#and this is why. in the universe where it happens. nico changes jason's life so bad

[poisoncupids]

say what u want about it but jiper really is for people who didn't know they were gay until after the majority of their teen years

[inthehoneymoonwithconnorrk800]

what if... the jasper family existed?

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.

Piper always wanted a family, her childhood was spent without a mother figure and an absent father. So when she was given the opportunity to live in New Rome, she accepted without hesitation.

Despite knowing of Reyna's animosity about Jason, she decided to break up with him and start a new life, training hard like a Roman, learning and taking missions and breaks to connect with her cherokee heritage. But that didn't mean she was separated from her new friends; on the contrary, she joined Percy and her best friend Annabeth's study meetings, casually talking with Hazel about New Rome and joking with Frank.

When Apollo happened, Jason didn't die. In a magical way the events were altered, and he survived the attack, sure, some died, but who cares, Jason is alive. There they realized, that despite both of their insecurities (Jason because of the pressure of not knowing where he belongs and the position of being the son of Zeus, Piper because she believed her mother was intervening in them and felt some internalized misogyny from years of bullying), they could both try again.

After Apollo's crazy adventures, finally, when all seemed calm, they moved to New Rome completely. Jason decided to train the new novices and Piper studied French at the University of New Rome. In turn, both of them when they were enjoying a quiet, domestic life, Jason told her about the mission he had secretly carried out. To make an altar to every god and goddess forgotten. Piper thought he was joking, but his lightning-like eyes assured her it wasn't a joke. Piper warned him that it might take generations to complete, but stubborn Jason didn't change his mind (he got all stubborn thanks to Leo). However, she supported his idea, they interlaced their hands and stared at each other. Piper loved Jason's electric blue eyes and not to mention what Jason loved about his partner, pretty much everything.

With the help of several Roman and Greek friends, thanks to the influence of being surviving heroes, they started with planning maps and fun ideas of where such a thing should go. Nico suggested ideas that would probably bring the war between Romans and Greeks back, haha.

Finally, after a lot of hard work (Jason has a lot of stamina and motivation) they managed to make thirty-four well-done altars by the time they were twenty-four.

Sadly, Tristan McLean passed away, leaving her daughter devastated. And considering the idea of motherhood, she wanted a family (as I mentioned before), someone to protect from the bad guys and to be the mother figure she almost never had. She was hesitant, right, she had time with Jason, but what if he didn't want to be a father? Piper felt his idea of altars would take him away from her. She'd been secretly crying until Annabeth confronted her. She explained how she felt, it turns out Annabeth had that life plan too. Annabeth got Piper to have the courage to tell Jason her family idea.

Surprise! Jason wanted a family too. True, he had Thalia, but they rarely coincided on missions and not to mention his relationship with his father, maybe that's why he trained the initiates because he saw them paternally.

A few days after their conversation about their future, Piper dreamed of Hera/Juno practically giving her consent to marry and have a family. As if they needed it in the first place.

They declared that they would have a break from the altar project, despite the annoyance of the minor gods. They both married in a celebratory Roman, Greek and with major Cherokee undertones (like the fact that if they had children they would inherit Piper's last name), they both danced to Native American flutes (Hera/Juno and Afordite/Venus were on coladas haha).

It was only a year later when Piper got pregnant. Jason was over the moon, practically having meetings with Leo and Frank to figure out how to be a better father, he certainly didn't want to be Zeus. When he wasn't nervous, he was grinning goofily thinking about a girl like Piper (maybe called by some Roman name), he would set up the cradles with Leo that Hazel took it upon herself to decorate with good luck gemstones. Percy told him not to worry so much and relax (that was before Annabeth confessed to him that she wanted to be a mother too), so both dorks are nervous.

Piper learned to make herself traditional Cherokee drinks for aches and pains, and more than once Jason has been flying in to get his wife's weird cravings in the middle of the night. Jason was always protective, but when Piper showed signs of her pregnancy, Piper literally realized that even the eagles were looking out for her, and if she wanted there to be no lightning she got it.

After Hera/Juno's attachment to Jason, she didn't hesitate to call upon her midwife goddess daughter to facilitate her giving birth. It was the first time Piper felt grateful to the goddess who hated demigods.

They were twins; first a beautiful baby girl was born, blonde like her father and with her mother's inherited sweet blue eyes. Jason didn't hesitate to carry her and when he was about to give it to his wife, Piper gave birth again, this time it was a cinnamon-skinned boy like her, with multicolored eyes and long eyelashes. They both cried with happiness, they finally felt that years and years of martyrdom, torture, mental damage for the mere fact of being demigods was finally worth it.

@demidork @fbfh @half-bloodies @housemartius @hyllaarellano @itsjustoctavianhere @jupiterspraetor @jasonandhisbrick @perachelsource @perachel-heretic @pjo-hoo-toa-freakazoid @jasongrace @jasongraceless @jasongraceappreciation @jasongracedefenseattorney @pipermcleant @pipermcleanthebeautyqueen-blog @jiperlove

[ashilrak]

How Can Somethin' Be So Much Heavier (But So Much Less Than What It Seems?)

by ashilrak

Chiron set his glass down. “Like I said, not all enemies have historically been the Titans. Oftentimes, they’ve been the Romans.”

Percy shot up. “You can’t have us fight another war!” he said. “People died so these kids wouldn’t have to!”

“And I’m not asking you to,” Chiron said, holding his hand up. “In fact, that is something we’re actively trying to avoid, and that is why you’re here.”

— Or: In a world where the Giant War never took place, Annabeth and Percy managed to survive and find their own way through college and life. On a quick visit to Camp Half-Blood, Annabeth’s world is changed when she’s told that they’re not the only Demigod camp out there. And, on top of that, the other camp is demanding a marriage in an attempt to guarantee peace between them.

Words: 9000, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson), Jason Grace, Percy Jackson, Chiron (Percy Jackson), Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Nico di Angelo, Octavian (Percy Jackson), Original Child(ren) of Athena (Percy Jackson)

Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Jason Grace

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, HoO never happened, Arranged Marriage, Anxiety, alcohol consumption, vague politics, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Some Inspiration Taken from Trashy Romance Novels

[greatneedtotakeanap]

i binge read

the finale, episode 15 - the tower of nero

!!!SPOILER ALERT FOR THE TOWER OF NERO!!! this post under the cut will be completely riddled with spoilers, as it is a personal account of my views on the book as a whole. 

it will be spoiled!!

(obviously.)

I’m almost too heartsick to write this omg. It’s been such a long, heartwarming journey, and it came to such an electrifying ending.

I’m quite proud of Apollo. I knew I was going to be, but the way he realized it, the way he realized everything... how Nero’s abuse mirrored Zeus’ and affected him just the same, how much of an asshole he’d been because of it. He made the conscious choice to change, and he decided he could love. He was capable of true love, he was capable of moving forward and being better. And he was. I was just,,, I was so proud of him. Seeing him mature was a really eye-opening experience, especially in this book, when he talked so much about the small complexities of Nero’s abuse, how every move was calculated and how it affected Meg. We’d seen wisps of discussions of abuse before, mostly in the lightning thief (smelly gabe) but we’ve never before gone into the complexities of emotional abuse. The way it was described was fantastically clear, in a way that undoubtedly painted Nero as the true villain, but also gave us the chance to see him try and convince his children that he was good. Apollo breaking down his every move was good for the audience to distinguish the meaning behind his words. Fantastically portrayed. The way it helped him realize his own abuse, too, was good.

And Meg. My sweet darling Meg. What an absolute baddie, I swear. She made the same decision - she went back to Nero to fight him, to test her own strength and power of will. Her decision to drop her rings and refuse to dual wield anymore was strange to me at the very beginning, but I understood it later. It was her refusing to use the weapons he forced her to use, to even defend herself against him. It was her turning her back on the methods he’d armed her with and deciding to take her own path. “The Beast is dead” is the rawest f-ing line in this entire novel, the Beast representing Nero’s psychological abuse. “I killed him” - she liberated herself by believing she was better. I’m so insanely proud of that girl, too. She’s come a long way as well.

Okay. After that analysis, let me just say:

THE GAYS WON.

