#but percy doesn't know who to trust or what to think right now

[demigods-posts]

okay but you can see the moment percy's heart shatters into pieces once he learns that grover was also annabeth's protector. because this child grew up watching as his peers chose schoolyard taunts over compassion. watching as his dad chose freedom over fatherhood. watching as his mother chose to protect his life by sacrificing her own. but when his mom dies, he holds onto the notion that at least he's not alone. at least he has grover. but that worldveiw wastes away when he learns that he is, first and foremost, grover's assignment. that he was no one's first choice at all.

[lukesandromeda]

dreamscape - l. castellan

content: angst, i think swearing, pjo show references

pairing: luke castellan x daughter of hypnos!reader

the familiar feeling of sleep finally comes over you, and you're brought into that peaceful bliss you and your siblings know all too well

for children of hypnos, sleeping isn't sleeping. it's your transfer to a more peaceful part of your day. when a child of hypnos goes to sleep, they are brought into a dreamscape that reflects their mood. they live there for those many hours until they wake up.

you open your eyes to the realm you know as your own. it's a beach. before everything had happened, it was a peaceful shore with placid waves, but now, it is a storm crackling in the sky and high tides attacking the water.

you take a shaky breath, stepping onto the sand, the way you do every night. picking your eyes up from where your feet touch the sand, you stop in your tracks when you spot a figure in the distance, standing a few yards away from where the waves pound onto the rocks. a figure you know better than the back of your hand.

a man. a man clothed in business attire—his hair neatly combed. these were the two qualities that made him slightly different from how you remember him.

you remembered him as the angry yet still gentle boy in that same orange camp shirt. eventually, you remembered him as the boy who betrayed you. your friends. the entire camp. the man who joined kronos-the man who sabotaged the gods and left you with nothing but the remnants of his love-memories. good and bad.

he left last year quickly after an attack on percy jackson, a young boy you'd helped luke show around camp when he'd first arrived.

you remember the way you'd laughed when percy first told you what had happened; you didn't believe it. thought it was some sick joke. but here you were, over three hundred and sixty-five days after he left you, seeing him in your dreamscape.

this shouldn't be possible. he's obviously dreaming. you can comprehend that from the way his body is slightly transparent. but how is he dreaming of this place? the only way he could dream of it—

is if he's thinking of you.

you curse yourself. you curse hypnos for letting luke castellan in this dreamscape. you know your father has to approve of entrance of an entity that is not of descent of hypnos. you know he allowed him to enter. you don't know why, but it's the only way possible.

you take a shaky deep breath before picking your feet up, carrying yourself along the sand and closer to luke. he's standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking out at the waters. the crashing, angry, messy waters that reflect your state of mind-angry, messy... at least, ever since he left.

you finally stop next to him, putting enough distance in between the two of you. you stare out at those waters. crazy. like you-for walking up to luke castellan and standing next to him with such serenity.

with force, you open your mouth and push out the simple name, "luke."

turning your head to him, you realize luke is squeezing his eyes. he doesn't seem surprised that you're here. he shakes his head. "y/n."

you click your tongue, shaking the monotonous reaction off of your mind. "what are you doing here?"

he shrugs, staring out at the pounding waves. the wind stirs his dark curls, the chill of it carrying the salty water landing against his face, turning it pink. he moistens his lips. "waiting."

"for?"

your eyes bore into his that are still turned toward the ocean. his lip twists into a small, sad smile, and he just shrugs again. "you."

"oh." you nervously take your camp necklace up into your hands, twirling the string and sliding the beads in between your fingers.

he inhales sharply, finally turning to you. his breath hitches as he takes in the sight of you, and then he reaches out toward you.

instinctively, you back away, afraid to let him in, afraid to trust. he purses his lips after freezing, and then he lowers his hand. "right."

you sigh, dropping your necklace back to hang loosely where it belongs. "m sorry, i just... i... i can't.

"i know."

luke turns his head slowly back to the shore, eyes trailing along the skyline as a bird flies by. rain trickles down his proud cheekbones. he parts his lips, licking them and letting the rain in. he closes his mouth, tasting the salt on his tongue and then opens it again. "tastes familiar."

in a dreamscape, the rain is your tears-the same tears luke used to kiss away and playfully lick at when you cried in his arms. you clench your jaw and turn back to the water, frowning when he steps closer to you again.

"you shouldn't be here," you say finally, closing the gap of exchanged words that rested along with the sound of the beating rain.

"yeah, i know," he bites his cheek, the same way he used to when he was trying to stay serious— trying not to smile and give into your antics when you teased him. "didn't think you'd be here."

"this place is my mind. i'm always here."

"usually your mind is on camp. the dreamscape would represent camp. your friends. it would represent your friends. but it's on yourself. how you feel about yourself. how... i made you feel. so you're here. and i didn't expect that."

"i didn't expect you to be here either."

he laughs. it's a hollow laugh, one that you can tell he forces out, but you know he's doing it to lighten the mood. to make you comfortable.

"I'm always here. just...thinking about you."

"you said you were waiting for me," you state.

"what did you mean?"

"exactly what i said," he replies quickly. "i knew you'd have to come eventually. i knew id see you again."

you stay quiet. you know he's right. you also knew eventually he'd get to you, maim your confidence and self love. the same self love he declared you should have, because he didn't

"understand how someone could hate you."

"i should go," you whisper finally: the words you've been trying to get out of your mouth, the ones that sat at the tip of your tongue like feet stuck to the ground of asphodel. "i should-"

"you should stay," he declares firmly. moments pass until you turn to him and stare at the dark brown orbs in his eyes, now seen through tears. he's looking at you like you're his lost dog that he's been looking everywhere for, because to him, you were. in a small voice, he says, "i miss you."

you scoff, forcing a sarcastic smile to grace your lips, even though there's nothing in you that wants to smile, even if it is sarcastic. "you left."

you hear the sand next to you get kicked, and he's grumbling. "i know. but you know why. i had to."

"you had to betray your friends and family? you had to betray me? your girlfriend? that's not how it works, luke. you know damn well."

luke huffs, looking up at the sky, the rain kissing his forehead as he does so. "maybe not for you. but for me, it's eat or be eaten. power and glory and nothing else matters. i can't ignore that."

"power and glory? really? that's all that matters?" you try to say it with solid anger and firmness in your voice, but it comes out shaky and hurt. "was it always that way? did i ever matter to you?"

"of course you mattered!" he turns to you as if he can't believe what you're saying. "you matter. more than... more than anything. you are glory. that's why it matters to me. you are glory. and i don't care if i'm the first foolish halfblood to say it, but i don't care for glory if it means that you're not the definition."

you bite your lip, trying to remind yourself that this is the enemy. this is luke. but this is your luke.

"why'd you leave, then?"

he rolls his eyes; you already brought this up. "i want to protect you. give you the life you deserve. you don't deserve one where you're controlled by the gods. where you have to constantly obey them on hand and foot. you're not their dog. i want to be sure of that."

"you left me. why couldn't you have at least taken me with you?"

"why would i purposefully put you in danger like that? with me, everyone on the other side has no instructions whether to kill you or not. but if you're there at camp, you're off limits. i already told my army they are not to lay a finger on you. you're safer without me."

"no i'm not! i can't take this. if someone doesn't kill me first, i'm going to kill myself"

"y/n, please stop yelling."

you inhale sharply, and exhale sharply. in and out. like the way luke taught you to when you had those panic attacks during the night and somehow even your powers couldn't get you past nightmares. "i really need to go."

"i need you," he whispers. he holds out his arms, as if for a hug, and he begs, "i need to hold you."

"no!" you say quickly. "that's not... that's not fair. because you can wake up and know this was only a dream, and possibly forget it. but i have to live with this. this is real for me. i'm not asleep right now. i feel everything."

"i do, too," he groans. "you taught me how to become lucid, remember?"

twisting your spit between your teeth, your tongue, you weave a sigh through them and groan. "you don't get to hug me. not when i hoped every night that you'd come back and do it in person. in real life. prayed to every god alive, even your father, that you'd tell me it was all some sick joke and you'd be good again."

"i'm so lonely," he cries, and for the first time you realize that the water pouring down your cheeks aren't only the drops of rain. also his tears. "i need to hold you. let me hold you, y/n."

"you don't deserve that. you don't get to."

"one last time. you won't see me here ever again. just let me hold you. i need to... i need to remember what it feels like."

your lips twist and curl into all shapes of a different frown, and you wipe the now forming tears on your face that mirror the ones on luke's.

"i'm so sorry," he whispers. he's staring into your eyes, and the eye contact feels lethal. this is the man your camp trains you to fight, trains you to kill when you have the chance. but here you are, staring deep into his eyes as you inch closer and closer to him—

how did you get here?

you realize you're wrapped in his arms. his arms are tied taut around your waist and he's gripping on your pajama shirt like it's the only thing holding him from falling into tartarus. he's whispering, i'm sorry's, and i love you's, and you find yourself sobbing into his neck, too. he sighs, pulling away and trailing kisses down your jaw.

trembling fingers are raking through his hair, and you get the same feeling you used to when you'd twirl his curls and lather conditioner into his it in the shower. the rain is pouring down onto the two of you like that same shower water, and you're holding each other and in love, and suddenly you're one year younger and you're luke's girl, and luke is your boy.

"i love you, i'm so, so sorry. wanna go back and fix it. 's too late. i can't take this. 'm so lonely. i miss you so much." luke is rambling and rambling into your hair. he's pulling it a little bit as his hands squeeze and trail up and down your back and he captures a bit of it with his hands.

"i know," you whisper. you can't forgive him right now. but you can hold him.

