was the best! i have collected various reasons to support my claim.

ladies and gentlemen:

✨️REASONS WHY "A GOD BUYS US CHEESEBURGERS" IS FRIKIN AMAZING✨️

1) grover underwood being an absolute genius

this guy manipulated an actual GOD into giving him information! the way he played ares by saying he was a fan and choosing the right reasons to state why = perfection. i love how the series is an updated/perfected version of the books because in the books, grover's just there to tell percy about the mythological world and to yell "fOoOd" for comedic effect whereas grover in the show is a powerful character and struggles dealing with his two best friends arguing and is actually genius. anyway, grover was awesome in this episode.

2) the chair scene and showing hephaestus

they didn't have the mechanical spiders, but they made up for it with the epic chair scene! it shows how annabeth and percy have become such close friends and that they can't bear to lose each other. also their fatal flaws! percy's fatal flaw is loyalty, so he sat on the chair and was prepared to sacrifice himself, and annabeth's fatal flaw is pride, so obviously, she tried to work out a machine made by A GOD. also we got to see hephaestus!! honestly that scene was perfection.

3) the hug

grover's expression was, "yes! they don't hate each other anymore!!"

4) hiding behind the thing (idk what it's called) on the road

they way they peeped out every 3 seconds>>> and when ares came and was like well hello there.

5) the three old ladies (the fates)

in the books, this comes in the first few chapters but since percy and annie hugged they included it later which i loved because percy thought she was worried about the hug when she was like, "no? this ain't about you, percy." that was hilarious!

6) the first seaweed brain line :) <3

"this isn't the arch, seaweed brain."

yess!!!

7) ares starting fights on twitter

that- that was what i always imagined him doing in his free time.

[randomness-is-my-order]

one of my fav things about the “what did you say?” exchange in ep 3 is the fact that both of their responses are actions, like them saying it out loud really emphasizes the fact that they didn’t even grace either enemies with a verbal response, they just did. they just protected one another, easy as that. even though they haven’t fully clicked yet we know that they still care! i’m so excited for the tunnel of love and the following episode 🥺🫶

it’s a very memorable scene for me, too! percy and annabeth really showing us that actions are louder than words. and it’s extra special because this is very much expected of percy what with his fatal flaw being loyalty but for annabeth to not be swayed by alecto at all–despite her pride being stoked and appealed to–and choose to stick by percy’s side, someone she’s known for a very short amount of time and doesn’t seemed to have even warmed upto completely, speaks volumes. it shows that annabeth cares or atleast that she’s in it for the right reasons and has honour.

i’m excited for the tunnel of love too–let’s be honest, who isn’t?? but i do look forward to each and every installment. it’s wonderful to see one of my favourite childhood fantasy worlds come alive so authentically on the screen. hope you enjoy the rest of the show!!

also, happy new year!! <3

[once-upon-an-animation]

I’ve become more active on PJO Reddit/Instagram and one thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of people seem to genuinely…enjoy…Annabeth’s arrogance and behavior towards Rachel…and I’m not sure why?

Like don’t get me wrong, her jealousy is 100% understandable and I’m as pro-Percabeth as they come, but every time I suggest that there should have been an apology scene between Annabeth and Rachel, people always seem to push back against it. Their reasoning is either (1) “Well…they’re friends now so Annabeth probably did apologize” or (2) “Annabeth doesn’t have to apologize to Rachel”.

Reason (1) is nothing more than an assumption. It is not confirmed by anything in the text and is just you as a fan filling in the gaps of a story. There is nothing to suggest that Annabeth ever apologized to Rachel. Even when we got her POV in HoO, she never mentioned or implied being apologetic for her behavior anywhere. If I’m wrong, let me know.

Reason (2) is weird, especially if you’re an adult who’s able to think about this more critically. Yes, Annabeth is a teenager. Yes, her jealousy is understandable. But just because something is understandable doesn’t always mean that it’s excusable, and even despite being a teenager, Annabeth is more than mature enough to recognize that she did something wrong. I mean, she shows regret for her biases against cyclops and for judging Tyson in SoM, so why can’t she recognize the issues with her behavior with Rachel? Yes, I understand that Rachel is a romantic threat, but does this mean that Annabeth should be rude to any girl who comes within Percy’s vicinity?

And don’t tell me that her behavior towards Rachel was 100% appropriate. Rachel did not do anything unethical. She met a guy who intrigued her (and who could probably offer some thoughts on her visions) and wanted to spend more time with him. And seeing as Percy kept calling her up to hang out in TLO, that would have given off the impression that he was interested in her and not Annabeth, so of course Rachel assumed that she and Percy liked each other. I’ll admit that her behavior in the cafe/coffee shop where she yelled out about Percy and Annabeth being demigods was pretty inconsiderate, but that’s the only thing I think Rachel genuinely did wrong. As far as her relationship with Percy goes, she didn’t do anything unreasonable. It’s not her fault that Percy liked her and wanted to hang out with her.