I spent this entire book terrified that Will Solace was doomed. There was a line in the prophecy about the terrible ending of ‘Apollo’s flesh and blood’, and I figured that meant his offspring - his son, rather than his human form. I kept muttering to myself ‘Will’s gonna die Will’s gonna die and it’s gonna BREAK Nico’. I was just so worried. I didn’t think anyone, even William Andrew Solace, could survive Rick Riordan’s patented Blond Boy Curse.

But he was fine in the end! As fine as you can be. Solangelo boyfriends lived to fight another day. And their development as a couple was also quite nice. I loved their dynamic. We only saw a little of it in the hidden oracle. Though it was great there too, we were able to go more in depth and explore how they truly function. Nico’s dry sense of humor combined with his whole lord-of-the-darkness aesthetic x Will’s genuine compassion and joking nature combined with his glow-in-the-dark-ness was fantastic to see.

Speaking of Solangelo - they not only got stronger as a couple, but as individual people as well. To be completely honest, we really haven’t seen much in the way of Will Solace. He healed, he was nice, yeah, sure, but what about him? What was his personality like outside from other people? In this book we find out. He’s kind, compassionate, easily flustered, overly protective. He craves parental approval, hence him repeatedly referring to Apollo as ‘dad’ and being so watchful over him. He gets embarrassed when asked to glow on command and upset when people mistake him for a lamp. He’s impulsive and a little hypocritical - he follows his instincts (being led off into the tunnels by a random voice) but gets very worried when Nico pulls the same thing. He’s a fantastic character, and his contrasts to Nico and the rest of the ton crew were great.

Nico - he seriously was the hero of this book. Or at least the secondary hero. He saved them all so many times over - he took everyone through shadow travel away from the bulls, he met the troglodytes, saw an opportunity, prepared an offering to said troglodytes because he saw an opportunity, became an underground ambassador, later saved Apollo’s life again by turning a germanus into a skeleton. He led this quest, and you can pry that from my cold dead hands. And that one paragraph about him enduring all this shit?? MASTERFUL. He’s had such a boatload of trauma and still he stands. One of my very favorite consistent Nico traits is this: no matter where he is or what he’s doing or how he feels, he ALWAYS takes the chance to talk with those who feel alone, because he knows what it’s like to be truly fighting one’s battles alone and he’d never wish that on anyone. It’s consistent, too: him being the only one to talk to Hestia at the hearth in Camp Half Blood, him talking to and befriending Bob the Titan, him talking to the troglodytes. And I have really gotten to see his progression firsthand, sped up - I read the Titan’s Curse in my binge read series maybe two weeks ago, back when he was this hyperactive ten-year-old with a Mythomagic obsession and now he’s this prince of darkness saving people with an adorable glowstick boyfriend and man. I love this kid. If he wasn’t my favorite character in this universe, he is now.

Also, even though with this book Rick has closed the gateway to this world (sad), the end alluded to a possible journey through Tartarus again to look for what’s been calling him, but this time he’ll have Will. Rachel Dare even whispered a prophecy at the end, probably pointing to it (but we’ll never know for sure). Will and Nico through the depths of Tartarus - now that’s a series I’d want to read for sure. It’s really too bad we’ll never get to see it in canon. Sigh.

SPEAKING OF CANON.

Another way the gays have won: Piper Mclean.

She has a canon girlfriend!! We really struck gold. I figured she was aro//ace when reading the Burning Maze - her whole monologue about being forced into love - but it turns out she’s just wlw!! I love this, I love this. We seriously won with this book.

Other noteworthy thoughts I had while reading below:

- The scene with Apollo defeating Python and hanging on the edge of Chaos was great. Especially when the goddess Styx came out. I was wondering how all of his broken oaths would serve him and come back to haunt him. It was quite well portrayed. A serious rip to the Arrow of Dodona though. I always loved it,,, a lot. It made me laugh and sometimes grind my teeth in frustration, but it was always a nice presence.

- Apollo’s return to Olympus was better than anything I ever could have hoped for. I was really hoping that returning would give him a new insight, not just of being mortal, but of Zeus as well. And it did. It did! I’ve said it before but I am quite proud of him. His new perspective on the Olympians was refreshing. You can really see the change in narrative if you go back to the Hidden Oracle.

- It is always always always nice to see Sally Jackson. Woman of many talents, including novel writing, blue chocolate chip cookies, and excellent seven-layer dip. She was my favorite character at the beginning of this binge-reading frenzy (as stated in the first post). Now she is still very up there. Definitely top 5.

- Why does Estelle have Percy’s green eyes?? I thought Percy had his father’s eyes????

- Grover knew about Jason dying. If Grover was on the cross-country field trip with Percy and Annabeth, and they didn’t realize Jason was dead until they got to New Rome, then was he just sitting on Jason’s death this whole time??? Rip to Grover, he must have been seriously traumatized for THAT to have happened.

- The last two chapters were basically just Apollo making his rounds and wrapping everything up, so Percabeth isn’t just in a perpetual cross-country ride and Piper doesn’t live out her life forever in a grief-stricken taxi. I’m glad those chapters were there, though. Nice to see everybody again in their element.

Okay but you don’t understand the fear in my heart. I seriously thought Will Solace was a goner. I cried out of relief because he DIDN’T die. It just makes me love the two of them all the more.

This post has been way too long already, but I gotta add an obligatory outro - I read these books once as a little kid, and the past two weeks has been amazing getting back into them. It’s been magical and wonderful, falling in love with these characters, and I’m so sad to leave it.

[bebepac]

WIP 07.22.2020

Guess what day it is, guess what day it is WIP WEDNESDAY!!! LOL.  Is anyone else wondering where the heck this week went?  Because I really am.  I’m still a little whipped from working 6 days last week,  but this is what I’ve got going on. 

I’m also planning on redoing my tag list on my fics next week, to see if people want to be on and off and shifted around, If anyone wants to be officially perma-tagged as when I started this blog I didn’t know what TF that meant.  LOL.  Also if you are interested in my Ellie Fic,  Chapter 1 is done, so if you would like a tag on that please let me know,  I posted a little more below as a teaser.  

I totally worked on these in the wrong order as inspiration struck me, so the fic I have finished, is the one I for real started last.  Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.  Because in my mind that made perfect sense.  Blame it on the alcohol yo.

I am leading first with Pop’s Place, as this is the one that surprised some people ALOT with what Liam told Mia about Drake’s relationship he’s still currently in.... apparently.... 

First up: 

Mom’s Birthday

Pop’s Place Chapter 7

*still in the writing process*

"Did you show her the pictures?"

"You were right she didn't even look through them all. If she did she would have realized they were from last year."

"And how did she take it?"

"It really hurt her feelings. I wasn't planning on her crying.  We shouldn't have done this Mollie."

"Oh good grief Liam, don't be a baby and get a conscience now. You’re gonna reap all the benefits, if you play your cards right. The way he broke up with me here, IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!!!!! Neville even thought it was funny.  Drake has it coming.  Where are you?"

"I'm at her place. She went to get us some drinks."

"He was going to ask her to be his girlfriend, when he got home you know.  From the vibe I got, he was pretty sure Mia would have said yes. So you're welcome."

"Thank you Mollie."

"You know we wouldn't have been able to do this to him, if he cared about social media. I'm surprised he even has his cell phone, not that it's working. He's going to walk into a shit show when he gets back.  So if you want to make her yours, you better move fast."

"I'm invited to her Mom's birthday party."

"Get you some!"

"I intend to."

"Damn, she's in for a treat, you're great in bed you know, Liam Rys."

"Oh I know."

Liam quickly put his phone away when Mia came back out of  the house with their favorite apple juice.

*^*^*^*^*^* Next Up *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The Fight Within

Fast Forward Chapter 12

*still in the writing process*

 Are you happy with the way your life has turned out?"

"Yes My Love. I love you, and our children more than life." He gently touched her stomach. I can't wait to meet our second little girl."

She placed her hand on his. "Can we talk about children?"

"Of course."

"This is going to be our last baby Liam, I don't want any more children."

"Riley why? You are an excellent mother."

"I feel like my attention is so divided."