[aficionadoenthusiast]

(kind of a continuation of this post but this is the most notes one of my pjo posts has gotten without garnering some kind of discourse and i dont really wanna touch it but i need to say this)

thinking about annabeth, the toddler daughter of a phd student whose dad already barely has time for her to the point that she is pretty much responsible for herself

annabeth, five years old, watching from the sidelines as her dad married someone she sees as a monster, moving onto things bigger and better than her, replacing her with people and kids who get more attention from him individually than she ever got in their five years alone

annabeth, seven, deciding it's time for her to move on because she's not getting any more love out of that relationship than she's already squeezed out

annabeth sometime around here learning that it's not that her mother doesn't care about her, she just has more important things to do

annabeth, barely any older, contending with thalia's death, a girl who was both a friend and a caretaker for a brief but incredibly formative time

annabeth, again, barely older, watching luke get a quest and leave her behind, hoping and praying he makes it back home to her, and then when he does, realizing he didn't come back quite right and that now even he's moving on from her, once again leaving her for bigger and better things that he keeps saying she's too young to undestand

annabeth, ten, learning about the prophecy and being told she's gonna be a part of it and starting to form an idea of how one day she's gonna find her More Important Thing if she just works hard enough, because isn't that what happens to everyone?

annabeth, 12, meeting percy and actually demanding to be a part of his quest because even though he'll probably be dead by 16, she'll be damned if she lets her chance at the More Important Thing slip away and be left behind again, so she fights like hell for her dreams and her place in the world

12, and knowing she wasn't enough to keep luke from leaving

annabeth, 13, and having to rescue grover from his More Important Thing and then watching him continue on his More Important Thing

13 still and being tempted by the hunters because if it hasn't happened, maybe the mortal world won't give her her More Important Thing

(then getting kidnapped and forced to hold the sky, no idea if anyone is coming for her, scared that everyone is too busy with their More Important Things, and finding out percy never once thought of not going after her, and beginning to realize he doesn't have his More Important Thing yet either)

14, still raw from thalia joining the hunters, and watching percy with rachel, seeing him blast himself to ogygia, and being terrified he's going to realize his More Important Thing is another girl or saving the world or something equally as more important than annabeth

15, and still scared, except now his birthday is coming up, and he might just die before she can ever get her feelings out, and then why bother?

16 and watching him reject immortality for her to help the demigods, and knowing deep in her bones that there is no More Important Thing because that's just not who he is

16, and knowing for the first time in her life that she can trust another person with her heart

16, and being somebody else's More Important Thing, and maybe letting percy be hers too

that is all

[novelizt]

✨ IT'S BEEN WAITING FOR YOU ✨

📸 1989 TV SONGFIC COLLECTION INCLUDING :

tim drake, draco malfoy, peter parker, gojo satoru, percy jackson, anthony lockwood

❗Unfinished prompts are subject to change. Fics with no hyperlinks are coming soon!

📷 TRACK 1 : Welcome To New York

“ IT'S BEEN WAITING FOR YOU ” — TIM DRAKE

you start life at the big apple and unexpectedly meet a fortune teller who informs you of the name of your future husband. you try not to think too hard about it, but it's difficult. considering your boss has the same name as your future husband.

📷 TRACK 2 : Blank Space

“ DON'T SAY I DIDN'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU ” — DRACO MALFOY

you act like a devil to get your husband to divorce you. only to discover that pushing him away only makes him hold on tighter.

📷 TRACK 3 : Style

“ WE NEVER GO OUT OF STYLE ” — TIM DRAKE

wayne enterprise heir x stark industries heiress

rivals in public, lovers in secret ; two heirs have an explicit arrangement because they can't risk their public image with anyone else.

📷 TRACK 4 : Out Of The Woods

“ WE WERE IN SCREAMING COLORS ” — ANTHONY LOCKWOOD

you think you're hard to love, but he loves you like it's breathing.

📷 TRACK 5 : All You Had To Do Was Stay

“ ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS STAY ” — DRACO MALFOY

you and draco meet again after he had ignored you years before. he wants to tell you why he'd left but he doesn't know how you'd react to him being a criminal.

📷 TRACK 6 : Shake It Off

“ PLAYERS GONNA PLAY ” — GOJO SATORU

it's embarrassing to know that the rumors about you reach other schools. one faithful day, gojo satoru gives you unsolicited advice about doing the shit you want because you'd get hate whether or not you'd do it anyway. a bottle of wine later, and you begin to think he's right.

📷 TRACK 7 : I Wish You Would

“ I WISH YOU WOULD ” — PETER PARKER

your long-time friendship with peter had gone sour. after years of trying to put you behind bars, peter tries to save you from kraven, but you're not sure if you can trust him anymore.

“ I WISH WE COULD GO BACK AND REMEMBER WHAT WE WERE FIGHTING FOR ” — ANTHONY LOCKWOOD

PEERING EYES OVER WROUGHT-IRON FENCES

📷 TRACK 8 : Bad Blood

“ STILL GOT THE SCARS ON MY BACK FROM YOUR KNIFE ” — DRACO MALFOY

turning from childhood friends to enemies, and then learning to tolerate each other after the war is a storm waiting to happen. especially when he had tried to kill you and failed.

📷 TRACK 9 : Wildest Dreams

“ SAY YOU'LL REMEMBER ME ” — PERCY JACKSON

you and percy agree to only see each other for the summer but as august draws to a close, it gets harder and harder to untangle your fingers from his.

📷 TRACK 10 : How You Get The Girl

“ FOR WORSE OR FOR BETTER ” — PERCY JACKSON

hitman! percy

percy is hired to kill an important man in singapore, not expecting to meet and fall for his target's daughter.

📷 TRACK 11 : This Love

“ THIS LOVE CAME BACK TO ME ” — ANTHONY LOCKWOOD

you're back in town. as promised, lockwood welcomes you with open arms. the only difficulty was the fact that you kissed the last time you saw each other.

📷 TRACK 12 : I Know Places

“ I KNOW PLACES ” — PETER PARKER

marvel x pjo crossover ; daughter of athena! reader

peter's only trying to protect you but you're more scared of him than you are of the monsters coming after you.

📷 TRACK 13 : Clean

“ I THINK I AM FINALLY CLEAN ” — ANTHONY LOCKWOOD

lockwood was cursed to be alone. you prove that your love can break curses.

📷 TRACK 14 : Wonderland

“ YOU AND I GOT LOST IN IT ” — TIM DRAKE

you and tim are thrown into wonderland by mad mod. the line between fantasy and reality blur; now, tim stares at you like he wishes you weren't enemies.

“ IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES 'TIL SOMEBODY LOSES THEIR MIND ” — ANTHONY LOCKWOOD

fantasy au!

you were a princess and you liked to dress in gold. one day, you're snatched by a dragon. come to find out that the dragon is a shape-shifting boy who thought you were a statue.

📷 TRACK 15 : You Are In Love

“ TRYING TO PUT IT INTO WORDS ” — TIM DRAKE

it's hard to find the right words to explain why you love tim.

📷 TRACK 16 : New Romantics

“ I CAN BUILD A CASTLE OUT OF ALL THE BRICKS THEY THROW AT ME ” — ANTHONY LOCKWOOD

you recruit the daring anthony lockwood to stage a relationship that will rile up the press.

— FROM THE VAULT !!

📷 TRACK 17 : "SLUT!"

“ LOVELORN AND NOBODY KNOWS ” — PETER PARKER

a publication comes out, announcing that your hero selves are dating. now, you and peter have to distance yourselves because one, mary jane watson—renowned journalist, has been suspecting you of having an alter ego.

“ IN A WORLD OF BOYS, HE'S A GENTLEMAN ” — ANTHONY LOCKWOOD

lockwood is tasked with the important task of protecting a foreign princess, you. you discovered that you liked his boyish charms more than expected.

📷 TRACK 18 : Now That We Don't Talk

“ THE MORE I GAVE, YOU'D WANT ME LESS ” — CHILDE

how bad can it be, to sleep with the enemy?

📷 TRACK 19 : Say Don't Go

“ I'M YOURS, BUT YOU'RE NOT MINE ” — ANTHONY LOCKWOOD

fantasy au!

you are the heir to the throne, soon to be coronated. he is your loyal guard. when repressed feelings come bubbling to the surface, it's hard to keep away. except, he has to, because a prince should be standing next to you, not him.

📷 TRACK 20 : Suburban Legends

“ BORN TO BE SUBURBAN LEGENDS ” — PETER PARKER

you became strangers when you thought you'd spend your whole lives together. one faithful day, peter gets sucked into an old polaroid picture, returning to the day it was taken; your 18th birthday.

📷 TRACK 21 : Is It Over Now?

“ FAST FORWARD TO 300 TAKEOUT COFFEES LATER ” — PETER PARKER

you and peter agreed to stop whatever was happening between you two for his sake. it wasn't good to date your employer's daughter, after all. the task wasn't easy when you work at the same place.

📷 HIDDEN TRACK : Sweeter Than Fiction

“ PROVED ME RIGHT WHEN YOU PROVED THEM WRONG ” — PETER PARKER

a lot of people had a lot to say about peter when his identity was revealed. he revered how you stuck by his side through all of that, even if all you did was run a fan account.

Feel free to message me if you want to be tagged in a certain fic 😊 I'm open to just squealing about our boys and/or Taylor Swift !!

🦋 — @novelizt 2023

[waltwhitmansbeard]

Perc'ahlia Week: Free/Random

we did it folks! thanks to everyone who participated in @percahliaweek, esp the good folks who organized this whole thing! it's been so much fun to explore these prompts! here's hoping i stick the landing.

Percival de Rolo III wakes up on his last day knowing that he will not see another dawn. It hardly scares him; if anything, his aching joints have been screaming for rest for ages now, each one creaking and stiff like an unwound clock. He doesn't know where the certainty comes from, only that it doesn't feel macabre or fatalistic. He is going to die today. Better get a move on.