I guess the overall point I’m trying to make is that Annabeth saying sorry doesn’t take anything away from her character, and I don’t understand why people act like this is such a wild suggestion. Not only would it be a great demonstration of her countering her fatal flaw (humility is the opposite of hubris/pride, no?) but like…it would also be a great demonstration of girls being kind to each other and not letting boys/romance prevent them from a good healthy friendship. And it would also be a good demonstration of Annabeth growing in kindness; learning to recognize your mistakes and saying sorry for them is part of being a kind person. Thinking that Annabeth never made mistakes and/or shouldn’t apologize for them is such an immature sentiment to me.

[bookhorder16]

Ok so you know the thing that talks about how Percy and Annabeth’s fatal flaws are the reason they both ended up in Tartarus. Annabeth because of her pride and Percy for his loyalty for her. But the thing is that wasn’t fatal they both survived. Soooo either they were able to overcome it with the power of love they have for each other or because after they finally got out that everything they had to go through made them dead inside. 

[banana-breaded]

Percy is a great protagonist, but

his flaws are never really acknowledged in a way that makes sense. Whenever he’s depicted as less than perfect, it completely backfires and portrays him as admirable. The three main instances of this are

When his “fatal flaw” is revealed

When Calypso is left on Ogygia

When he nearly drowns Akhyls in her own poison

Starting with number 1, he has the most flattering “flaw” ever. He’s just too loyal, too compassionate, too empathetic and selfless to even consider letting someone die. This is a much more desirable weakness than something like pride, and also doesn’t even really ever come into play. Plenty of his friends have died, despite his best efforts, namely Bob and Leo, and those deaths didn’t even prove to be permanent.

Granted, some deaths such as Bianca’s and Leo’s he could not have prevented, but in the case of Bob he should have if his flaw is to be believed. He could have forced Bob into the Door of Death/elevator and stayed behind to push the button, but he didn’t. Obviously it wouldn’t have worked out well if it did, but that’s the entire point. He’s supposed to be willing to sacrifice the entire world to save one friend. The fact that he didn’t can be counted as character growth, but that just means he’s outgrown all of his faults, further reinforcing the point. And of course, he’s never not saved the world, so there’s that.

Onto no.2, there’s nothing he could have done about Calypso. The Olympians swore on the River Styx to free her, so he assumed they followed through. Obviously they didn’t, but he didn’t know that or think to check, probably because he was dating Annabeth and therefore not thinking about the other beautiful girl who fell in love with them.

Even if he had, what was he to do? He could’t force the Olympians to keep their word; he was already on shaky terms with them due to refusing the immortality offer and wounding their pride. He probably would have ended up as a pile of ash, with Calypso still stranded on Ogygia.

Once again, this supposed negative thing just paints him in a more favorable light as he accepts full responsibly and repents for Calypso’s predicament even though he didn’t need to. Leo, who he’s discussing this with, even points out how difficult Percy is to hate because he’s always such a great guy.

Finally, no.3: drowning Akhyls was a completely reasonable course of action. Call me heartless, but when someone tries to kill you and your loved one solely because you’re demigods, meaning that she will absolutely go on to kill more demigods, it’s reasonable to want her dead. Percy’s mercy meant that she could possibly pursue them, that she could possibly sell them out and get others to pursue them. It’s the logical thing to do to get her out of the way.

Not that he could, of course. She was immortal, yet another reason why Percy’s actions aren’t that terrible. The pain she felt was nothing compared to what she’s inflicted for millennia, and lasted an insignificant amount of time in her immortal lifespan.

Percy’s ruthlessness most likely saved both of their lives by sending a message to Akyhls.

This all isn’t to say that Percy is entirely perfect. It’s more to point out that the flaws of his that are acknowledged aren’t his actual misdoings. And to nobody’s surprise, these wrongs are related to Nico di Angelo.

[twoidiotwriters1]

Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I won't elaborate on my fancast for Leo it explains itself -Danny Words: 2,152 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Polaroid' -by Imagine Dragons

VII. Save Money on Valentine's Day, Become Unlovable

"What Luke told you back on the Princess Andromeda, about starting the world from scratch... that really got to you, huh?"

Annabeth makes a face. "My fatal flaw. That's what the Sirens showed me. My fatal flaw is hubris."

"That brown stuff they spread on veggie sandwiches?"

She sighs. "No, Seaweed Brain. That's hummus. Hubris is worse."

"What could be worse than hummus?"

"Hubris means deadly pride, Percy. Thinking you can do things better than anyone else... even the gods."

"You feel that way?"

Annabeth takes a moment before replying. "Don't you ever feel like, what if the world really is messed up? What if we could do it all over again from scratch? No more war. Nobody homeless. No more summer reading homework."

"I'm listening."

"I mean, the West represents a lot of the best things mankind ever did—that's why the fire is still burning. That's why Olympus is still around. But sometimes you just see the bad stuff, you know? And you start thinking the way Luke does: 'If I could tear this all down, I would do it better.' Don't you ever feel that way? Like you could do a better job if you ran the world?"

Percy and I look at each other. "Um... no," he admits. "Me running the world would kind of be a nightmare."

"I agree," Percy gives me a playful glare, but I add: "No, I mean, I don't have what it takes. Leaders have stone-cold hearts."