"Well I know we were both against having a nanny, maybe that would help."

"It won't because, I don't want any more children. We will have two babies in diapers again. Two breastfeeding again. Do you know how tiring it is? Especially when none of them start out wanting to take a bottle? And don't look at me like that Liam, you have always been helpful there. Diaper changes, nightly cuddles and snuggles,  but sometimes babies just want Mommy. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had more than 2 consecutive nights of more than 4 hours of constant sleep? After I give birth, I am going to get a tubal ligation or you're gonna get snipped.  And I can already tell by the look on your face Liam, you don't want it to be you."

"Riley, I carry the royal bloodline of Cordonia."

"So do our children.  When this child is born, I will have given you four heirs Liam."

*^*^*^*^*^*^* Next Up*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Chapter 1: Crown Princess Blues

Ellie (Ali) Rys: Hartfeld University Student

*finished*

She wondered how Nic was going to take the news.  

She walked out of the palace down the walkway to the practice arena.   That is where the Junior Guards were practicing. Being a Junior Guard was a stepping stone to get into the King’s Guard Academy, which Nicolai was planning on doing to follow in his father’s footsteps.  

She always went on Tuesdays when Nico, her mother’s guard, was training them.  

“Your Highness,” he greeted her when she walked in.  

“I wanted to see our future guards in action, that will help defend The Crown someday.”  

“We live to serve The Crown!”  The group chanted, bowing to Crown Princess Ellie.  

She nodded in return.  

“As you were.”  He saw Ellie’s eyes find Nic’s from across the room.  A large smile quickly crossed his face.   He could tell by Ellie’s eyes, which were Riley’s beautiful eyes, she was smiling too, but her mannerisms were just like her father’s.  King Liam had taught her to hide her true feelings very well. But Ellie’s eyes were her mother’s, and they were a dead giveaway.  

Nico immediately saw how his son Nic’s demeanor had changed, and the bright pink flush that was on his face.

After watching them spar for about 30 minutes,  He decided to get them a break, which gave Nic a little time to talk to Ellie.  They quickly disappeared into a secluded alcove.  Nic couldn’t wait to kiss Ellie as soon as he knew it was safe. She ran her fingers through Nic’s hair as she kissed him.  Their kiss was so brief.  Nic leaned in again.

Ellie pecked his lips again softly.  “Save some for later,”  she smiled at him.  

“There’s something I need to tell you. I picked a University.”  

“That’s great Ellie.  Let me guess where.”  

Ellie noticed Nic’s smile start to fade after time after time she said no.

“Ellie where are you going to university?”

“To America,  Hartfeld University.”

The color drained from Nic’s face.  “Break’s over, I have to get back.”  

He didn’t even kiss Ellie goodbye, he just walked away.   He walked away quickly because he didn’t want Ellie to see him cry.

“Nicolai, wait!” Ellie called after him, but Nic walked even faster.  Ellie sighed walking back in the direction towards the palace.      

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* next up *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

At Long Last

150 followers fanfic Giveaway

*still in writing process*

“Are you ready for bed my Love.”  

“Yes, I will be in a few minutes.”  Riley kissed Liam’s lips.  

“Excuse me?”  Jason said.

“We’re getting ready to go to sleep.”  Liam said, he tried to keep his voice level, as he didn’t know what Jason Brooks was getting at.

“Not in the same bed with my daughter you’re not.”  

Liam let out a surprised laugh.  He immediately felt Riley hit his arm.

“You’re serious.”  

“Yes the hell I am.  She’s not your wife yet, you’re not sharing a bed with her as long as I’m under this roof.”

“Dad this is his palace.”

“Jason you have lost your mind. Siri what are Cordonian jails like?”      

“I don’t give a flying fuck.  You’re not married to him yet Jelly Bean, and I want to keep your virtue intact.”  

Riley thought of all the things she had done with Liam… Yep… that virtue has been gone a long time ago.

She watched Liam and her father stare each other down.

Liam’s ears turned bright red, as he turned to Riley.  “My love.  I will have some things moved to your old suitor room.  I  will see to it that it is properly cleaned for you in the morning.”

Liam watched as Riley gathered some of her things, to take to the other room.

He slipped his arms around Riley’s waist.  “Maybe I can sneak down the hall and spend the night with you instead.”  

“Don’t even think about it, I’m a light sleeper.  Do you need any help with your things Jelly?”  

“I got it Dad.”

She settled in her room.   Liam sent her a selfie from the bed with him pointing to her side of the bed, where Chance was curled up.  “We miss you Love.”  

“Still want to marry me?”  

“Of course… but your dad is quite the character.”

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* next up *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The Indescretions of the Father

Heroes and Villains Chapter 7

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* earlier that day *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

“Love you look upset, what's wrong?”

“Your father…”

“I know I was supposed to be at your confessional and at the last possible second he told me I would not be attending and it would be him instead.”

“That’s not what.. Your father said some really inappropriate things to me.”

“Like what?”  

She went over the things Constantine had said during the confessional about her body and lust.

“My father would never talk to a woman like that.  You have to be taking what he’s saying out of context Riley.  I know you are still upset about the task Riley.  I am too….”

“Are you saying you don’t believe me Liam?”

“No that’s not at all what i’m saying Love.  If you would just cal.…..”

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down Liam Rys!!!!!!!  Your father is disgusting, and talked about you and me together, and he stared at me like I was a piece of ass Liam.”  

“Riley please….”  

“You know what, don’t bother coming by the next couple of nights, I don’t think my schedule can accommodate you this week anyway.”

Liam watched Riley walk away slamming the door behind him.

“He didn’t believe you Riley? How could he not believe you?  I’ve seen the way Constantine stares at you when he knows Liam isn’t looking. King Constantine is a dog.”  

“So you believe me?”

He stroked Riley’s cheek gently kissing her lips.

“Of course I believe you Riley.  I know you wouldn’t be this upset if it didn’t happen.  Prince Liam can’t see who his father truly is because he’s too close.  I’m sorry he hurt you.”

He hugged Riley.

“I know a place that makes the best american cheese burgers and chocolate milk shakes.  Go put your sweat pants on girl, we’re gonna go there and eat until our stomachs are full and happy.”  

“No Greek tonight then?”

“You can have some Greek Meat if you would like later.”

Riley laughed.

“That was dirty Nico.”  

“Yet you’re still laughing.”

Still in the pipeline:  Life of Riley:  Beach Vacation:  It’s in my brain,  just nothing concrete typed out yet.  

*^*^*^*^*^* end of chapter teasers *^*^*^*^*^*^*^

What are you guys working on @burnsoslow @loveellamae @dcbbw @queenjilian @indiacater @hopefulmoonobject @bbrandy2002

Tagging some peeps that really expressed interest or had some very strong responses from the previous chapters of these. @hopelessromanticmonie  @atha68​ @queenwalton​ @debramcg1106 @axwalker @kingliam2019 @kimmiedoo5 @texaskitten30 @sanchita012 @mom2000aggie @gabesmommie1130 @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @marshmallowsandfire @jared2612 @cordonia-gothqueen @batgirlassociationofgothamcity @losingbraincellseveryday @mrsdrakewalkerblog @sadlibrahours @cordonianroyalty @blueaster-blog1@choicesficwriterscreations

[moonlit-maiden]

On Nico di Angelo, "Pairing the Spare" and How to Shaft a Complex Character in Less Than 500 Pages

This will be long. Strap in. This is long overdue.

So more longtime followers of mine may already know this but I adore Nico di Angelo from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. They also know I continue to eastly, to this day, about how he was handled at the end of the Heroes of Olympus series. Now, I've never fully delved into the 'why's and I will do so now as it's probably best to actually articulate it at some point instead of continually lamenting it without presenting rationale.

First: WHY do I love his character so much? It all boils down to shared/similar experiences for social ostracization. Growing up, I was quickly pushed out of social circles due to who my parents were; immigrants. Simply existing with the ethnicity and cultural heritage I had labeled me as untouchable. To sum it up succinctly; white but not the "right" kind of white. Keep in mind this was at the end of the Cold War; attitudes towards Slavic peoples were poor as hell. Fuck, they still are 30 years later! Nico is ousted due to his heritage too; being a Hades child. It's not something he chose nor controlled. He himself did nothing wrong to any of the campers yet when word got out they pushed him away. The same happened to me. As soon as the school kids and/or parents realized my parents were Slavic immigrants they shoved me out. It still hurts to this day. As such, I can deeply empathize with Nico.