He doesn't begrudge Vex'ahlia's stubborn insistence that he's fine. He doesn't begrudge Vex'ahlia's stubborn anything. He lets her perform her morning ritual as usual, lies still as she grips one of his hands in both of hers and pours into him every ounce of magic she has for the day. The healing doesn't work, because he is not injured, merely human. Still, he smiles and thanks her, and they both pretend that it made things better.

Over breakfast in bed (all of his breakfasts are in bed these days, as are all of his other meals, and in fact the vast majority of his time), he quietly asks her to gather their family. She freezes, her forkful of eggs halfway up to her mouth. His vision is not what it used to be, but she is so beautiful, the golden rays of Pelor's dawn sparkling in her hair, now more silver than brown. She has always glittered, something beautiful and wild, a dragon who made a hoard of his heart.

She sets her fork down. She does not look at him. She asks if he's sure. He says that he is. She believes him, because after seven decades, she knows he is not a liar. It is a feat, the way she schools her expression into something that doesn't shatter his heart in two. She smiles and kisses his cheek. "Of course, darling."

They come, because for the past year or so, they have been preparing themselves for this very thing. Keyleth is called first, and she takes it upon herself to gather the most far-flung. Percy misses most of their arrivals; his energy wanes quickly after breakfast, and he passes in and out of sleep until a pair of lips on his cheek stir him back to consciousness. "Hi, Grandpa."

Vesper's eldest, Whitney, helps him into a sitting position. He feels each and every one of his bones as he moves. Beside her, her husband, an elven man Percy remembers not trusting for years, holds their infant son. Whitney's eyes are red and swollen. "Mimi says you...wanted everyone here."

Percy lets out a coughing laugh; gods above, they're great-grandparents now, and Vex still hates being called grandma. "I don't think I have many goodbyes left in me, dear. Better to get them all out while I can."

She sniffs. "Can't...can't Aunt Kiki do something?"

Slowly, he reaches over to pat her hand where it rests on the bedspread. "Keyleth has done more for me than any man deserves, as has your grandmother, as has Pike. I have seen my share of sunsets and sunrises, Whitney. Time for...better eyes than mine to take a look."

Just then, the door to the master suite opens, and more de Rolos come spilling in like light through an open window. Wolfe is first, one arm around Gwen, clearly keeping her upright; Danny follows, his aunt Cassandra hobbling beside him, leaning heavily on his arm. Danny's followed by his son, Shaun, and Shaun's very pregnant partner, whose name Percy can't remember. It's disorienting, but not the first time Percy's memory has failed him. Once he had the sharpest mind in Whitestone, keen enough to make the inventions that set his home years ahead of the rest of the continent, technologically speaking, but most days now, his mind feels like a sieve, permeable, untrustworthy.

Still, he smiles as the rest of his family spills in, children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, twenty in all, not including Cass, who is given the chair right by his bedside. So many de Rolos, in a castle once entirely empty of them. Percy sees so much of the family he lost in their faces—his mother's eyes, his father's nose, Ludwig's jaw, Whitney's hair—and not for the first time, he knows what it means to be immortal in the most human way.

As they say their goodbyes, as they sniff away tears, as they promise him to do right by their family name, he knows that the legacy he has been chasing his entire life, one not stained with blood and black with smoke, has been a fool's errand. His family is not his legacy. They are people, just as he is, no more, no less. They will be great and they will be terrible and they will make mistakes and they will make the world a better place because the gods know that Percy has been far from a perfect man, but he believes he has done what he can to sow in their hearts the seeds of kindness, charity, empathy. He cannot claim them as his legacy because they are still building legacies of their own, ones that will reach far beyond his time in this realm.

He lets them kiss his cheek. He whispers his love, over and over, endless and true. He smiles and looks into each of their faces, hoping the sieve lasts long enough to carry him into whatever comes next.

.

He doesn't remember falling asleep, but when he awakes, the only de Rolo who remains is Cass. He can't see the white stripe in her hair anymore, because it is all white now. Her eyes are a soft blue, belying her almost complete lack of vision. Percy squeezes her hand. "You still with me, Cass?"

"You're asking me?" They both grin. "I've been trying to get rid of you for years. It's about time you got out of here."

"Yes, well, you remember how Mother used to scold me for being so slow to rise in the mornings."

"That's because you'd stay up until all hours reading."

"Which is why I'm so much smarter than you."

She rolls her eyes, and the air shifts, cools into something more melancholy. "Are you so sure it's now? You seem in such high spirits for a man convinced he's going to die today."

Percy doesn't know how to explain to her the knowing, the certainty in his bones that he could count the number of words he has left. He thinks of a night when they were young, far younger than they are now, when Cass would crawl into his bed during a thunderstorm, shaking and afraid. He tries to explain it the same way he explained to that little girl that the thunder wasn't going to hurt her. "The gods have seen my hubris, my cruelty, my ego throughout the years...and they have loved me anyway. How else do you explain this?" He gestures weakly with his free hand, and he knows that she knows he's not referring to the castle and its riches. "I awoke this morning with my wife beside me in the home that we built, and I felt their calling in my chest. I am not long for this world, Cassandra." Tears slip quickly and silently down her nose. "I'm not afraid. Whatever is coming for me, good, bad, or ugly, it was worth what I experienced here, with my family. With you. I should have died with the rest of our siblings, with Mother and Father, that terrible night. I didn't. Everything after has been...a gift."

"A gift for me." She brings his hand up to her mouth, kisses his papery skin with her thin lips. "Your children and grandchildren, they've been a gift to me, too. Thank you for giving me my family back, Percival."

He smiles, and new fatigue washes over him. His eyes blink slow and long, and she pats his hand. "Rest now, brother. You still have work to do."

He wants to argue, but the sleep rushes over him, dark and warm, like smoke.

.

When Percival de Rolo III awakens for the last time, he is very much not alone. Perched on his left side is Keyleth, timeless and ethereal. The circlet and mantle of her station are gone, and for a moment, they're kids again, the entire world at their feet. Her eyes are glassy, and he has to be impressed that she hasn't started crying yet.

Standing on the foot of the bed, each holding onto a poster, are Pike and Scanlan. Like Keyleth's, neither's face belies much of the past seventy-odd years, but he can't find it in himself to be jealous of all the life they have yet to live. He thinks himself lucky to have had this, such a perfect little slice of the world, fit exactly to size for him.

Between the two of them, already a blubbering mess, is Taryon, the only person in the room who looks the way Percy feels. His liver spots match Percy's, which must drive Tary crazy. He wonders if this is harder or easier for him, given that Tary has already been grieving Lawrence these past six years or so. He hopes that Tary can be of use to Vex, though if he had to guess, he'd think Keyleth is better suited to the task.

Because she is also here, his heart, his Vex'ahlia. She sits at his right hand, where Cass had been earlier, and gently runs her fingers over the inside of his wrist. She has never been anything less the most beautiful creature he's ever seen, and not for the first time, though perhaps for the last, he thanks the gods for allowing her to be his. Well over half a century together, and he knows by the tremulous bob of her throat and the eyes that will not meet his that she is using every ounce of her formidable strength to keep herself in one piece.

"Hey, Percy." He looks back to Scanlan, whose shit-eating grin has not changed a bit in all these years. "If you finally wanted that six-way, you didn't have to say you were dying to get us here. You could have just asked."

Pike punches his shoulder, but Percy laughs. "You'd never...keep up with me...Scanlan."

"Yeah, I bet that's true." He reaches down to pat Percy's foot beneath the blankets. "You always were a better man than me."

"The bar is in hell," Pike grumbles under her breath, and Percy coughs out another laugh. They must be off-again, he guesses. Well, it was nice of them to come, regardless.

"Tary." The man in question cries twice as hard when Percy says his name. "Have I ever told you...how proud I am...of you?"

Tary brings a shaking hand up to wipe at his eyes, and Pike pats his arm reassuringly. "That's what I care about. If a guy like you could see the good in a guy like me...well, I knew I was gonna be okay."

And Tary is more than okay, Percy knows. He's done more good in the world than any of them would have thought possible the day they met him, arrogant and annoying and so very naïve. Percy is proud of him, proud of the work they've done together and apart. Someday, not too long from now, these same people will gather around Tary, usher him as gently from this world as they do for Percy now, and Percy can only hope that they sing his praises as loudly as he deserves.

Pike hops up onto the bed, her socked feet padding over so she can kneel by his elbow in front of Keyleth. She grips her holy symbol, now worn and smoothed, in one hand and rests the other over Percy's heart. "Everlight, please carry my friend into the next life with the same light and compassion he has shown me in our time together." Her voice is strong, but Percy can hear the tremble in it. "As faithful as I have been to you in my life, he has been twice as faithful to me, to his friends, to his family, to the people of Whitestone. And I think you and I both know that faith does not come quite so easily to some as it does to others." She opens one eye to grin at him, and he winks back. She closes the eye again to finish her prayer. "Let his soul rest among his ancestors, and may your benevolent light never stray from those he leaves behind."

There is a long beat of silence, and though his eyes are not what they used to be, Percy swears the mid-afternoon light streaming in from the wrought-iron windows flares just a bit brighter. Pike releases her holy symbol, leans down, and kisses his cheek. "Y'know," she whispers, just loud enough for him to hear, "for someone doomed by the narrative, you did alright for yourself, Percy."

"I couldn't...have done it without you."

The first of Pike's tears falls, and she slips back to the foot of the bed wiping at her eyes. Percy lets his head tip to the side, and Keyleth's face is as red as her hair, her own tears falling fast and loose down cheeks that don't look a day over thirty. "Hey."