"Hubris isn't your fatal flaw, then."

"What is?" Percy asks with curiosity.

"I don't know, Percy, but every hero has one. If you don't find it and learn to control it... well, they don't call it 'fatal' for nothing."

I shiver at the thought of having a weak spot that could kill me, but what can be dangerous for a girl like me? As long as I stay out of everyone's way, my flaw has no reason to put me in danger.

When Leo says he wants to look for Festus, Ara decides to join him. It's obvious he doesn't want company, but she won't let him go alone, not when something's after them.

She's half expecting the walk to be awkward. However, Leo's asking so many questions now that it's just the two of them again that she gets comfortable rather quickly. It doesn't feel like she's talking with a stranger, which is weird, not even Percy felt this way so soon into knowing him.

"So, what's your deal, exactly?" He fidgets with a couple of screws. "What does it mean, being the daughter of Olympus?"

"That I protect Olympus."

Leo gives her a sideways glance. "Your job isn't to fight monsters and do quests, then? Is it something more important?"

"You got it backward," she sighs. "That's exactly my job. The gods hand me tasks directly, or used to before they shut down Olympus... I go on quests and lead their armies."

Ara almost sounds bored when she talks about it, but she's only trying to hide how anxious it makes her, to have all that control over her loved ones. She didn't want to boss around her friends, she wanted to be their dependable hero.

"What happens if you fail?" He asks, the screws in his hand are ignored for a moment.

"If I'm breathing and can move, I gotta keep going."

"But my question is what happens when you can't continue a quest?"

Ara stares at him blankly. "If I fail, it means I died, there is no other option. I may be called the daughter of Olympus but the gods are not my caretakers. It hasn't happened though, lucky me."

Leo's amusement quickly vanishes. "Man, so you could die if we fail this quest?"

"Yeah. But I agreed to this."

He hesitates. "You might be a little too insane for my liking, and that's saying a lot..."

"Maybe I am," she heaves a sigh. "But I did it so they would stop using my friends..."

"How old are you?" Leo frowns.

"Fourteen... and a half," she adds as an afterthought.

"What!" He raises his voice. "And you're a General? I don't even have a driver's license!"

"And that's such an impediment now that you're flying a dragon," she replies sarcastically. "Don't be dumb."

"If that's an order, General, I'll have to transgress it," he taunts her. It's crazy how quickly Leo can switch from being upset to acting all funny. "That's the one thing I do perfectly, don't take my dumbness away." 

Ara sighs again, not sharing Leo's easy-going attitude. He tries again, he doesn't know why, but he likes listening to Ara's voice. It soothes him and makes his mind go slower. "So... why did the gods say yes? Why not choose someone older?"

Ara's brows knit together, she's heard this question many times before and knows that it makes sense, but it still annoys her. "I was the only one asking for it. Percy made his wish, and I still had mine, so I used it for this. The children of Olympus had been er... discontinued. I brought them back."

Leo tries to ask the following question without sounding rude, it's not coming easy. "So were you... powerful enough? Is that why they said yes?"

"I was good enough, yeah. It's a slow process, years and years of training. I convinced them 'cause I had a special set of skills."

Leo's hands are back to fidgeting. "What skills?"

Percy hides our ship behind a large rock wall, so in order to get to the top, we have to climb.

"Okay. Who first?"

They glance at me, of course they'd want me to go first, keeping an eye on the weakest link is the wise thing to do, but I'm not looking at them, I'm examining the wall.

"There's a path," I inform my friends.

"What?"

"You're hallucinating, Birdy..."

"No. Follow me."

Usually, when I insist there's something I can do, they let me try. I hold onto the nearest edge, and after that, I just keep going up. I stop only when I hear someone calling my name many feet below me. I look down to discover I don't have vertigo. 

"Why aren't you coming up?" I frown. "It's safe!"

"You're moving too fast, we can't see where you're stepping!" Annabeth pants.

"I'm fast?" I look at my hands. "Cool!"

"You don't use the lava wall back in camp, do you?" Percy raises his voice so I can hear him.

"Silena doesn't let me, she thinks I'll get hurt!"

"Well, I think she has to reconsider!" He grunts.

Festus landed on a pile of portable toilets, and both teens stare at the mess in disgust.

"Talking 'bout good fortune, huh?"

"If we had one of those cranes here it'd be easier..." Leo looks around with a scowl.

"I can climb his back," Ara steps forward, then stops. "Maybe throw snow on it before we..."

"What?" Leo puts his hand on the dragon's surface, then he jumps back. "Oh, right—ouch," he says in a not-so-convincing tone. When he notices the way she's looking at him, he tries to make up an excuse. "I'm very sleep-deprived."

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Lying," she steps closer to him.

He smiles like he finds the conversation absurd. "Doll, I really got no—"

"You may think I'm an air-headed Barbie, but I can tell you're full of shit," Ara seizes his wrist. "I'm tired of you and Piper hiding things from me. Tell me what's your deal, or I'll lock you up in one of the squeezed-out toilets."

Leo complains loudly as Ara squeezes his wrist. "Okay, okay! Dang, you're stronger than you look!" He scoffs. "You have to promise not to freak out, alright?"