Why does this matter? Because that blanket social rejections fucks people up. Nico is shown throughout the series to be distrustful, preferring to isolate himself. He has been shown time and time again he is unwanted due to being a Hades child. Eventually you just... stop trying. When you beat a dog enough times it stops coming around. This is the same thing. In addition, Nico has lost his elder sister, Bianca. The one person he felt understood him because she, too, was similar to him. Now I have Opinions on Bianca that would piss off 99% of the fandom but it's irrelevant here. Her death occurs shorts before or after it's revealed Nico is a Child of Hades. He is 10 years old with no one and the whole camp rejects him. It's a cruel thing to do to someone no matter how much you try and justify it. Rick did an incredible job highlighting how racism, ethnocentrism and bullying harms a child. Nico immediately became my favorite for this and I applauded Rick for having the balls to shine a very uncomfortable light on a situation similar to mine. A situation, I'm very sure many first generation or immigrant kids can relate to.

So where did it all go wrong? To be blunt, Blood of Olympus. Now, the final volume of the HHO series is a hot mess in general. Almost ALL characters get shafted on way or another with mischaracterization, simplification or backtracker on character growth. Not to mention the plot feels very slapdash and messy at times. But again, another subject. We see Reyna and Coach Hedge start to really get to know Nico and realize the extent at how bad his abuse has been at the hands of monsters and demigods alike. Neither feels this is right and shows it as best they can while respecting Nico's boundaries. In the previous book, House of Hades, Jason does the same thing. But then we finally get back to Camp Half Blood and shit falls apart for Nico's arc.

It's plainly obvious to anyone who's ready the series in full that Nico is traumatized, even moreso then most of the cast. He has been physically tortured multiple times, psychologically tortured by the camp and emotionally manipulated by several individuals. Keep in mind, by HOO, Nico is roughly 14. Fourteen. Can you even image how that feels?! He's only just now, after Jason, Hazel and Reyna's persistence that they will not hurt him, that they genuinely care for his well being, that they don't care about his heritage (and don't care about his sexuality, from Jason specifically). And then Will appears and Nico magically forgets 4 years of pining for Percy. It's so jarring, like a screeching record! This is when we enter the issue.

In writing, there are many rules. Like all rules, they can be bent of broken under certain circumstances. The rule in question is the 'pair the spare' rule. The rule states that if the pain cast has paired off, do not pair of the "spare" aka the odd man out unless it's been led up to. Rick chose to ignore this rule and pair Nico with Will, citing that as a canon LGBT character, he wanted to send the message to LGBT kids that they were worthy of love. This in itself is not a bad message. What IS bad is execution. First, Will is a background character. He very much has potential, don't get me wrong! But outside of having a few minor scenes in final volume of the PJO series, Will has only ever been mentioned in passing. From what we've seen, he and Nico have never interacted. On top of that, Will who is a healer, completely dismisses Nico's trauma. This is a very big red flag. When someone is traumatized, particularly psychologically, the absolute last thing to do is to dismiss the experience as "teen angst" like Will does. It shows absolute disrespect for Nico as a human being. And he is a healer. He should know better. In addition, Nico himself is not fond of the dismissive personality Will is displaying, the 'I'm going to tell you what to do' persona because he's a doctor so 'doctor knows best'. And in Nico's POV he says as much in his inner monologue! Yet he's "drawn to him". I'm sorry, but I call bullshit. Nico has been shown in 9 1/2 books to be quite smart, paranoid about social intentions due to past experiences and won't take crap from no one, not even his own father, the Lord of the (fucking) Underworld. Yet he'll just grit his teeth and basically follow Will's lead with little complaint? It's so out of character it's jarring and painful.

We briefly see Nico and Will in the first Trials of Apollo book. They're acting like the normal couple with Nico being the "sassy, snarky" one of the pair. Please note it's been 6-8months since the end of BOO, in-universe. In this one scene it completely erases Nico's trauma, very valid feelings of distrust and hurt, his struggle with both his heritage and his sexuality, his years-long unrequited love for Percy, his grief over his sister and his struggle to make connections with his fellow demigods. Love is powerful but its not a cure-all. It doesn't make the years of hurt and abuse magically disappear (trust me. I know.) and it doesn't change someone's personality to well-adjusted.

Pairing Nico with Will at the end of BOO completely destroys his characterization from a writing standpoint. All the real struggle, grief and unpleasant consequences of abusing and bullying people who are "other" in socially-acceptable ways is wiped away in less then 50 pages. It also send a very VERY dangerous message to LGBT youth; find someone you're attracted to and they'll fix you. That's a toxic message to tell to straight kids so why the fuck would you tell it to LGBT kids!? Unlike most LGBT character in literature that I can tell are shoehorned it, Nico was planned to be gay from the start, I have no issue with this. What I do have issue with is throwing his character out the window so he can chase some cute blond ass. Nico deserves better then that as a character. People who suffered socially-acceptable abuse deserve better then that. Immigrants and first-generation kids deserved better then that. LGBT youth deserved better then that.

THAT is why I keep getting so pissed; Rick took a genuinely complex character and fucked him over so he could lazily pair the spare and not be accused of leaving the only canonically gay character single. But there is a reason 'do not pair the spare' is a rule. It's better to leave a character single then slapdashedly pair them up. This goes double for characters who have trauma in their life and trauma is a serious issue that should be respectfully addressed. Love is powerful. Love helps to heal. But the love of family (Hazel) or budding friends (Jason and Reyna) is just as important, valid and send a powerful message. It sends the message 'you are not alone. You are worthy of love. You are a human worthy of regarding of both your experiences and your fears.' Pairing Will with Nico completely and utterly stomps on this message. It sends horrible signals to LGBT youth and scraps his complex character into the token goth gay boy. And Nico di Angelo deserves better then what he was given.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[bubblegumwitchswriting]

The Currency We’ve Spent Chapter Seven

Main Pairing: Will/Nico

Other Pairings: Jason/Piper; Percy/Annabeth; Hazel/Frank; Leo/Calypso

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15934799/chapters/40763918

First Chapter (Prologue): here

Previous Chapter: here

It had been approximately five minutes since the last world-changing event hit them, so they were probably due another one. Jason's statement was probably earth-shattering but neither he nor Will appreciated that and just stared at him slightly blankly. Jason sighed in relief and sank back slightly into the cushions.

"Is that bad?" Will asked.

"No," said Jason. "That's good. That's really good."

Nico wasn't sure if it was just him or whether Jason really wasn't making much sense. He glanced at Will, but Will was just surreptitiously examining Jason, in med-student and doctor to the mob mode.

"Did -" Jason paused. He looked at Will as though trying to figure out how to phrase something.

"Luke never mentioned it," Will said, acting more composed than he must have been feeling. "Nico can you get that notebook?"

Nico got up to did that, leaving Will examining a cut on Jason's arm.

"How did you get this?" Will asked, as Nico padded away. Nico stopped listening. He didn't want to know. He couldn't know.

Everywhere around him the protective bubble he'd been forming  was fracturing and cracking. The world was pushing in, reality was coming for him. But why was this his reality? Why couldn't whatever drama his father and Jason's father were involved in just leave them all alone? Why couldn't he just have a boyfriend and worry about paying the rent and who was going to wash the dishes.

Actually, that was never really a worry. They both knew who would always end up doing the dishes.

He glanced at the date jar as he picked up Will's notebook. It had been only an hour or so since they'd been happily, soppily, writing down ideas for dates like a normal - sickeningly sweet - couple. Now it felt like a lifetime away. It felt like they had two different lives, two different personas - crisis and normality.