"Hey." She sniffs, taking his hand in both of hers. "I know...I have a lot of goodbyes coming my way. Goodbyes I don't even know about because the hellos haven't happened yet. But you...fuck." She scrubs at her eyes with the back of her wrist. "I don't know what my life looks like without you, Percy. I don't wanna find out."

Oh, he truly does not envy her yawning years. He knows no one who deserves to have her heart broken less than Keyleth does, and yet he knows that so much heartbreak awaits her in the millennium to come. He squeezes her hand, and he prays to the Dawnfather that all of that heartbreak does not quiet her, does not harden her heart from the joys this world has to offer. Keyleth was made for sunlight, for spring flowers, for flight. The shadows will come, but they must not dull her shine.

"Keyleth, Voice of the Tempest." He attempts to gather as much authority into his weak voice as he can muster. "I charge you with not just the welfare of Zephrah, but with that of Whitestone, and of Tal'dorei as a whole. There is no one I trust more to act as steward of these people. Your wisdom, your generosity, your empathy...more than ever, you are needed to bestow your gifts upon Exandria. You know..." He smirks up at her. "We've met gods, Keyleth. And this may not be the best time to blaspheme, but they've got nothing on you."

She throws herself onto him, and it hurts, but he takes it. One last hug from his best friend, from the sister he gained after so much loss. Her tears soak into his neck, and for the first time today, his own prickle behind his eyes. He regrets all of the things he will miss, the wonderful accomplishments of his friends, his progeny, his neighbors. It is such a mortal thing, to know that the world will keep spinning in your absence, and to love and hate the spin for it. But someday, even the ageless Voice of the Tempest will rest, and if the gods know any mercy, he will see her again.

Before she pulls away, a shaking, sniffling mess, she whispers in his ear, "Tell him I still love him?"

He nods. He already knows, but Percy will tell him anyways.

As if on cue, there is a small commotion near the one open window on the far side of the chamber, and everyone turns to see a raven, too large to be natural, resting on the sill, as if it has always been there. There is a cracked sob from Percy's right, and he turns his head to see his wife covering her mouth with her hand.

Just enough time left, then.

"Come here." A small tug to her hand, and she's coming up to sit beside him, hip to hip. She brushes his thin, limp hair from his face, and he struggles to bring her hand, wrinkled and beautiful, to his lips. "What a life, eh?"

Her answering smile is watery. "The best one I could have imagined. It's the best gift you've given me."

"Well, I gave you quite a lot."

"It's my love language, darling, and you were always so fluent."

He laughs at that, and it dissolves into a cough. The raven flutters its wings in his periphery. "Let them take care of you?" His eyes cast over their friends before returning to her crumpled face. "We didn't create this wonderful life together for you to be alone when I'm gone. There are so many people who love you, Vex'ahlia de Rolo, and while I will always be the first among them, in this world or the next, I am not worried for you."

Her hair, unbraided and streaked with silver, spills onto his chest as she leans over him. "I'm not worried for you, either. I know that wherever you're going, I'll find you. I'll always find you. It's kind of my thing, after all." She sniffs loudly. "So take my heart with you, alright? I'll want it back when I get there."

"My extraordinary, incomparable wife. My heart, my judgement. My treasure, my salvation."

Crying, she kisses him, and it feels just like it did that first time, in a snow-capped wood, when they were kids and death was just another monster they could slay. He tastes the salt of her tears and the warmth of her skin and he knows every agony, every loss, every sorrow was always and will always be worth her. For the briefest moment, his heart pinches, a desperate wish to stay, but when his final kiss with his wife ends, he's smiling, because how many men can go to their deathbeds with no regrets?

He looks to his friends once more, each one a gift, a story, a legacy, and with a fading voice, says, "Vox Machina. What an honor it's been to change the world with you." His eyelids feel so heavy; he's already slept so much today. To his wife, he murmurs, "Dear, do you mind if I rest for a moment?"

"Of course, darling." She bends down to kiss his cheek. "Rest now. I'll be here."

The last things he sees are Vex's shining eyes, and across the room, a raven taking flight.

.

When Percy opens his eyes, he sees them, his friends, their heads bowed and shoulders trembling. They are circled around his deathbed, and Percy watches them mourn. It's far and away the strangest scene he's ever beheld.

"Percival Frederickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III."

He turns, a smile already coming to his face. Oh, the ease with which he moves! He looks down at his hands—smooth and dexterous, hands he hasn't seen in years. "Would you look at that."

The black-feathered figure in the corner of the room is masked, so Percy can't see his face, but Percy doesn't need to see the smirk to feel it. "A handsome bastard once again, I see."

"Screw you, I was always handsome."

"No arguments here." The Champion of Ravens strides closer, and Percy can't help but feel a bit intimidated. "Welcome home, brother."

And they are embracing, reunited after so many decades of grief. "Thank you," Vax murmurs, in his strange, not-quite-Vax voice. "Thank you for taking care of them."

"It was my privilege." They separate, and the two dead men look at the ones they've left behind. "We still felt your loss. Every day, we navigated the hole your absence created. Them in particular." He gestures to Vex and Keyleth, who hold hands over his body's torso as they weep. "I just hope I did enough to help them find the way."

"You did. And now it's my turn." Vax sweeps a hand back, and the door to the chamber opens, but instead of the marbled hall he's used to, Percy sees only a brilliant, blinding white light.

Percy frowns. "Is Grog in there? To be honest, I thought he'd be the first to greet me. You know how bored he gets without someone to entertain him."

"I'm afraid I don't know. I only walk to dead to their doors. I don't get to see what's inside."

For the first time today, Percy's heart well and truly breaks. "Well, just know that as long as they live—" He jerks his head toward the remaining members of Vox Machina. "—your sacrifice will not be forgotten."

"I live as long as they live."

Percy chuckles. "First the mask, now the quotes—you want to be me so bad."

"Get in the light before I throw your ass in there, Freddie."

Grinning, Percy claps him on the shoulder as he passes by, letting is strong legs and youthful knees take him toward the door. Just a step away from the frame, he stops, bathed in the warm, mysterious light. He looks back one last time at his family, wonderful and perfect and his, and murmurs, "What a nice story, indeed." And then he steps into the light.

[crownmemes]

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Sentences

(Sentences from Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023-). Adjust phrasing where needed)

"Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood."

"Once you know what you are, they'll sense it too, and they'll come for you."

"Not everyone who looks like a hero is a hero, and not everyone who looks like a monster is a monster."

"When you're ready to hear what the gods have in store for you, they'll tell you."

"The truth can be so very hard to determine, but in this case, the truth seems very hard to deny."

"I know that this is hard to understand, but you have to believe me that this is real!"

"It's a big deal to kill a monster like that!"

"This must be a lot for you to process."

"Why must you ruin everything?"

"Magical objects don't obey the physical laws of the ordinary world."

"Even now, he still wants nothing to do with me."

"You're too hard on yourself. You always have been."

"If you spend too much time trying to figure out why the gods do whatever it is they do, you'll drive yourself crazy."

"You can't force the gods to do anything."

"Is there a Greek god of disappointment?"

"I trust you and, right now, nothing's more important than that."

"Do exactly as I say and maybe you'll survive this."

"Some children must learn the hard way."

"Do you know the story of how I came to be this way?"

"We are not our parents until we choose to be."

"What sort of trouble are you up to now, hm?"

"You've done more for me in the past few days than my father's done in my entire life."

"Why are you being weird with me again? I thought we weren't doing that anymore."

"We're all going to die eventually."

"I haven't seen a lot of horror movies, but this seems like exactly the kind of place they'd suggest to avoid."

"Enough! Not everything is a puzzle that needs to be solved!"

"I'd wish you luck, but what good would it do you?"

"When did you turn into an old married couple?"

"You know, you should really spend some time in the city with me. I think you'd learn a lot."

"Why are you trying so hard to get rid of me?"

"The gods are all-powerful, but they have to play by the rules."

"Thank you for the news. It is the only reason I'm letting you leave alive."

"Your family is a mess!"

"Obedience doesn't come naturally to you, does it?"

"The gods want us to fight for them, worship them, fear them - but they couldn't care less what we want."

"Our parents aren't perfect, but they're trying their best."

[crossdressingdeath]

After reading that bit during the Tartarus flashback where (in classic Riordanverse fashion) they forgot the timeline and had Nico thinking about Jason as a close friend even though canonically they were only vaguely acquainted at that point I've been thinking... why weren't they friends before Nico's first trip to Tartarus?

I mean, both of them have very good reason to want to be on the other's good side: as praetor Jason would logically want to be on good terms with the direct ambassador of a god, and Nico would logically want to be on good terms with the leaders of the group he's lowkey spying on. And we know from canon that once they start actually interacting they get on super well! And it would help explain why Nico could just show up at camp with Hazel like "Hey so this is my sister don't mind how she has no records and acts like she's from the '30s she's one of you now 'kay bye" and that was just accepted if he was close to the praetors instead of canon's impression of him being vaguely tolerated in New Rome at most and only respected at all because fucking with Pluto's ambassador would be... unwise. It would just in general make more sense for them to be at least friendly acquaintances, and given Nico's canon relationships with both Jason and Reyna "friendly acquaintances" would absolutely quickly transition into full friendship.