"You better be honest," she lets go of him. "Don't worry about me, I've seen a lot of weird stuff."

"Okay..." he rubs his wrist. "I... I make fire," Leo scowls at her. "Now's when you point fingers and call me bad names."

Ara stares at him, her gaze is calculating. "Nyssa told you their superstition, didn't she?"

"No, I just guessed I'm an omen of tragedy and bad fortune!" He replies sarcastically.

"So rough life for you too, huh?" She tilts her head, ignoring his defensive tone. 

Leo nods once, still scowling. "Good ol' demigod life."

"Well, it's not the end of the world, and I would know that. I witnessed like, three of those," she tells him. "Can you make fire out of nothing?"

"Yes," he opens one palm and small orange flames envelop it. "But I don't do this trick at parties, y'know? For obvious reasons."

"Yeah, because you don't get invited," Ara reaches out. It is real fire. "It's okay. Chiron will know how to help you."

"You think he'll want to? Because I'll be honest here, I need the training."

"I'll do it if he doesn't. You won't get better if you don't practice, and I owe it to you," Ara stretches out her palm. "Deal?"

The fire dies on Leo's hand. He stares at her unblinkingly. "You sure? I can be really hard to handle."

"I'll manage," she decides to tease him into shaking her hand. "What, afraid of getting cooties?"

Leo smiles. "Afraid of passing them, actually, but if you insist..." 

He reaches for her hand and shakes it. 

Tyson invites me to help him build Percy and Annabeth's chariot and I'm happy to assist him. We work side by side, and Percy and Annabeth win the race.

"We couldn't have won this race or got the Fleece or saved Grover or anything! We owe our lives to our friends, to..." Annabeth pauses and looks at the Cyclops.

Percy catches my eye and his smile widens. "My baby brother and sister! Tyson and Ara!"

Before I know it, I'm being lifted on someone's shoulders and Tyson's holding my hand. When we reach the winner's platform and I'm placed between Percy and Tyson, I feel accepted unconditionally.

Percy reaches for my hand and squeezes, I make a promise that I'll treat him as my brother forever. "We should talk later," he says under his breath.

He has a strange glint of determination in his eyes. You know when someone says "later" but they mean "never"? Well, Percy isn't that type of person. Later meant fifteen minutes forward.

Chiron and him are waiting for me in the Big House, and Percy's holding a phone. "You have a call, Birdy."

"Did I do something?" I look at Chiron without understanding.

He points at the cell phone. "Don't keep them waiting."

"Hello?" I speak in a little frightened voice. 

"Hi, Ara," my heart does a somersault, it's Sally Jackson.

"Hi!" I reply, too excited to even question why my friend's mom wants to talk to me. "Did Percy tell you about the rock wall? I'm the fastest climber!"

"I heard you helped Tyson build a chariot, too."

"I helped Percy sail a pirate ship too! And I used my Charmspeak with Polyphemus before he could rip off—" My friend shakes his head frantically, so I change the subject. "Why are you calling me?"

Sally takes a moment. 

"Well... Percy and I talked..."

I glance at Percy. "Yeah? About what?"

"You liked staying with us during Christmas, didn't you?"

"Yeah! Can I go this year too?"

"How about staying the whole year?"

I'm sure I misheard that. "Sorry?"

"I've talked to Chiron, and he can help us with the paperwork to make it happen. Percy and I agree, having you around felt right."

"Wait, make what happen?" My heart's crawling up my throat.

"We want to adopt you, Ara."

"I-I'm not an orphan," My face is getting redder.

"We know."

"I told those things to Percy 'cause he asked, I wasn't trying to—I didn't use charmspeak!"

I'm embarrassed. I mean, when your friend hears your sob story and suddenly he's like "Suprise! I'm giving you this thing you told me you wished more than anything!" It kinda feels like he's just shutting you up. I didn't want it if it was out of pity.

"Ara," Percy intercedes. "We have more than enough to welcome a second regular-size kid into our home. Having Tyson around made us realize that."

"But I can't protect you like Tyson," I insist.

"We don't want that," Sally says. "Having you is enough."

They're asking me not only to stick around but also to use their name. Be part of their family forever. 

I look at Chiron with hopeful eyes. 

"Can I?"

Their bodies light up in a golden hue as soon as Leo holds her hand. Ara snatches her palm away in panic, looking at the boy as if he's got two heads.

"What?" Leo stares at her anxiously. "Did I burn you?"

"I'm fine!" She replies high-pitched. "Good talk! Let's—let's fix Festus now!" Ara turns to face the dragon so Leo can't see her blush. 

Gods, if her friends could see her now... No. This is not happening. That was not golden.

"Dammit!" She kicks the snow. 

Leo's climbing the dragon but he stops halfway. "What?"

"I'm having a moment, stay out of it!" She snaps.

The boy stares at her, half-amused and half-worried. "Why are the prettiest girls always so crazy..."

"Shut up!" Ara blushes even more.

She's dreamed about this moment for quite some time, but Leo's timing is downright inconvenient at this point, so denial it is. Ara isn't gonna make things easier. It will be the slowest slow-burn the Fates have ever had the misfortune to witness.