Normality hadn't lasted long and they had more experience with crisis. In the long hours of night that stretched out into time spent in the dark reaches of dark thoughts, deep worries that he usually shoved to the back of his head, he sometimes wondered if he and Will could cope without secrets, without drama, without crisis. If he closed his eyes and thought really hard he could maybe, just about see the two of them with a house and a car and proper jobs, maybe even kids. But the picture was hazy. The picture was hard to reach.

The picture might scare him a little.

He knew Will liked him, and liked him a lot. You didn't stay with someone who's family and family friends had tried to kill you, unless you liked them a lot. He knew that Will was loyal. He knew that despite Will's habit of picking up habits - even healthier eating, going to the gym, no tv days - and dropping them a week later, Will was loyal. He stayed, come rain or shine. Will was one of those people who didn't shy away from forever.

Nico couldn't say the same for himself.

Case in point: Austin. Nico had finally managed to convince Will he wasn't overthinking the secret brother. He'd then managed to convince himself he wasn't other-thinking the secret brother. Mostly convince himself anyway.

It wasn't the secret side of it he was over thinking this time, but the family aspect. And okay maybe the secret side. But not in the same sense as before: he had changed, no matter the looks Jason might give him. But Will's loyalty to his foster brother despite not seeing him in years, how torn up Will's life had become because of the past, because of those secrets - well that was something Nico was over thinking. Will had made it clear he didn't blame Nico for the possible actions of his father, the definite actions of Jason's father, Percy's father.

But would that hold? Would Will's loyalty hold?

And if Will was so loyal would there be a time when he went back to Luke?

No. Nico was not going down that path again. He wasn't.

He picked up the notebook just as Will called out to ask what was taking so long, and for a glass of coke and a pack of cookies. He assumed the coke and the cookies were for Jason, so he picked up the remains of packet of oreos - Jason's favourite and carried it all the into the living room.

He put everything down on the coffee table and Jason took an oreo. That was good. Jason looked too thin.

Will picked up the notebook, weighing it briefly in his hands before flipping the pages over, scanning his writing as though something might job a memory, a synapse might spark and he might suddenly unlock the secrets of the universe.

"Nothing," Will said with a shrug. The notebook seemed heavy in his palms.

"Something in here might help anyway," he said, holding it out to him. Jason reached out with a certain amount of reverence. He read, quickly and his expression changed. Sympathy? Wonder? Slight suspicion. Nico couldn't read Jason as well as he used to.

He wondered if he should have stopped Will giving Jason the book, but it was too late now anyway. And anyway Jason wasn't a threat. He had to stop letting his father get to him.

They'd already eaten, but they had a second dinner because of the unspoken agreement between him and Will that Jason needed to eat. With the lights on and Will making jokes, most of them at Nico's expense (Nico didn't mind because they were drawing smiles out of Jason, and then good-natured teasing out of Jason), Jason started looking more Jason like.

Midway through the evening, Jason and Will began ganging up on Nico's relationship with vegetables. Nico quickly diverted them with a question about Thalia.

"Won't talk about what happened," Jason said with a sigh. "But doing alright. She and Piper are getting on great. Always ganging up on me though."

"Gee," Nico said and he didn't think he'd ever felt the sarcasm dripping from his tongue so venomously, "I wonder how that feels."

Will just laughed; Jason pointed out how many nutrients aubergine had in with a beatific smile.

"That may be," Nico said, poking a piece with his fork. "But I hate the texture."

"I have to sneak vegetables in," Will said. "Like you have to do for little kids."

"I seem to recall earlier you saying how much you liked my spaghetti dear," Nico said. "And I put vegetables in that. You just have terrible taste in healthy stuff."

Jason went home with a bit of colour in his cheeks. After Nico shut the door behind him, and bolted it, he looked at Will, in the kitchen and staring into space.

"You didn't have to give Jason the notebook," Nico said softly. "That was a nice thing."

Will nodded. He pressed the thumb of one hand into the palm of the other. It was a nervous habit he'd only picked up very recently.

"It'll probably help," he said with a shrug. "And besides it will probably all come out at some point anyway."

He looked resigned. Nico wanted to get rid of that look but he didn't know how, not when he himself was resigned too.

Would they even survive without secrets?

He either needed to sleep, or a distraction. He glanced at his watch, Will noticed.

"Picnic tomorrow," he said. "First day of the rest of our lives doing the important stuff and all that."

Nico nodded.

"Are you saying early night?"

"Early night for you would be about 3am given how late you woke up," Will teased.

"It wasn't that late!" Nico protested, poking him in the ribs. Will giggled, squirming. He was extremely ticklish. It gave Nico the edge in arguments when Will had the edge with his sarcastic dears and loves and sweethearts melted Nico into butter outside in a heatwave. Will had not yet worked out that Nico was equally, and possible even more, ticklish. It was one secret he intended to keep from Will until he was cold in his grave.

Still giggling Will moved back, out of reach.

"I was just going to suggest Mario Kart," he said. "I'm not tired yet and aside from our super romantic rom-com picnic, we don't have much to do tomorrow."

"I'll take you up on that," Nico said. "Providing I get to be Luigi."

"You can be Luigi if you get there first," Will offered, sprinting away to the living room as he spoke.

"Come back cheat!" Nico called, running after him.

The next day dawned fair and warm: perfect picnic weather. Will, full of visions of checked blankets and wicker baskets searched for both despite knowing full well they'd never owned either of those items. He was debating going out to find them and whether amazon could same day delivery them and whether that was even a thing, or he'd dreamt it, when the doorbell went.

Will still deep in picnic planning land, ignored it. Nico drinking coffee and eating this morning's pancakes (Will was apparently very serious about big, important breakfasts - not that Nico was complaining) had to get up. He was expecting Jason, maybe Percy or Cecil. Lou Ellen even. He certainly wasn't expecting Thalia.

"Hey," she said, quietly hands shoved deep into the pockets of her jeans. "Jason gave me your address. I wanted to bring this back."

She took Will's notebook out of her jacket pocket.

Nico nodded. Then remembered they were both standing opposite sides of the doorway.

"Right," he said. "Come in?"

Thalia picked up on his tone.

"Won't stay long," she assured him. "I know you two are probably busy. I just wanted to ask Will something."

Nico pursed his lips, sour and irritated. He tried to shove it down but it was a pressure behind his eyes, a heat in his blood.

Thalia went through into the living room where Will was still at the laptop, staring with slight horror at the prices of picnic hampers.

"Hey," she said. "Thalia. Jason's sister."

"I remember," Will said. "From the party?"

Thalia and Will hadn't interacted much. Thalia, strangely, seemed unsure and she nodded, picking at a silver thread along the hem of the jacket. She didn't sit down, just stood uncomfortable and thoughtful in the centre of the room. Will closed the laptop.

"Brought this back," Thalia said, handing the notebook to Will. "Jason copied it all out. He said you wouldn't mind?"

Will shook his head.

"I suggested it."

Thalia nodded again. The thread was getting longer as she played with it, winding it tight around her finger.

"You knew Luke fairly well?"

Will looked down at the table, quiet now too. Nico suddenly got the impression he wasn't necessarily an important part of the conversation. He faded, as unobtrusively as he could into the kitchen. He could still hear them talking, could still jump in and rescue Will or kick Thalia out if things got too much. Could still eavesdrop.

He closed his eyes and took a breath. Sometimes he really hated his inner self.

"I guess," Will said. "I mean as much as anyone. He just kept to himself really. Didn't say much to anyone or have much to do with anyone."

"No," Thalia said softly. "I knew him. He trusted you. I can tell from the things he told you."

Will looked down at his hands.

"It was a business relationship really," he said. "But he must have cared about you. I haven't seen him or contacted him in a couple of months and he still texted me the other day to make sure you were okay."

Thalia was pale, furious, upset, hurt. It was a mix of emotions Nico was intimately acquainted with and for the first time in a very long time he felt a flash of kinship to Thalia.

"See," she managed. "He trusts you."

She shrugged, pulled her jacket more closely around herself.

"He wasn't always terrible you know," she said. "Even now I'm sometimes not sure he's wrong. I just wish he -"

She broke off, shaking her head.

"Thanks for answering. I know it's probably not something you want to dwell on."

Will didn't deny that.

"Any time," he said.

Nico showed Thalia out. At the door she paused.