And honestly Jason and Nico being friends pre-TLH would make the bit in MoA where the Seven argue about whether or not Nico can be trusted so much more interesting and so much less infuriating. As it is in canon it just feels super unfair, because the only evidence any of them give for him being untrustworthy is "Well he knew about both camps" when all the gods and Chiron and Lupa also knew about both camps and also said nothing despite them being at a much lower risk of being smote for blabbing than Nico would be, and it's confirmed that Chiron at least swore to keep the secret and there's no evidence that Nico didn't. The only character who actually has the right to feel at all betrayed on a personal level is Hazel, and she doesn't because she loves and trusts her brother and also seems to grasp that the secret wasn't actually Nico's to share; even with Percy (and Annabeth, although unless I'm forgetting something she never really comments on it), Nico's never actually willingly confided in him even about minor things so I don't see why he's getting so butthurt about Nico not telling him one of the biggest known secrets of the modern age that the gods have. Percy and Nico aren't actually friends, they're friendly acquaintances at best, I don't see why Percy gets so pissy that Nico didn't break what is clearly a pretty major rule (given even the gods follow it without any fuss until it becomes obvious that the secret's going to come out anyway) for him. But if Nico and Jason were friends that would open up a much more interesting angle for the argument than just "How dare he keep this secret that literally everyone else who knew about it has kept for over a century"! "I thought he was my friend and he was lying to me about who he was the whole time" is a much more understandable and interesting reason to question someone than just him not telling everyone something that he wasn't even supposed to know! Hazel knew that there was something up with Nico from the start and Percy and Annabeth at least knew he was a son of Hades rather than Pluto (and again were not his friends and so shouldn't have expected him to confide in them anyway), but if Nico had actual friends in Camp Jupiter who really did think he was an ambassador from Pluto they would have every right to feel at least a little betrayed and question what else he might have been hiding from them. Jason absolutely wanting to save Nico but also feeling betrayed that his close friend had been lying about who he was the entire time they'd known each other would be much stronger and more compelling than canon's "He did this thing that basically every immortal we're on speaking terms with also did but he is uniquely untrustworthy because of it".

Also it would open up some fun possibilities for scenes. For example, I love the idea of one of the Greek cast mentioning Nico after Jason regains his memories and Jason just going "Wait you mean Nico like our Nico?" and everyone else going "What do you mean your Nico?" It would also give Nico friends and a place where he felt reasonably welcome, which would be nice and could've been used as evidence for the "You pushed away people who wanted to be your friend" angle Rick went with from BoO onwards, since him having people who cared about him (who he initially was friendly with primarily because he kind of had to be, which would justify what made Jason and Reyna different from everyone else he interacts with) would show that yeah, Nico had proof people wanted to be around him which he very much does not in canon. Plus it would be an opportunity to get into what Nico was thinking and feeling re knowing this huge secret that he couldn't tell anyone and having to keep it from people he cared about and didn't want to lie to (side note, I am now wondering if Rick didn't go into that because there was really no way to interrogate a traumatized fourteen year old in terms of "Why didn't you share this huge secret that not even the gods breathed a word of in over a century" that would make the interrogators look good and none of the Seven show any interest in the matter outside of those terms).

...Also. y'know. a Jasico fic featuring them dating prior to TLH and Hera wiping Jason's memories of having a boyfriend and still giving Piper and Leo false memories of Piper and Jason dating would both be very fun and angsty as a concept and would play very nicely into the themes of comphet in Jason and Piper's relationship. And would fit the way Hera very openly thinks that Nico isn't part of "her family" in BotL! So there's that also.

[shannara810]

Percy: "So..."

Luke: "So?"

Percy: "The parents are meeting each other."

Luke: "Yes? That's the plan".

The blonde was checking his reflection in the mirror on the wardrobe door, trying to fix the collar of his black shirt. The look it sent back was flawless: tight jeans, ironed shirt, perfectly tousled hair. "If you want to make a good first impression, start from the way you dress", Dad always said.

"And we are ready for them to meet each other". It was almost like the other boy was trying to reassure himself.

In that moment nothing about Percy Jackson - Saviour of Olympus, Poseidon's only half-blood son and Mr. Rule Flouter all around - gave away the vibes of a ruthless war machine; rather, the pink flannel robe and the furry slippers made him look way too younger than his nineteen years.

Funny thing he was the same age as Luke when they first met each other. And yet people kept mistaking him for a teen, while the blonde boy already looked like a male model. It wasn't fair!

Luke: "I think so. Shouldn’t we be?"

Percy: "Right." *pause* "Say Luke... why can't we run away to Alaska? It's chilly there and quiet and we could learn to fish!"

Luke: "You're the son of a Sea God. If you couldn’t fish, I might worry." The younger nephilim gave him the stink eye. He still couldn't figure out why Percy was so scared of letting their families meet. It wasn't like their relationship was a secret: his parents knew, Percy's too, the same could be said for their friends. So what was wrong with his boyfriend’s mother's desire to meet his dads?

Percy: "Ah ah ah, you're not funny! 😑"

Luke: "Actually I'm hilarious 😏. But what's got you all riled up? There will be only your parents and mine at dinner tonight. Easy peasy."

Percy sat on the bed. His body was shaking a little and everything inside him was screaming to run, run away as far as he could. He swiped a hand over his face and closed his eyes, mentally counting to five before he opened them again. "Don't, okay? You’re not the one with a father-in-law who hates him!"

Luke raised an eyebrow, his lips curving in a crooked smile. "You called Father your in-law! Dad will be so happy 😁!"

Percy: "Lukeeeeee, be serious!!! Your father wants to kill me!"

Luke sat next to the other demigod. He looked at his boy from head to toe, a bit worried.

Anxiety was a bitch for Percy and the nephilim didn't know what to do to help him. How could he make it better when he still didn't understand what was all this fuss about. The dinner? The dinner was making Percy feel so bad? "What's new? It's not the first time a supernatural being wants to murder you".

Percy: "You're not helping!"

Luke: "Would you rather I lied?"

Percy: "NO!"

Luke: "Then help me understand you, Jackson. What's the problem? Why are you so scared of this dinner?"

Percy: "Because..."

Luke: "Perce, Father is all bark and no bite. Really. You have nothing to be worried of."

Percy: "Now I know you're lying! Last time we met, your father swore he’d kill me if I defiled you! And he'll know! He'll know we had sex as soon as he sees us!" Sea-green eyes became so big, they almost appeared ready to leap out. The sound of his labored breath filled the room.

Luke: "Actually I think he already knows. Dad must have told him."

Percy: "WHAT?! You... you... you..."

Luke: "Had a chat with Dad? Of course! You never ask your mother for advice?"

Percy: "NOT ABOUT MY SEX LIFE!!!"

Luke: "Why?"

Percy: "Because you just don't! I don't want to know about my mom's sex life and she doesn't want to know about mine! People don't ask their parents about sex! It's not normal!!!" The demigod was screaming and he knew it. How could Luke not...

There it was. That look again. That look so open and trusting and blameless like the one of a child. Percy often forgot how young this Luke really was.

Because Luke Milligan and Luke Castellan were not the same. They had the same blond hair, ice blue eyes true, even the same lopside smile. The two Luke shared a lot in their looks.

However the same could not be said for their temper: they were like night and no, not day. They were like night and dusk. This new Luke lacked the anger and the desire for vengeance the old one had. He lacked that inner darkness which had feasted on Luke Castellan's soul till his last day on Earth and being Luke Milligan what he truly was, this really felt like a giant joke.

Once again Percy found himself wondering what could have happened if the old Luke had had a family like the one he had now during his past life. Because in the end it all came down to his family.

Adam&Michael were Luke's rock, his safe haven. The couple had proven time and time again they didn’t care about Fate when it came to their son and Percy had to admit he felt a little jealous of their steadfast love. Sally Jackson loved her son with all her heart, but she wasn't always there for him while he was growing up.

However what scared Percy the most was not knowing what could have happened to him had Luke Castellan not taken on his shoulders the weight of the first Great Prophecy. Because hero or not, good or not, Luke and him were not so different in their rages.

Luke: "Again, why? Need to remind you it was my first time? I may remember a few things about my past life, but sex is not one of them. Who was I supposed to talk to? Uncle Gabe?"

Percy: "Nope, nien, no! Lalalalalala, I'm not listening!" The demigod covered his ears in his attempt to block everything out, but without much success. "No more sex advices from our parents, okay? We learn together, Luke."

The blonde grabbed Percy by the shoulders to keep him calm. The other boy was on the verge of a panic attack over nothing. "Percy, breathe. Everything is gonna be okay. Our parents will meet each other, will like each other and we will spend a nice night all together".

Percy: "At least I thought I could have your Dad's approval, but now he will hate me too". He whined.

Luke: "Dad doesn't hate you. He finds you sweet and cute ☺️. So stop worrying."

Percy: "Our first time was a disaster!"

Luke: "Our first time was perfect. You made me feel loved, happy and cared for. I could have asked for nothing more. We can work on the technique another time. The question is: was it nice for you too, Perce?"

Percy: "Yeah... yeah, it was".

Luke: "Good, then it was perfect. A perfect first time 😁".

Percy looked down, defeated. What Luke had said was not entirely true and several of his insecutities were rooted in it.

In hindsight he couldn't say that many of the problems he had during his past relationship with Annabeth didn't still plague him, even if he tried to not mind them.

What is perfection? What allows you to define something as perfect? Nothing truly alive can be described as perfect, because each one of us gives to this word a different meaning. Learn to live with your limits, kid. Suddenly these words came back to his mind and Percy felt like he could let himself breath for the first time tonight.

Once Luke had taken him to visit the Garden of Eden and there Percy had met Joshua, another "uncle" of his boyfriend. The calm he had felt in that garden had shocked him to the core and the demigod had found himself visiting Joshua often in the last months, while Luke was busy with his cousin Jack.

Joshua the Gardner had become his unofficial therapist and Percy thought he had made some progress in healing the countless wounds on his young psyche.

Percy: "But it was not my first time. You know this, Luke".

Perfection was an impossible thing to achieve and he had to learn to live with his short-comings.

Luke: "It was your first time with me. I know you have a past, Percy: I'm not stupid. And I'm glad that at least one of us knew where to put his hands". Luke winked at him and everything in their world was right again. The blonde had this ability to make you believe anything he said just because he had said it. It was like a super power. "Our future will be full of first times, Perce". At once his smile became quite sinister. "Whatever Nico di Angelo thinks of us 😑."