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

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

[royalberryriku]

You know, I also want to rant about my anger of "girls are smart and take care of the boys" and "boys are annoyed at insufferable smart girls" trope but I think that's enough anger for one day.

I will say though, if someone pokes me about it later on, I may or may not actually remember to write an analysis of Hermione Granger from Harry Potter and Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson to delve into how and how not to write smart female characters.

Actually, damn I can't help myself:

Yes, I know I have a bias against JKR for her opinions in general (there are many I disagree with), but the way Hermione was handled and demeaned through the books and parts of the movies is so infuriating and blatantly sexist, and then comparing that with Annabeth who is only treated as mean because she was literally hostile to the main characters at first as a child of Athena to a child of Poseidon to gain her mother's attention and whose fatal flaw is pride is so clear. Because, despite being the same type of trope, she was still was respected by Percy and Grover the entire time rather than be othered for no other reason besides being a "stuck up know it all" as a girl who likes books and is smart and that was it, then constantly the butt of Ron and Harry's jokes and then apparently okay with it and didn't mind being belittled all the time. There was no basis to pretend she was mean and horrible (she wasn't, she was just smart) or arrogant (again, yes she's proud but that's not a reason to be so damn disrespectful especially when she's smart and actively right about something and is really just called arrogant for being loud about being smart if anything, she's not even self absorbed or anything). There is a difference and it shows. And yes, the way strong women in Harry Potter were handled vs how strong women in Percy Jackson and various other books are handled also shows a very strong bias to the idea that "women are strong because they're smarter than boys" and "boys are naturally always stronger than girls" which is bullshit.

Compare with the fact Grover is not physically strong at all, but he can use nature magic and music, he can think, he is smart and knows certain topics even the others don't because he's older, the fact that Clarisse is literally one of the strongest fighters in camp, a girl, not because she's smart but because she's a physically strong daughter of Ares and Annabeth is strong because she's smart and wise, but they don't cancel each other out as better or worse, just two different ways for women and girls to be strong.

Sexism has a basis in Harry Potter's characters, it's there and present all the time and not really addressed, just a part of how each character is written; Ginny is strong but not as much as the boys, she has to go out of her way to be treated as such even as a tomboy, Luna is only strong because she's smart, so is Hermione, so are most of the female cast, whereas the boys are often shown doing physical tasks and being strong in them, even the weakest of them are shown to be generally stronger. Boys who are clever are shown to not be as smart as the girls generally are, the boys who don't meet physical expectations are clumsy and othered. The girls who aren't as smart are absolutely othered and the boys are always, generally, shown to be the ones making stupid decisions that have to be "fixed" by a girl who known better (usually Hermione or Ginny). Whereas in other narratives such as Percy Jackson, again, it is very clear that being a girl or boy wasn't a defining part of their character, just a thing that's there and while, yes, Annabeth is part of that trope, it's very clear that she's a unique case for one and also not the one taking care of the boys all the damn time. If anything? Grover is the one doing that. Hell, even Nico is shown to be smarter than he is physically strong and more powerful in the sense of his connection to his father than any "boys are dkb and brawny". Sex and gender doesn't make them who they are; their abilities and ideals do.

That's my biggest issue here, it's not a simple "oh so clearly Hermione is a bad example but Annabeth is a good one", it's that women in general are treated very different and talked about on different terms. There's a basis a to why Annabeth is the way she is but other girls aren't, why she was hostile at first, why she acted arrogant, why she's proud and what she is even proud in. There's specifics, there's reasons and connections to her story and the plot. But Hermione? She's smart. Therefore she's arrogant, apparently, when she voices her opinion from a book. What specifically makes her arrogant? Talking loud and proud about what she knows. Yes, she wants to be better, yes she wants to be strong. Because she's Muggle born and raised, you know, Just like Harry? Who was raised ignorant of magic and also wants to prove himself? Why is Hermione the only one called arrogant when she is only as proud as Harry, if not less later on as The Chosen One deal gets stuck in his head? I'm not saying he doesn't face consequences or is never called out for it, but I am saying that he is never socially ostracized for it. He's never seen as too much, but Hermione is just by default of being smart and being too open about it. If it was critised as sexist, a theme even, maybe I could be more sympathetic but it's just. Not. It's just shown as okay and a part of how the world is and even that it's somehow correct; that it is arrogant for a girl who's smart to talk up too much when clearly the boys known better but oh there's also stupid and need her to mother them? For some reason? Yeah that pisses me off, especially when you could have a reason for it at least. But nah, Hermione Granger's crime is trying to fit in too much, trying to catch up, trying too damn hard because we all know girls are supposed to shut up and take care of men silently while lot pretending they know too much. And yes, that was sarcasm.