"I know you didn't want this," she said. "But I thought maybe now?"

Out of her pocket she pulled a mythomagic card. It was a rare version of Hades. It was the card Thalia had brought back from their road trip, the card Bianca had gotten for him.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, ignored the heat in his eyes. He managed to reach out a hand to take it.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

Thalia, didn't acknowledge it. That was fine: he didn't want her to. Acknowledging him would also mean she acknowledge how rigidly he was holding himself, how hard it had been to get the words out at all. She just turned and left.

Back in the living room Will had opened up the laptop again and was back on the hunt for picnic hampers.

"We don't need a hamper," Nico said, forcing himself back to normality, back to that persona. "I mean how often are we going to picnic?"

"We should do it every weekend," Will said. Nico have him a look.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, forestalling Nico's comment. "I know. We'll probably do it twice and then it will rain and then we'll be busy and then -"

Nico sighed. Will was right, but suddenly he realised that he'd also been picturing their picnic with a hamper. Will's stupid romanticism was rubbing off, catching like the dreaded lurgy.

"We'll go today with a boring old carrier bag," he said. "And then we can look in some junk shops. I'm sure a thrift store somewhere will have a hamper."

Will grinned at him.

"What?" Nico said.

"You are a romantic!" he said with a grin.

"It's your fault," Nico grumbled. "I'm pandering to you and some of your stupid ideals are rubbing off."

Will just grinned, not taking Nico seriously at all. Nico wondered how seriously he'd meant it. He'd never had the opportunity to be romantic before. It had been so much easier to be a cynic.

"I'll start packing the food," Will said. "See if you can find something to sit on. It doesn't have to be checked."

They had plenty of blankets. Nico folded one up on the fourth attempt and then they were out in the warm spring air. Birds sung, road rage was at a minimum. It was a lovely day.

In the park there were plenty of other picnic-ers: other couples, families with small children running happily across the grass. Nico watched them blankly. Was that his future? Or was his future darker, did his future involve an endless array of Luke's and Ares's and echoed gunshots in his head.

He honestly didn't know which he wanted, which scared him more. And that scared him.

"I'll just do all this myself shall I?" Will asked, teasingly as he shook the blanket out. Nico looked up at Will, blonde hair a bright halo on the warm day.

What are you scared about? he asked himself.

He didn't have the answer.

"I was just waiting for you to get the blanket down," Nico said, equally teasing. "Not my fault you're slow."

They talked. They watched clouds. They did everything they were supposed to do on a romantic picnic. But Will didn't seem to be as present as he might have been. Given how excited Will had been about the whole thing, his distractedness worried Nico. He got an explanation without warning, as Will stirred a pot of honey he'd been spreading on a slice of bread.

"Thalia's right," he said, watching the spoon go round and round. "Luke did trust me."

Nico had no idea what to say. He had no idea where Will's train of thought had come from, even less where it was going.

"Did you trust him?" he asked.

Will sighed.

"You know what," he said. "I did. At least to the extent that he would continue to pay me and continue to ensure I was as out of danger as possible."

"When I met him," Nico said. "He seemed okay. I think that was one of the things that really bothered me. He does all these terrible things, but he just stood there and seemed okay."

Will was quiet.

The spoon went round and round.

"You know," Will said quietly. "I sometimes wonder if he has done terrible things."

Nico really didn't know how to answer that one. He couldn't think of a single thing to say that wasn't Luke is evil!

"I mean what do we really know? Your father and Jason's father don't like him. He attacked them. But they also attack him. We don't know who is right."

"Luke's the mob," Nico said, frustrated, but he knew he was mostly frustrated with himself. Because Will was making sense. He didn't want Will to make sense. He didn't want things to get messier. He didn't want to find out just how loyal Will was.

"Yes but," Will said gently, "-and please don't take this the wrong way but - how do we know you're dad isn't. Jason's father isn't?"

If it were a gang fight, a turf war, if it was one version of a mob against another version of the mob would that make it better or worse?

If it was would Will pick Luke? Would Nico pick his own father?

"I -" Nico said. But then he shook his head. "Maybe you're right."

"I didn't mean to rock the boat," Will said. "Or ruin the picnic. But we don't know anything. I gave Jason the notebook because maybe we need to go back a bit. Figure out what happened in the past. Figure out who's right now. Maybe that's the only way we get out."

"That doesn't sound like getting out," Nico said, through gritted teeth. "That sounds like getting into it."

"Wasn't that your idea?" Will asked. "Getting into it to get out of it?"

"My idea largely involved neither of us getting hurt!" Nico snapped.

There was a beat of silence. Will put down the spoon. Nico played with the ring on his finger.

"We won't," Will said.

"You can't promise that," Nico said.

"No," Will said. "I guess I can't. But I can't promise we won't get hurt anyway. Ignoring everything, not being angry, it was okay before. But now Austin's here, and you're here and everything that goes with your dad and Jason's dad is here. I think now not being mad is making it worse. Ignoring it all is making it worse. Kayla's strong, she's doing okay. I don't have to worry about upsetting her."

"What about upsetting yourself?" Nico asked softly.

Will looked up at him, expression suddenly so much it made Nico dizzy.

"I've got you," Will said. "I know you'll be there."

Nico swallowed. He couldn't look up. It wasn't an I love you, the words weren't even close, but they carried the same tone, the same weight.

"And I've got Jason and Percy and Annabeth and Piper, and Lou Ellen and Cecil and -" Will added with a grin, completely and totally ruining the moment. Or maybe the way his eyes gleamed made it better. Either way Nico lent forward and kissed him.

"You have us," he agreed. It wasn't an I love you, but he hoped it carried the same tone, the same weight.

[castrophreni-a]

Without You

PJO/HOO - Percabeth - Canonish AU

Rated: Teen

Hook: Percy is missing. Again. Maybe. Except not at all. Either way it's all Poseidon's fault and Annabeth has had it up to here with the gods.(What happens when our Percy is replaced with Darkest-Timeline!Percy overnight? And just what makes his timeline so damn dark?)

Title: Without You

ao3/ffnet

Annabeth woke in a cold sweat, her whole body tight and agitated. Her hand was on her sword and she was on her feet milliseconds later. Something was wrong. Her first thought, unsurprisingly, Percy.  

She ran to his cabin, only to find the door already open and him face down and unconscious next to his bunk.

It took less than ten minutes to rouse Jason, who helped her carry her unnecessarily heavy boyfriend to the Big House, as well as Chiron and Will Solace. In the rush and faint light of dawn Annabeth hadn't noticed at first, but in the full flush of the house she saw clearly a thick strip of pure white hair amongst Percy's windswept hair, similar to the one that had grown out years ago, but uncomfortably different as well.

After that she noticed a few other subtle differences. He had a thin scar marring his right eyebrow, another very faint one under his chin. Annabeth couldn't be sure but she would have sworn he was...paler than he had been the day before. And not in a 'supernatural coma/potential sickness' sort of way, but a 'I missed the sun this summer' kind of way.

Will was looking him over, taking his vitals, pronouncing them normal, when Percy gasped awake. In blinding speed, even to her, he rolled off of the couch onto his feet and had a dagger in his hand she thought maybe had been on a bookcase behind him.

His eyes were...they were all wrong. There was a hardness there that shook Annabeth to her core. She'd never actually seen him level such a cold gaze at her before, only glimpsed it in battle when he faced enemies. It was another thing altogether to face it herself. It made her blood run cold.

Percy's attention flicked from her to Will and Chiron and he marginally relaxed. "What happened?" He demanded of the pair. "Why am I up here?"

"You were passed out on the floor of your cabin." Will said slowly. "Annabeth found you and she and Jason brought you up here."

Percy looked to Chiron and then back to Will, he let the weapon fall to his side but his grip on it remained firm. "Who?"

"Hilarious Percy," Will said with a scoff. "But I'm not falling for your amnesia 'relapse' again."

Percy studied Will for a long moment. "Who the hell is Annabeth?" He pointed to dagger at the blonde across the room. “And who is she?”

---

Needless to say there was a mild amount of chaos after that question was posed. At first Will and Chiron assumed another case of supernatural amnesia, but Annabeth was quick to counter that with her observations.