Percy: "You're scaring me".

Luke: "Ops 😅. Sorry, babe! Do you feel better now?"

Percy: "I think so. I'm... I'm not regretting what we did but I would have liked to have a little more privacy, though".

Luke shrugged. "Angels, Perce. We don't know what it is".

Fucking Angels and their need to spy on them. A bunch of peeping Toms, that's what they were. But Percy knew better than to say what he really thought about those flying bastards to Luke. He was already on thin ice with his boyfriend's family. "Your uncle Gabe sent me a thank you basket for deflowering you!"

Luke: "And it was the best chocolate I have ever tasted 😁. Uncle Gabe is a genius!"

Percy: "Any chance your other uncles won’t know we had sex?"

Luke: "Mmm, maybe Castiel. The parents don't like him much. Cas and the Winchesters are as thick as thieves".

Percy: "Damn!"

Luke: "The joys of a hive mind. Angels like to gossip a lot 🤣".

Percy raised his eyes to swear again: "Fuck!"

Luke: "Maybe later 😁. I want to be on top this time 🤔".

Percy: "🫣" *silence* "Luke?"

Luke: "Mmm?"

Percy: "Do we really need to go to this dinner? We can stay at home, order Thai and try to..."

Luke: "To?"

"Don't make me sound like a stupid teenager 😠. We could... make love again?"

The nephilim put an arm around his man, giving him a loud kiss on the cheek. "Ohhhh, Percy! Sassy prince of my heart, as much as I’d love to stay here and ride you till dawn, my dad didn’t raise a quitter. Go and get ready or we will be late!"

Percy: "I hate you!"

Luke: "Youuuu loooooovvvvvveeeee me 😁"

Percy: "Well, at least my dad won't be there tonight."

Luke let go of a guilty whistle, removing his arm from Percy's shoulders. "I wouldn't be so sure of it".

A chilling shiver ran down the poor demigod's back. "Fuck! We're doomed 🥲".

(This is getting out of hand, @darkcrowprincess 😅)

[blue-banana-the-first]

Annabeth Determined The Outcome of the Prophecy in the Last Olympian

I'll insert the prophecy real quick so I can talk about it,

"A Halfblood Of the eldest gods shall reach sixteen against all odds, and see the world in endless sleep. The hero's soul cursed blade shall reap. a single choice shall end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze"

ok, now that we're caught up on that let's talk;

the first two lines are pretty simple and straight forwards in a way, it doesn't mention who the halfblood is as it takes account that it would depend on who survives and so on (the only thing consistent with the timeline that Rick did was make sure Jason and Hazel were both younger than Percy in HOO)

The third line also goes with Percy so far, so no need to talk more about it.

the fourth to sixth line though are different stories,

it mentions that a hero will die but never mentions who right? i wanna talk about it , in the second book we know Percy claims the prophecy for himself, and that's what's usually talked about, but i wanna focus on Annabeth.

In that same book Chiron makes Annabeth swear on the river Styx to protect Percy, we know that anything related to the Styx is also directly related to the fates.

trust the process please cause I promise this is kinda going somewhere.

in the battle of the labyrinth Pan tells Annabeth that she has an important role, just not in the way she thinks.

then in the fifth book Percy dips into the Styx, gets the Achilles heel, imagining Annabeth, which is romantic but also correlates with Annabeth swearing on that same river to protect him as if a subconscious part of her was also protecting him so he can survive the river, like the river was just using her promise to protect him.

the fates were really pulling all the romantic strings to save Olympus

kinda ironic cause they gave out this prophecy in the first place

In the Last Olympian, two cursed blades attack Luke and Percy, the Scythe for Percy and the Dagger Luke gave Annabeth which is cursed with a broken promise and all that angsty poetic stuff.

Guess who makes the decision tho?

Annabeth, she decided who the hero is

she took that knife for Percy, because she felt like he was in danger, we talk about that being because she's his mortal tether, but i also think it has to do with her swearing on the river to protect him.

River Styx was their main shipper and I will die on that hill.

Annabeth saved Percy due to her promise, and let Luke die with his broken one (somewhat of a deep quote right?), Annabeth's role has been to decide who the hero is and I can't get over that.

The single choice she made to save Percy or not was the deciding factor in this war.

Either Luke or Percy was going to die by a cursed blade, you can also say that in a way Chiron also had a hand in it, making her swear on the river.

but it just blew my mind, Percy's existence brought the world to its near end while hers saved it

ofcourse that is not 100% accurate but for the sake of it sounding tumblr level poetic it is

idk if you all already made this conclusion a while ago and i'm just slow, but even if i just think that this series was just so beautifully tied together, and Annabeth is so valid for this, emotional, nerdy, literal puppy (not all puppies are overly enthusiastic creatures ) with so much live to give, saved the world with the power of love ( and a childhood crush)

She literally deserves so much, i also wanna talk about Aphrodite in a future post

[bigfan-fanfic]

Not Too Fast To See Part 3

Not Too Fast To See Part 3 (Percy and Tempo meet Barry Allen)

Part 1 here! Part 2 here!

It's funny that Barry Allen is supposed to be in Central City, because the two of you passed through it when travelling through Missouri, since Percy has bad memories of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

But quickly it becomes clear what Hermes was laughing about - Central City's one of those places that's not only plagued with crime, but also has its own dedicated superhero.

The Flash.

"So Barry Allen must be the Flash." Percy connects the dots pretty quickly. "And the Flash must be like you."

Now, Barry has no idea the two of you are coming. Nor who either of you are.

But there's something weird going on, because neither he nor Cisco nor Caitlin can figure out why the seismic readings in the city are going haywire.

Since none of them can see through the Mist, they can't witness the giant boar attacking the city.

But you, despite being mortal, can.

"Okay, normally I'm used to having monsters in the way, but this is kind of annoying." Percy sighs. "Any idea what we're up against?"

"Well... from what I know, there are a couple of different big porkers in Greek myth. Wait - shouldn't you know this?"

"Hey, do I ask if you know Superman?"

"Fine. Fair point."

You pull Percy along with you as you run, following the surprisingly speedy piggy.

And that's when the Flash shows up.

"Hey! You're like me!"

You grin. "I think you're who we want to see, but... let's take care of the monster first."

Barry balks. "What?"

"Oh, right."

Percy sighs. "Sorry about this-" and focuses, manipulating the Mist so that Barry can see through it.

"I'm Tempo. And this is my boyfriend, Percy Jackson."

"Percy Jackson? Weren't you that kid that got kidnapped and they all thought you were a terrorist?"

Percy pouts. "I didn't think anybody'd remember that."

"Wait, so... is that a giant boar? Is this... what happened to you?"

"Greek myths are real, so are the gods. Trust me, it sucks." Percy gives him the book jacket version."

"I've been able to see them all my life, and I'm not even a demigod. Percy says it's called the Mist."

"Oh, so you being speedy doesn't come from like, winged boots or anything?"

"No, I was in an accident with a lightningrod."

"For me, I got struck by lightning from a cloud formed by a particle accelerator explosion."

"Wow, you're practically twins." Percy smirks.

"Let's catch up after! We need to deal wth this thing. Can you think of anything recently that might've pissed off a god?"

"Uh, they shut down half the zoo to make room for a power plant?"

"Artemis. Does that narrow it down?" Percy asks you.

"Calydonian Boar! Or Aetolian. It's the boar Atalanta killed."

Barry presses a hand to his ear. "Caitlin, Cisco, you listening? No, I'm not crazy, though I might have a concussion or something. Just... figure out how we might be able to kill a giant boar without anyone burning up a piece of wood their life is tied to."

"Hey, you know more Greek mythology than Percy does!" you joke.

Percy smacks your arm but doesn't seem particularly offended.

"Well, there is one idea, but it hinges on your boyfriend here being inhumanly durable."

Percy smirks. "Let's just say I got that covered."

"Well, as speedsters, we could basically slingshot you into the boar, with that sword sticking into it and hopefully killing it."

"Sounds good to me!" you nod. Percy nods eagerly.

Caitlin quickly emerges, summoning Killer Frost to lock the Calydonian Boar in place, while Ralph acts as the slingshot, Percy bracing himself, feet planted on Ralph's chest as you and Barry use your speed to build up the potential energy, stretching out Ralph's arms, until......

You both duck, and Ralph rubberbands back into shape, the momentum transferring to Percy and launching him at extreme speed at the boar!

Percy has his sword held out in front of him, and even manages a turn in midair to get more aerondynamic speed, and executes a flashy forward somersault, leaving Riptide speared in the Calydonian Boar, landing as it turns to yellow powder.

"Gotta say, 'Team Flash, Monster Slayers' has a great ring to it." Cisco congratulates, while Ralph rubs his arms as if they were sore.

It's fun to work as part of a team that has more than three members.

And maybe, just maybe, Barry will finally help you unlock the secrets of your powers...

[heartshapedbubble]

Coming off of anon and I’ve been doing just fine for a simple request: Murro, Percy, Bane and Leo with a reader who views him as a father figure.