The problem is that, again, with narratives like Percy Jackson or Six of Crows or Deltora Quest or any other thing in existence, it's not that every single female character is only useful as a someone to set the boys straight, but Ginny, Hermione, Luna all had that same damn role. I want more for women, I want more behind a caretaker who is chided for talking too much about her damn well earned accomplishments. And you know how wasn't chided? Annabeth fucking Chase. Not once did the narrative claim that her arrogance was built on anything false, that she was a know it all, just that she was smart and he used it and yes she was fucking right and everyone acknowledges it. Percy does, and he's not an idiot he's street smart and knows shit. And he actually doesn't hassle her for it, he doesn't go over to Grover and whisper "what a lunatic" for the crime of wanting attention and affection which apparently was a crime for Hermione trying to fit in. The same acts, different treatment that's the whole freaking problem.

Anyway that was enough of that, uh, please support strong female characters who are well written and not treated badly by the narrative. Also indie authors and new upcoming authors! Especially the ones who treat their characters the same regardless of gender!

[inthehoneymoonwithconnorrk800]

what if the jasper family existed? (part 2?)

NOTE: First of all, I wrote the basics of these headcanons in 2018. For some reason, I like Jasper (maybe because I feel Jason had a ton of potential and because I'm woc, specifically mixed native Peruvian). Kinda self-insert. oh, Percabeth mentions.

I did a lot of research on the Cherokee culture, I hope the Native Americans agree on certain things.

As I mentioned earlier, the first to be born was the tiny blonde named Regina (one of Juno's most updated epithets) along with a big offering of goats. Jason expected to get blessing from her matron, and so it was, Jason was always Juno's honored hero. On the other hand, the little chocolate-haired boy like Piper, was named Waya (a cherokee name meaning: wolf) Romulus (a Roman name that was an obvious reference to the builder of Rome) McLean.

On the first of March, as roman custom dictated, Matronalia was celebrated. Piper was happily holding her son when she noticed the sadness of Annabeth who had hidden herself well as a greek, but not well enough as Piper in her troubled teenage days. She moved a little away from the other wives and girlfriends, inadvertently she had adopted certain roman customs. She found her with watery eyes, Pipes had always been her greatest confidant and Annabeth confessed her misfortune to her, having offended the goddess Juno/Hera in her youth had brought her consequences. A demigoddess always has to remember her rank as a being inferior to a god. Having been blinded by her pride, her fatal flaw, the process of becoming pregnant was made difficult. Percy intervened for nothing, Juno was tough, but Hera, vengeful. Juno more sensible got her husband to relent in her favor and not even a hero of Olympus could change her mind.

Piper was always good with words, she made Annabeth cheer up enough to dry her tears and laugh a little. The gods sucked, but they had to be obeyed like the mortals they were. She had her hold little Waya for her to feel some additional comfort and invited her to be her guest at her house with Jason. As she prepared for such an event, she remembered a custom of her culture; she went into the woods asking for a deer, to her good fortune, Frank Zhang lent her assistance and with her soft voice persuaded them to make the offering. In her culture, deer were messengers of fertility, and if she could make it work, perhaps the goddess would listen to her prayers.

When the time came, it felt like a reunion of the team they had been: seven teenagers struggling to survive while having a snack on the Argo II. Hazel along with Frank took the day off after overtaking their duties and sending the second rankers to lead so as not to miss the event. Hazel had matured in her early adult years, she was no longer short but of medium tall stature, had a stocky body and looked nothing like the fearful girl of her past; Frank, her ex-boyfriend, had become even more muscular and moved with the grace of a full governor. Leo emerged from the Vulcan forges looking flawless as ever, when he came, Pipes embraced her platonic soul mate who loved to create messes and he reciprocated her embrace with strength, acting as if they were siblings without having seen each other in years. As new news was told, Piper inevitably thought of her Greek siblings: Lacy became a successful model and professional manicurist, while Drew Tanaka, her old enemy, became a media journalist, unfortunately, some greek siblings had passed away at a young age, which made her nostalgic and grateful to have a family.

Finally Percy and Annabeth arrived, holding hands and with a look of mutual love in their eyes. After Juno's call was made by Jason, and Percy avoided making any commotion, an answer was achieved: Annabeth would be fertile as long as she knelt before the statue of the goddess and made stern offerings to Juno, the mother goddess.

After the message, a more animated Percy hugged his girlfriend while everyone with light anxiety and quite joy ate what Jason prepared for dinner, who wanting to make his wife proud, had prepared typical cherokee dishes of pumpkin, corn and beans. Pipes smiled proudly at him, as she showed them her seven-pronged necklace made by her beloved blond, while Waya played with it.

Ten days after the Great New Moon Ceremony, the Atohuna was taking place, which was a friendly cherokee celebration that Piper herself had organized with other cherokee descendants in New Rome, when Annabeth came running and practically giving her the most intense hug of her life, confessed to her that she was pregnant at last, in strict compliance with Juno's orders.

The club of seven (ft Nico + Thalia) congratulated the young couple and soon the news spread like wildfire.

As Jason babysat his little Regina, she demanded to have a puppy with her slight stutters and soft kaleidoscopic blue eyes, but she failed to endear Jason, who had practically been raised by wolves and fake innocents. A few months passed, when Regina said her first word: "dad", that emotioned Jason so much that he didn't realize he was levitating and got her a beautiful wolf pup, as the romans used to do, as crazy as it may seem. On the other hand, months later Waya said his first sentence, "I want to be a girl".