This Percy had scars she didn't recognize, he still had a chunk of bright white hair, and he didn't move or look or sound quite like her boyfriend. He was... wrong, a knock-off or a weird substitution, or something. But definitely not her boyfriend. This wasn’t a Percy whose memory had been tampered with again, this was a different Percy altogether.

After a few tense moments of speculation they all took seats and the other Percy kept his pilfered weapon on his right thigh, still distrusting.

“I don’t understand.” Will reiterated. “You know who I am,” Percy nodded. “Who Chiron is,” Again he gave a swift affirmation. “Even Jason?” Percy confirmed this to be true. Will scratched his brow. “Uh, Nico?” Another yes. “Okay, Piper?” And yes, Leo and Hazel and Frank. He knew Rachel Dare, he knew Grover, though he flinched almost imperceptibly to anyone that wasn’t Annabeth Chase at the mention of his best friend’s name. The list went on and he confirmed camper after Roman.

“So the only person you don’t know is...Annabeth.” Will concluded, sharing a thoughtful look with Chiron.

Annabeth felt his steady green gaze settle on her and she met it, searching for someone she knew she wouldn’t find. There wasn’t an ounce of recognition in his eyes. “No,” He answered softly. This had been her nightmare once. Well, one of them. When he was missing, those dark months of searching, after Jason’s memories started to come back so slowly. A part of her had been worried they’d find him and he wouldn’t remember her, remember them. She knew, in her very soul, that this was not her Percy, but it still hurt to see him look at her without the love, the awe and wonder, she’d grown used to over the years. It was all wrong.

“I think she’s right though.” He broke their staring contest to return his attention to Will and Chiron. “I don’t think I’m, uh,” He gestured vaguely to the trio opposite him. “Your Percy or whatever.” He ran a hand through his hair. “My Will Solace just cut his hair short for the summer.” He pointed to Chiron's left arm. “My Chiron has a scar from the Battle of Manhattan.” He ran a thumbnail across his bicep. "And obviously we don't have an...Annabeth." He finished, shifting in his seat.

“How do we know you’re Percy Jackson at all?” Annabeth tried to keep her voice even, a lot about the kid said ‘danger’ in bright neon lights she didn't want to provoke him, but there was still an edge to her tone.

“Huh,” The interloper shrugged. “I guess you don’t.” He tapped the fingers of his left hand on his left knee. A nervous habit her boyfriend had too when forced to sit still. “I mean, anything you ask me we won’t know if it’s just different where I’m from, or if I’m lying.” He said it matter-of-factly, almost with disinterest.

“So why should we trust you?” Annabeth pressed.

“You shouldn’t.” He replied quickly. That wasn’t exactly the answer she was expecting. “I wouldn’t.”

Will turned to Chiron. “Could we like test him?” He rolled his hand. “Like prove he’s the son of Poseidon, or think of something only Percy Jackson could do or...something?”

“What did you have in mind Will?” Chiron raised an eyebrow.

Will nodded his head to Annabeth. “Well we have the foremost Percy Jackson expert right here don’t we?” His looked to Annabeth. “What would prove he was Percy, Annabeth?”

The other Percy also shifted his focus to her again, confusion coloring his eyes, his brow creasing. He clearly questioned Will’s assertion, but chose not to verbalize it. Annabeth bit the inside of her cheek and considered the issue at hand. The guy was right, any question he answered incorrectly weren’t exactly proof he was lying, just that his life had differed from the Percy she knew. They needed something fundamental, something that wouldn’t change no matter what…(timeline? Universe? Athena give her strength) he was from…

It took her sometime to think of something unlikely to be alterable. “Your mom,” She cleared her throat. “She told me once,” On one of the late nights when he was missing and Sally sat up with her as they scoured the internet for signs of him. “There was something you always did, accidentally, you didn’t even realize until a couple of years ago.” Her gaze met his again. Gray on green. It took a second but then she saw it, the flicker of understanding.

He hadn’t noticed growing up, Sally had told her that night. His mother had worried he would one day, and it’d be too soon and his powers would really begin to manifest and he would no longer be safe. It was also when she knew her son would not lead an easy life. That he was made for world changing things, and she had to prepare him as best she could. To raise a man that could be great and kind, to be powerful but not covet supremacy. It was another night Annabeth thanked all the gods and fates for Sally Jackson.

“I…” He paused, his eyes betraying him to her the way they always did.“I used to reach into the boiling water to grab the spaghetti when she made dinner.” He let his gaze drop to his lap. “I didn’t realize hot water was supposed to be so...hot.” A small crooked smile fought for purchase on his face. “But she said the first time she noticed I was maybe, like, two, and I pulled a teapot over. I should have had second degree burns, at least, but…” He trailed. “Probably should have understood before thirteen that hot water burns other people.” His slight smirk was so reminiscent of her Percy she felt an actual pain in her chest. “I thought other people were just being,” He gestured. "Dramatic."

Annabeth looked to Chiron and Will and nodded. As far ash knew Sally Jackson was the only person on the planet, besides herself, that knew Percy was resistant to extreme temperatures from infancy. He'd stumbled into scalding baths, fallen in icy puddles, turned the tap the wrong way without noticing and never borne a single sign.  

Just then a soft green light burned to life and there above this Percy’s head was the telltale trident she hadn’t seen since Tyson. The light flared to a blinding luminescence and and they all fought to keep their eyes open as a harsh sound filtered through the epicenter. Then just as suddenly the light faded, the noise receded and they were able to lift their heads.

The other Percy frowned, eyes glittering darkly. “I guess that answers that question.” He said with a sigh.  

“What did Poseidon say?” Chiron ventured. That had been him talking? Why so distorted? Why so painful? How could that be called communication?

Percy’s jaw twitched and his eyes were cast upward. “It’s hard to translate him when he does that, it’s more like...impressions.” He turned back to them. “But basically he needed to trade us?” He tilted his head as he considered this interpretation. “I guess trade works, your Percy is in my...world or dimension maybe, and I’m here until he decides this field trip from hell is over.” He gave a heavy sigh. “Thanks dad, as always.” He scrubbed his face with one hand. “Always great with the specifics that guy. Never vague at all.”

So his presence wasn’t an accident, this was the will of a god. Not just any god either, but his father. And there were other dimensions, or timelines, or something, and the gods could manipulate them. Fantastic. Only the fates knew what Aphrodite did with that kind of power. Annabeth bit back a shudder at the thought. She also sent a silent pray to the god of the sea, reminding him that if he didn't bring her boyfriend back, and in the condition she'd left him, he'd be answering to her. Divine power or not.

---

After it was decided to let this Percy stay with them until whatever purpose Poseidon had was fulfilled Annabeth left him to Will and Chiron to find her friends and fresh air. She didn’t need to go far. They were all on the porch of the Big House waiting as the sun filtered through the trees.

It took a while for them all to fully understand and accept what she was telling them. To be fair they hadn’t seen him. Only Jason had, and he was characteristically silent as Annabeth explained that their Percy was stuck in an alternate something and this alternate Percy was stuck with them until, well, until.

“So what’s different about his life?” Piper asked as they broke cabin rules* and congregated at Jason’s table for breakfast.

Annabeth sighed and shrugged one shoulder. “So far it seems to mostly be that he has no idea who I am.” The whole table stilled, forks silent in midair, mouths hanging open, all eyes swiveling in her direction.

“And he’s alive?!” Leo cried, the first the break the halting silence. Nervous laughter tumbled from a few of her friends at the outburst.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Apparently.”

Leo set down his toast. “That just doesn’t seem...likely.”

Annabeth fingered her camp necklace underneath her shirt collar. The other Percy’s had remained hidden during their interrogation. She found herself wondering if his beads were different as a result. If there was no Annabeth had he travelled to Los Angeles to confront Hades in the Underworld? Had he rescued the golden fleece? Resurrected Thalia? He bore the mark from holding up the sky. Had he traversed the labyrinth? If so who with? Who searched for him when Hera took him? Who found Athena’s missing statue? Without her had he never fallen into Tartarus? She was torn between a desire to never set eyes on the interloper again and an insatiable curiosity to delve into the what ifs.