Let’s throw Servais in there too bc I love him and don’t see enough of him

Gotta gotta be down because I want it all YESS i get so happy when i see people build up the courage to come off anon we're all cringe equally here ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 ALSO big W for the character choice we need more love for these especially murro🙏

murro, percy, bane, leo and servais with a reader who sees them as (a) father figure(s)🐗🧟‍♂️🦌☄️🪄

murro morton🐗

him?? out of all people?!

you've pretty much cemented murro's trust now...

murro has quite a bit of experience being the older sibling, but being a father figure? no way

the fact that you find him that special even though he's just being himself really warms his heart, not gonna lie

might shed a tear or two just thinking about it ok. this man is quite emotional

once you tell him that he begins to act a bit more carefully in front of you and give you advice more often

i mean, shit, what kind of an opportunity is it to be someone's very own dad figure? just thinking of it makes his heart jump out of joy

murro is a very selfless person but the fact that you look up to him *that* much does make him want to chase that feeling forever. it makes him feel so much better about himself and gives his life a new purpose

he could never see himself as a father or a guardian - but if it's you who does, then that shall be it!

percy🧟‍♂️

percy stopped acting on his human instincts and emotions a while ago - although he still can feel/sense them, it's but a fading feeling and even if he wanted to act on them he couldn't due to the fact that his vocal cords are damaged and his whole body - including his mind - is paralyzed and doesn't feel like his own

yet this... this does ignite something within him.

it's not hatred, a reflex or some other kind of urge a body would have - it, is fact, love. a caring type of love. the love you observe from fathers' eyes as they hold their child in their arms, the painful glint in them filled with so much care and the need to protect

it hurts trying to act up on it and verbalize how much he appreciates you, as he knows he can't get further than a few coughs and groans and perhaps shaky or cramped limbs, and he's aware of how dead and lifeless he looks

yet he can't appreciate your attention and trust enough. although he might just respond to your energy with a slight nod or a bleak look in your direction, know that deep within his body his dead heart seems to start beating whenever he sees you coming his way

bane perez🦌

the monster of darkwoods? minotaur? half man half deer? bane has heard it all, and obviously got tired of it

but "dad" ? that's a new one.

not that he doesn't like it though.

once "dad" nonchalantly slips from your mouth as you two tend to the flowers in the woods, he might just never be the same

bane, in fact, likes being a dad. he would want to be one if the circumstances weren't, you know, that he was a half dead man trapped inside of a manor basically forever

he has a strong urge to protect and teach and love, cupping his strong, calloused hands as gently as pillows around every fallen baby bird that he finds and cradling it back to its nest

that's how bane sees your relationship - he may not have experience with caring for humans, but he'd sacrifice anything to bring you towards him and care for you as if you were his own child

leo beck☄️

it's a bittersweet feeling, really.

as much as he loves being there for you, following you around and showing you the right way, it never goes without the guilt at the end of the day.

he thinks of lisa, where she is now. if she's sleeping as deeply as you after he has tucked you into bed. if she ate as much as you did after he made you breakfast. if she smiled as widely as you after he has retold you the same story he always tells yet again.

it's the guilt of not being able to provide the first time after providing the second, to love after not having the time to the first time, and it all makes him spiral into self hatred

it makes him want to protect you even more, now that he already lost so much

as he reaches to hug you, he always manages to find something of lisa's on you. the mole on your arm starts to look similar to the one that his beloved lisa had. there seems to be something of lisa's in your laughter, too.

yet, he has to deal with the harsh present as rationally as possible - accept and love you as dearly as he should have accepted and loved before, and pray for his daughter every night, when everyone is already asleep

servais le roy🪄

i fear it might be below this man's pride to admit his care for you..

but, one thing's for sure, and that's that it occupies his mind too much for his own liking.

"dad", he mumbles, as he cleans his wands and folds his colorful cloths. he'd gladly scoff at it, but for some reason he just lacks the power to do so

he can't get it out of his head. he's not fit to be a dad, hell, he doesn't even behave as appropriately as someone who should be looked up to, why are you so nice and dear to him?

yet, all these new, troubling thoughts will soften mr. servais' rock hard heart over time. mmyep.

he just has to embrace it at this point, you know what? burst out of his shell and take you to get food, or go watch a movie or read with you. tend to you when you're sick and talk to you until you feel at ease. how could he not?

he still doesn't know what you could possibly see in him, but since you already look up to him, might as well make himself worth it.

[darkfictionjude]

I was thinking about an ask I made some time ago (which was about if MC behaved the same way before the mental hospital as they can behave in game), and now I realized something evident, but to which I had not noticed entirely, mostly due to being so focused on MC's POV and not the rest of their family.

Basically, while I do play MC as someone who is kind and polite as much as the game allows, it became clear to me that this wouldn't truly make MC dear to anyone. If anything, MC being so friendly (or, at least, attempting to be friendly), made them significantly more terrifying to their siblings. Just imagine your little sibling, who is mostly polite and well mannered, suddenly going violent, unpredictable and self harming in front of everyone. Uncaring about harming you, themselves. And unable to take responsibility for this actions.

Like, especially when young, it's only natural for MC's siblings to not become close to MC. It makes sense Sally dehumanizes MC to the degree he does. It makes sense that Percy, while also jealous and hurt about the attention MC received and the consequence of him being ignored because of it, also wouldn't pursue a closer relationship with MC. Not only does MC seem two-faced, but even after understanding MC has no control over these episodes, how can you trust them? How can you feel safe at their side?

Then there's Orla, who clearly seemed to try to be affectionate and love MC at some point before distancing herself. But, from her perspective, it was the safe thing to do. She has been harmed by MC. And MC, as I have established in another ask, is basically anti Orla. Orla sees herself in MC whether she likes it or not, because MC shares her birthday, and is linked to her in ways MC is not linked to the other siblings. This is especially true for a female MC, since they would be sharing gender, and it would be expected for sisters to be closer. Maybe Orla dreamed about how she was going to play with her little sister, how they would be beautiful and great together. Only to be stuck with a unsettling little girl. But even if MC is a boy, MC is still the baby sibling. She would like, perhaps, to pamper them. To spoil them. And instead is confronted with a nightmarish scenario that she cannot truly escape nor ignore.

Now, I have mostly been sympathetic towards MC. Not only do we have their POV, but is clear this POV is unreliable. There are things MC simply doesn't understand, or is unable to see because they are focused on what's happening to them. But, for example, the siblings ignore that MC may be trying to resist acting out, but is simply unable to do so. Worse, even if they knew, does it change anything for them? They are still confronted with a sibling that is alien, that is different, that they are, to some extent (different for each), scared of.

Sadly, I don't know if the relationship could be repaired. Maybe. The thing is, it is going to be hard. Especially with Sally, I think. Percy is able to see MC as an individual, and both have this 'black sheep' aura to them (although for different reasons). Both are misunderstood. But MC would have to gain their own personhood and identity before trying to actually fix (or rather, build) their relationships with the siblings they have left.

Nice analysis. I think it’s great to sympathize with mc, it’s easy if to sympathize with the mc character in an IF. But I’ve seen how readers turn and hate those that don’t particular like mc or those that treat them differently when in this IF the siblings have seen mc be violent towards them and themself. They have endured years of this. Even if they believed mc tries to resist being this way, what does it change? The violence still occurs. How could it be easy to be close to someone who at the drop of a hat could accidentally kill you? I kind of view it like having a family member that’s an addict, yes it is a disease that is hard to control but the family members have all the right to still be angry or frightened.

Yes Orla’s abuse horrible but it didn’t start randomly one day. You can hate her still obviously but it didn’t occur from nowhere. Yes it sucks that Sally cannot see mc as anything more than a child, but that’s how he was raised and mc is unpredictable. Yes it sucks that Percy is not closer to mc nor does he particularly want to be but it makes sense for his character, the fact that they’re both black sheep doesn’t immediately spawn bonding. These kids were never taught to take each other’s side as equals. MC is not the only one that suffers and I think the problem is the siblings are unable to see how they aren’t the only ones that have it bad too

[c-is-for-circinate]

a penny for your Ashton thoughts?

ASHTON GREYMORE MY BELOVED

Fair warning, I am once again half an episode behind, plus I'm pretty scattered today, but let's have some bullet points and see what ensues.

Anybody remember when, a couple of months ago, some posts went around about how 'everyone says Ashton's So Loyal but that's bullshit and people letting their affection for Taliesin overrule their objectivity'? No? Well I do and I AM STILL SMUG ABOUT THEM BEING WRONG.

Seriously, this rock is the walking personification of "I don't care," I said, caringly, as I cared deeply. We all know this by now, I think. I love it with my whole heart.

Something fascinating to me about Ashton in comparison with Taliesin's other characters: they are, every one of them, Extremely Sure they know how the world (or their specific part of it, at least) works. Part of what's great about that is how often the things they're Sure Of disagree -- Percy, Molly, and Caduceus in a room together and asked to debate human nature would be a wild show to watch from the other side of a bulletproof one-way mirror, safe behind blast doors. And so far Ashton is in their own way perhaps the least obviously Absolutely Sure out of all of them, which is really interesting in its own way! It means when I think about Ashton, I always find myself pondering: what ARE they Sure of?

I think we saw our biggest hint about that with his rage during the Hytroga heist. There are rules. You keep your word. If you create an agreement, you keep it. Breaking an agreement like that is WRONG, fundamentally, core-of-how-the-world-works wrong, and people who do that should Pay For It.

The other half of Ashton's worldview seems to be something along the line of 'people are assholes' -- put together, "People are assholes, but there are rules." Certainly 'people are assholes' is probably the part he'd say out loud! Which makes it really interesting that, by the standards of a Taliesin Character, Ashton is practically halfhearted about this one. They certainly don't believe that people never act for reasons of loyalty and love. I think about Ashton in comparison to Percy or Molly, in particular -- Percy and Molly, who were quite sure that the universe contained Decent People and Terrible People, and that they could quite readily tell the difference. (Percy might have had ranks for 'tolerable people', a category that could theoretically be applied to either Decent or Terrible people, but it was all very much something appropriately categorized.) Ashton doesn't go around the world expecting to find Terrible People the way they did. He goes around expecting to find assholes, which is a statement of general dickishness but also not, like, a thing to get morally offended over or be surprised about. Even the kind of prissy rich people that Molly would have loathed (lord, Molly meeting Jiana Hexum?) fall comfortably onto Ashton's scale of 'yeah, they're an asshole, that's whatever -- no, OBVIOUSLY you can't trust them, but who trusts people?' There are very, very few individuals who seem to rate Ashton's 'no, this person is so awful they have forfeited their right to be treated with decency and rules' classification. Thinking about how he flipped out about Hytroga, it almost feels like it's a surprise to him. Like Ashton goes around pseudo-cheerfully expecting a certain baseline of shittiness in the general tone of 'why would I be SURPRISED by that?', and when someone fails to live up to even those (complicated, only-known-to-him) standards, it hits right in the gut.