They both looked at each other confused, they were open minded (Piper knows Jason is bi romantic+asexual and Jason knows his wife was never straight), but still they didn't know what to do, one more challenge for the McLean family.

@demidork

@fbfh

@half-bloodies

@housemartius

@hyllaarellano

@itsjustoctavianhere

@jupiterspraetor

@jasonandhisbrick

@perachelsource

@perachel-heretic

@pjo-hoo-toa-freakazoid

@jasongrace

@jasongraceless

@jasongraceappreciation

@jasongracedefenseattorney

@pipermcleant

@pipermcleanthebeautyqueen-blog

@jiperlove

@jipercabeth

@demidorks

@pipermclan

@pipermcleansed

@pipermclean

@pipermclean-ing

@percyjacksonfanfiction-blog

@percyjacksonheadcanons

@jiperlove

@jiper-and-thalico-blog

@jasonpiperbergillustration

@jasongraceisace

@jasongrace

[write-for-the-moment]

PJO characters as your ex

Ft. Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Nico di Angelo

Warnings: mention of character’s death (spoiler from Trials of Apollo), so much angst, traumatazed teenegers who take a full taste of their first break up, mention of curses, petty acts, grammatical errors. I don’t care if it too much ooc, I was under the sad vibe and wanted to write. Reader’s gender/pronounces aren’t mentioned.

This kinda inspired by this post https://www.tumblr.com/noisyalmonddreamer/688263161860833281/toxic-relationship-headcanons-with-hoo-and

@noisyalmonddreamer hey, you inspired me. Love your work. Hope you don’t mind that I tagged you.

Reader is the one brought up the break-up talk and fully explained everything to characters on why, when and how they lost feelings for them. They don’t have whole “it was miscommunication” or “you cheated”. Reader just lost feelings for them. That’s all.

Percy Jackson — the confused ex

Doesn’t understand the reasons for the break up. He is not the type to give up on the relationship. You can blame his fatal flaw, but let’s be honest — Percy lost too many people in his life via death, betrayal or both.

He never experienced this type of loss of a loved one, when they just gave up and left him.

Even after the break up, he can't accept that you cut every tie with him. Wants to be your friend, because he’s tired of losing everyone and you were… There. You were always there with him. Every danger, every monster you both faced them together. You fought alongside him. You were his first in everything: first friend, first love… and now his first ex.

And you want nothing to do with him. Not even spare a glance in his direction.

Percy was heartbroken, scared and so damn confused.

Now he just feels a little empty without. Hoping that one day you will came back and became his friend again.

His mother was in shock, when he came back home without you.

Annabeth Chase — the bitter ex

You were the only person in her life that she trusted with her heart.

It was easy, really. So horrifyingly easy to trust you, because you were always there for her. You smiled at her and her stupid heart was going insane.

Now her heart is going insane not from love, but from endless rage. Now your smile brings her misery, because you don’t smile at her, not anymore.

By betraying her trust, her love, you brought on yourself a very bitter ex.

Annabeth is quite a petty person. She won’t be gentle with you, like Percy. She doesn’t want to talk to you, yet spits poison every chance she gets when she has to deal with you. Cuts painfully with her knives during a Capture Flag, eyes burning with anger.

She always thought that you will be hers forever. The only one who will cherish her scarred heart and prideful nature. So many betrayed her trust, so many managed to break her apart… and you were no different.

And the worst part?

She still loves you. Loves you with her whole being, even though you stop looking at her. And you make it worse by being so damn understandable! Never angry at her for petty acts, because you know her more than anyone in her life.

And it hurts so much.

Jason Grace — The understanding ex

He knew from the beginning that this won’t last.

Doesn’t mean your words hurt him less. Jason was visibly fine, just a little stiff. But you knew this facade. This fake calmness in blue, stormy eyes.

Yet you walked away from him, just like his mother did.

The unwanted one. The one, who is destined to be abandoned again, again, again and again until he stops breathing. Whose body will be burned in sacred flame and whose soul will go to the hands of Hades.

The Roman warrior with the heart of a Greek tragic hero.

At least, you were gentle with him. You didn’t leave without a word, no. You weren’t angry at him. You loved him.

He wasn’t a toy for you to cast aside when he breaks.

Sometimes he pretends that he was a toy for you to play and break. It was easier to lie that you were just using him, because he was the son of Jupitar.

But Jason knew you loved him.

And he loves you, even when you cut him out of your life.

Yet again — abandoned.

He cries your name when a golden spear pierces through his body.

Now his only hope in the afterlife is to meet you again — arms spread for the welcoming hug and with a gentle smile on his young face.

Leo Valdez — the desperate ex

You knew it was cruel to hear that after being resurrected.

He was happy to see you again, so eager to be with you, yet you stopped him from touching you. His confusion started to form into horror.

You knew you would break him. But you didn’t know that it would be so devastating to watch it from afar and how quickly it would happen.

Leo was an insecure, desperate boy, who lost too much and got too little to do. He cried, asking why. He came back to life! We were fine before, so what changed?

Leo pleaded with you, promising to never die, to never separate from you. Asking if this was some sick joke, asking for a chance to be better, asking for you to not give up on him.