Piper nudged her and the Athena camper dropper her necklace. “So friend or foe?” Piper asked quietly, even so the whole table’s attention was on the blonde.

Annabeth met their gazes individually. “Friend.” She said finally. “For now.”

“So, he’s still Percy?” Leo asked across from her.

She considered this for a long moment. She thought of the scars that didn’t match, the wariness in his eyes, the hyper-vigilance. However she also couldn’t help but think of his crooked troublemaker grin, his wry tone even in the face of unfathomable insanity, the expressiveness still evident in his clear sea green gaze. “I think so.” She told them softly. Her mind still back at the couch of the Big House, still in another life altogether where the person who mattered most to her had likely woken up, and in a world without her.

*those rules make no sense to me I’m not even pretending anyone should follow them

---

“Percy?” His head hurt. “Percy?” A concerned voice repeated. He groaned and sat up carefully, the heel of one hand braced on against his temple as he did.

It took a moment for the world to shift into focus and Will Solace’s face to come into view above him on one side, Nico di Angelo on the other, with matching frowns. “Will?” He looked from one to the other. “Nico?” The couple shared a glance above him. “What the hell happened?” He realized he was on a couch in the Big House. Also that Will had cut his hair since last night. Strange.

“We’re not sure.” Will sat on the edge of the couch and put his hands on either side of Percy’s head, tilting it gently from side to side and he assessed him. He flashed a light into Percy’s eyes, and the son of Poseidon did his best not to flinch at the intrusion. “You weren’t at breakfast." Will told him as he measured his pulse. "Nico and I came to find you and you were passed out next to your bed.”

Percy shifted and winced, his whole body was sore, liked he’d been run over by chariot and it’s horses. A few times. And maybe a few chariots. “I don’t know.” He said with a sigh. “I dropped Annabeth off at her cabin last night, went to bed and…” He looked up shaking his head.

Both Nico and Will were looking at him like he’d lost his mind. “Who?” They asked in unison.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1264

Monday, June 3, 2019

 It's been a mostly cold wet spring so far which curtails outdoor activities, but I'm lucky enough to have proper outerwear to get out and enjoy myself whenever the mood strikes. I still haven't been able to get on my bike yet but that will happen eventually. I went fishing solo on Saturday and had a blast. I didn't even land my biggest fish, but I got a good look at it when it jumped out of the water and shook off my lure. The laughter of joy afterwards made the hours of casting worthwhile.

 Catwoman Annual #1 - Joelle Jones (writer) Elena Casagrande (art pages 1-11, 14) Le Beau Underwood (inking assist pages 7-10) Hugo Petrus (art pages 12-13, 15-17) Scott Godlewski (art pages 18-38) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). This extra long murder mystery involves a triple homicide that Selina is being framed for. She must have picked up some pointers from a certain detective because she finds the real killer. Jordie Bellaire did a great job of keeping all the various plot threads easy to follow.

 Heroes in Crisis #9 - Tom King (writer) Clay Mann (art) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). These psychotherapy sessions all stem from the Flash's attempt to resurrect his family? I dunno. I knew there was going to be time travel involved with Booster Gold in this story but the explanation for what happened made my brain hurt. This 9-issue rigmarole's saving grace is that I liked how Clay Mann draws Batgirl.

 The Superior Spider-Man #6 - Christos Gage (writer) Mike Hawthorne (pencils) Wade von Grawbadger (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Doc Ock teams up with Doctor Strange to fight Master Pandemonium to prevent hell on earth. It was fun how Christos Gage evolved the two doctors' relationship from beginning to end.

 Thor #13 - Jason Aaron (writer) Mike del Mundo (art) Mike del Mundo & Marco D'Alfonso (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Get to know Cul Borson, the Norse god of fear, more than you've ever known him before. Odin's big brother may have given his life in the War of the Realms but he's been dead before so shed no tears.

 Blossoms 666 #4 - Cullen Bunn (writer) Laura Braga (art) Matt Herms (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). I realised after I finished reading this issue that I am only enthralled by this story because it stars the Archie characters. If this occult story involved wholly new characters I would have stopped reading after the first issue. Veronica in her LBD made this issue worth the $3.99 US cover price.

 Immortal Hulk #18 - Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Ruy Jose (inks) Paul Mounts (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Meet the most abominable Abomination ever. I wonder how the Hulk is going to react when he realises that his friend is merged with this creature. This revival of the Hulk is still going strong.

 Doomsday Clock #10 - Geoff Johns (writer) Gary Frank (art) Brad Anderson (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Now that Doctor Manhattan has entered the picture things start to get very confusing. He not only jumps around in time but also universes. The narration might be trying to explain things as Jon jumps around but to me it's as clear as mud. I'm not interested in what's going to happen next anymore. I'm just happy to look at Gary Frank's art.

 Superman Leviathan Rising #1 - Brian Michael Bendis, Greg Rucka, Matt Fraction & Marc Andreyko (writers) Yanick Paquette, Mike Perkins, Steve Lieber, Eduardo Pansica & Julio Ferreira (art) Nathan Fairbairn, Paul Mounts & FCO Plascencia (colours) Dave Sharpe, Simon Bowland, Clayton Cowles, Tom Napolitano & ALW's Troy Peteri (letters). This $9.99 US one-shot needed all those creators to pull together for a very comprehensive kick-off to DC's Leviathan Rising event. The only part I didn't like much was the Jimmy Olson adventure. Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #1 hits the racks July 17 written by Matt "Sex Criminals" Fraction so that's going to be a hard one to pass up for some fans but if it's the same silliness that's in this issue I am going to take a hard pass. I liked the rest of this story and look forward to seeing who Leviathan is. My guess is Lex Luthor.

 Fantastic Four #10 - Dan Slott (writer) Paco Medina with Kevin Libranda (art) Jesus Aburtov (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). This War of the Realms tie-in issue brought up a comic book conundrum for me. Why does Malekith's Midgard invading forces just walk away from Yancy Street before killing all the residents? They're doing that everywhere else in Manhattan. It makes for a nice happy ending to this issue but it didn't make a lick of sense to me.

 X-23 #12 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) Diego Olortegui (pencils) Walden Wong (inks) Chris O'Halloran (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I was sad when it looked like Gabby was leaving after last issue but I am happy again because the two sisters patched things up this issue. Not only that, but Honey Badger decides to change her super hero name. Head 'em out Scout. The end of this issue had a finality to it. I'm sad again if this is the last issue.

 The Amazing Spider-Man #22 - Nick Spencer (writer) Humberto Ramos (pencils) Victor Olazaba & Humberto Ramos (inks) Edgar Delgado & Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Hunted part 6, the saga concludes and thank the Spider god for that. There's a twist with the black costume that I thought was really dumb leading to Kraven being triumphant. After much pondering I think I know why Peter was in the black costume in this story. That was what he was wearing during Kraven's Last Hunt right? Okay, can we get on with revealing who the super villain with the giant centipede is now?

 Detective Comics Annual #2 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Travis Moore & Max Raynor (art) Tamra Bonvillain & Nick Filardi (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Fear the Reaper, but the Eraser? Not so much. I remember seeing the Reaper Batvillain as drawn by Alan Davis back in the day and thought what a great arch enemy. This story goes international starting in France and ending in Greece. There's a reference to Batman Incorporated for us long time Batfans and this new Reaper opens up the possibility of more international adventures for Batman.

 Daredevil #6 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Lalit Kumar Sharma (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) Java Tartaglia (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). No Devils, Only God part 1. This issue starts a new chapter in Matt Murdock's life. Daredevil has been "dead" for eight weeks and the effects on NYPD Detective Cole and Mayor Wilson Fisk are not good. I like Matt's new job and the anticipation of Daredevil's return keeps me reading.

 War of the Realms: Spider-Man & the League of Realms #2 - Sean Ryan (writer) Nico Leon (art) Carlos Lopez (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Hey, what happened to Spidey's helmet and shield, which aren't anywhere in sight this issue? The team makes a new ally in Lagos and the battle moves to Rome. That's where they encounter Kurse and we are treated to the second twist in this 3-issue mini.