Explaining to him your reasons wasn’t easy.

“We can still do it! I can be better, I-I can…”

But you made a choice. And you let him go.

Ignoring the desperation, ignoring the tears on his pained face, ignoring his pleas.

He still hopes for the better. Even though it tears him apart to know that you will never love him again.

Funny, isn't. Leo made a miracle, came home and yet, the person he loved the most didn’t want him back.

What a pathetic love story he has!

Piper Maclean — the hopeful ex

She wasn’t ready for the pain to be so overwhelming, even though she saw how slowly you started to lose feelings for her.

The child of love saw the end of the stick… yet remained hopeful.

Love is not logical. It ignites and disappears, like wild forest fire.

Piper loved you for your honesty. You didn’t sugarcoat anything. You gave back her heart to her.

But she still cried. Then again, she didn't bargain. The only selfish thing she asks you to do is to have you for the last time. Let her taste your lips for the last time, hold you in her last embrace and say her confession of love to you.

You wiped her tears away and gave her everything she asked for.

And then left her, when the sun started to rise on the horizon.

Hope is dangerous. It makes you wait for some kinda wonderwork to happen, that will fix everything wrong in your life.

But Piper couldn't do anything, but be hopeful that one day you will love her again.

You still have her heart.

You just stopped caring for it.

Nico di Angelo — The cutthroat ex

He thought they were stupid — your supposed reasons.

“Why did you bother me, if you wanted to end it?”

Nico hates how his voice sounded — quiet and strained. You sounded so sure with your words, no hesitation to cut him out of your perfect life.

“Why did you do it at all? To laugh at me with your friends?”

He hated that his eyes sting with unwanted tears. Hated the fact that you chose to break up with him in Camp, when he planned to visit Bianca's grave with you. You didn’t know about that, but still—it hurted him.

You smile at him. “Nico…”

He hated so much how gentle you were with him.

So, he tries to flee through the shadows. But you knew what he would do in this situation and at the last moment tossed a ring to him.

The golden ring with skull, a perfect replica of his own ring. Nico gave it to you on your last birthday. And you gave it back to him, still smiling.

It was your goodbye.

Nico clenched his teeth, tears streaming across his face.

“I hate you so much.”

You chuckled. “And I loved you more than anything in this world, mio re.”

And then you left so quietly that Nico thought for a blissful moment that this was just a nightmare episode. That you didn’t dragged his heart across the mud and left him alone. That you are still waiting for him to come back to the Camp.

That you and him still have a future together.

Yet, your ring in his shaky hands is physical proof that this isn't a nightmare.

Nico chokes on his angry tears.

How dare you? How. Dare. You!

Loved you more than anything in this world, my ass! Why lie to him?

You made him comfortable in his own skin, welcoming his shadows, accepting him without a fear in your eyes and then you just… walked away from him. Just like that. Like that was the easiest thing you ever did in this life.

Nico in rage curses you. Now every flower dies in your hands way too quickly; animals avoid you, smelling the curse of the son of Hades on you; and you can no more seek comfort in shadows, they flee from you.

He knows deep down that it was a cruel act, to curse your soul.

But his grudge was strong and unyielding.

And till his last moment, he will curse your name under his breath.

[spiderboa]

Honestly

the thing about blood of olympus was Leo’s whole “die and then get reborn” type of thing because i get he did it for calypso (which i disagree with, actually, it’s probably rick’s worst message because you shouldn’t die for someone you love. i would throw in an “especially if they didn’t ask you to” but i feel like if they asked you to you might need a better significant other.)

but, since the prophecy of seven did state that one of them would die and leo effectively cheated death, he almost caused jason’s death. of course, he couldn’t have predicted anything about the emperors or anything like that, but the prophecy did say that one of them must die. on the other hand, i don’t think it should’ve been jason.

it shouldn’t have been percy or annabeth, because they had already gone through literal hell and to kill one would be to break the other. but at the same time, it should have been percy, because of his fatal flaw. loyalty. when i first read the series i was like, “what a bs fatal flaw that is, compared to pride or anything else” but being so loyal its a flaw is dangerous. percy would die for the people he loves and worse, and youre telling me jason is the one who dies- or leo? i don’t actually believe it because percy jackson went through hell for annabeth.

on a third pull-out-of-my-pocket hand, it shouln’t have been percy either because most authors dont simply kill their main characters after 9+ books. so we’ve ruled out jason, annabeth, and percy. let’s rule out leo too, because that sort of already happened. let’s say it was piper, because piper was in the final battle. this would have been pretty good- sad enough, but not too sad because it’s not annabeth or percy. but it doesn’t make as much sense because rick never fully developed piper’s character until after heroes of olympus.

let’s say it’s hazel now, because hazel did already cheat death. she’s scared and she’s just now finding out what it’s like to be alive, and that’s the reason it can’t be hazel- because she has just started living.

frank? frank is bound to die, theoretically- the wood will burn eventually. but it’s not during this, because he’s still got a role to play as well.

so theoretically, it’s harsh, but percy is the one who should have died in blood of olympus