There's an interesting tie-in here with how Ashton thinks people thinks of him, specifically. Ashton thinks of themself as 'that asshole, who people may at any given time be annoyed with/furious at/relatively meh about'. And like, that's...sort of true? They have a really low charisma score! Various NPCs have indeed come pre-annoyed with him! But Justi was reasonably pleased to see him, and Milo saved their damn life and then let them keep living in their punk squat house, and the Bells Hells love him. I think that might be part of why 'people are assholes' is such a complicated thing, for Ashton. Yeah, people are dicks -- but it's not like they're going to just ignore the fact that friendship and love and loyalty exist too. That sometimes people are inexplicably fond of them in ways they can use. (and meanwhile, Ashton has been so, so lonely, Ashton who was almost fond of Jiana Hexum for being a person he could rely on who considered him Of Use, Ashton who's all in on Bells Hells as a crew and FCG in particular, who lets Laudna goo-cry on their shoulder and plays with Fearne and is Kind Of A Dick (affectionate) with them all. Ashton who was so ready to be valued and has gone all in on it immediately.)

...oh motherfucker, if Chetney is Travis's version of Nott, then Ashton is Taliesin playing Beau.

That aside, it's been great to see them in Basuras for multiple reasons, including the fact that it really beautifully illustrates exactly how and why "People are assholes, but there are rules" might become a life philosophy. In a lot of ways, that's the core motto of this entire town! People are assholes, everywhere, always, and nobody ever really stops them -- but there are a few central fundamental tenets to how things work around here, and if you break them you are in for a WORLD of hurt.

Honestly, it has been such a joy to watch Ashton in Basuras. They're in their element and it's wonderful! They know the town, the players, the rules, the games, the local legends. How many years has it been since Ashton's been here? And Justi and the All-Minds-Burn collective still remembers them fondly? It may be a shithole, but this is home.

Lastly, I have had SO much joy watching Ashton take FCG's whole "oh, Ashton is our leader!" to heart. He's never made a big deal out of it, never given orders exactly, but in a leaderless collective of fuckwits all trying to Twitch Plays Pokemon their way through life, Ashton has been guiding discussions, proposing plans, and doing a really unexpectedly excellent job of nudging disordered chaos into action. Part of it's because this is home turf and Ashton knows what's what here, but -- every time they tell Chetney to keep an eye out for if the group's being followed and Chetney immediately goes with it, every time Ashton checks in with the group to see whether certain people are okay -- it's so good! I love it so much! It doesn't work during fights exactly, because barbarian rage tunnel vision (contrast Fjord, who did similar nudging and guiding things but was also very much a battlefield controller with a good big-picture view of the whole field most of the time, especially by the end), but on a general day-to-day basis...at least in Basuras, Ashton is actually acting as the group leader, and I love it so much.

At any rate, the tumblr grapevine suggests that the second half of this week's episode is going to involve Dusk getting revealed as Secret Inside Assassin PC, and I am stoked to see how Ashton reacts to that. Ugh. Do I need to just bite the Twitch Subscription bullet for weekend VODs, given that this state of bed-at-mid-break affairs is likely to continue for...literally evermore, with this new job? I think I do. I really think I do.

[doevademe]

That last son of Aphrodite Nico post has me thinking about amnesiac Nico, so can you give some headcanons for an au where Hera doesn’t trust Nico enough to let him keep his memories, like him going back and forth through the camps after saving Hazel until his memories get taken but nobody except for Hazel is worried until Percy gets his memories back. And when they finally find him they wouldn’t have the time to deal with helping him get his memories back!!! I think itd be so good if everything went the same way it did in canon especially if he gets his memories back during the Cupid scene 😭😭

Amnesiac Nico AU

Nico arrives to Camp Jupiter a few days after Jason disappears, without any memories.

Hazel tries filling the blanks as best as she can, but Nico is a very private person, and there's a lot she doesn't know.

General consensus among the Romans is: Not a Legionnaire, not our problem, and the Greek side doesn't notice he's missing for a while, and Percy's own vanishing takes priority.

The "I know you" "Do you?" exchange is completely sincere here. Both Percy and Nico are certain they know each other, but don't know who or what they were to each other.

They are joined at the hip the whole time, just talking about vague memories and trying to piece their shared pasts. Hazel watches them, hopeful Nico will remember himself.

Nico dreams with Thanatos the night Mars appears. He tells him that he can't go with Percy, Hazel and Frank, as his role is to find the Doors of Death.

Percy kisses Nico before going their separate ways ("I'm not sure if it's something we did before, but it's what feels right."). Nico goes, thinking that maybe this is what Juno was trying to keep from them.

When Percy gets his memories back, he feels like he took advantage of Nico. He obviously hates him, yet he believes they are something else because of his amnesia. He promises himself to help Nico remember whatever it takes.

Percy feels even worse when Annabeth because he unknowingly betrayed her. He confesses what he did, and Annabeth begins avoiding him.

Jump to Nico's rescue. When he wakes up, he smiles at Percy and mumbles he knew he would find him. He's still memory wiped, and Percy doesn't know how to break it to him.

Nico notices he remembers, though, and asks about them. Percy only says their relationship is not quite what they thought, but that they always end up protecting each other ("That's enough for me," he says, happy). Percy promises to help him get his memories back too.

Percy falls with Annabeth. Nico despairs. Hazel tells him that Percy and Annabeth are dating. Nico is torn between hating Percy, and understanding that they were both misunderstanding their relationship.

Outwardly, Nico acts like it's no big deal, that he and Percy were completely platonic, but inside, Nico suffers because he realized he's in love, and he doesn't know if that was the case before he lost his memories.

Cupid wants him to be honest about his feelings, but Nico refuses because he doesn't want to burden Percy, his friend. Cupid's arrows show him glimpses of his past, and he ends up admitting that he fell for Percy, not once, but twice.

Cupid shoots him once more and Nico remembers everything, and feels like throwing up. How on Earth was he acting like a love-struck fool with Percy, in public? And even admitted it in front of Jason Grace?

Canon happens, Percy and Annabeth get back. Percy goes to hug Nico when they reunite, but Nico just says, "I remember now, so you can stop pretending."

Percy is hurt. Nico is hurt. They go their separate ways. Angst abounds.

Percy realizes he's betraying Annabeth again, because he keeps going back to kissing Nico. He wanted to do it again when he left with Reyna and Hedge. He breaks up with Annabeth in Athens.

Canon happens again. Nico confesses to Percy, hoping to just get it over with and move on, but Percy surprises him by confessing back.

[twoidiotwriters1]

Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Ara is just a clown and the whole world is her circus -Danny Words: 2,556 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Someone To You' -by BANNERS

XXXVIII: They'll Get Over It, They Just Gotta Be Dramatic First

Percy tells Lily where to find her sister and she leaves right away, wanting to make sure Annabeth is out of danger. My brother eyes me carefully. "How are you feeling?"

I shrug. "I wasn't fighting..." I pout, unable to control my tears. "I can't complain."

"You have the bombs?" 

I nod, but I can't speak, so Percy hugs me. "I... I'm sorry," he says weakly. "I broke the bridge, I didn't retreat when Annabeth told me to. I thought I could—"

"You can't get hurt like before, can you? You did something to yourself."

He tells me what he and Nico did the night prior. He also tells me what a manipulative asshole Nico turned out to be. He doesn't say it like that of course, Percy's too noble, but I know what to do now.

"Go to sleep," I tell him. "You look exhausted."

"You should sleep too."

I shake my head. "Cabin Seven just lost their counselor, and Jake needs me. I gotta help, I haven't done enough."

He gives me a funny look. "You sound like Silena."

"Well, we're sisters," I notice she hasn't come to check on me and my stomach drops. "Where is she?"

Percy's quick to put my mind at ease. "Went to get Clarisse. Michael gave her the chariot, but she still refused to come..."

"I'll see that she thinks twice before pulling another stunt like this one."

He smiles. "Now you sound like Michael."

"He trained me," I state proudly.

Percy squeezes my shoulder, I feel a wave of guilt coming out of him, but something in me can't lighten his discomfort. My brother goes to sleep, but I look around for Jake Mason. I find him struggling to bandage his hand. 

"Let me," I take his injured hand and wrap it properly. "Where's Nyssa?"

"She and Connor came back ten minutes ago," he tells me, nodding a silent thank you when I finish with his hand. "Connor found a couple of walkie-talkies, you should take one."

I make sure his bandages are tight and in place, then I look up at him. "Everyone okay?"

"Yeah," he shakes his head. "There were so many, Ara..."

I frown. "Listen, counselor, we're not gonna give room to those thoughts. We're a capable army, and we can handle this. Beckendorf trusted I could help, and that's what I'll do."

He glances at me, speaking quietly. "Sorry about Michael..."

I let go of his hand and take the walkie he's offering me. "I can't blame my brother for what happened, so I'll beat up Clarisse once I see her."

"Ara, cut her some slack," he sighs. "I'm trying my best but look at me... perhaps she's in over her head, too."

"A leader knows when to step in. That's all she had to do, and she failed. She should know better, considering who her father is."

Before I leave, I check if Almighty's still in my pocket, I don't know if it's the same as Riptide, I've never thrown it away to see if it comes back, and now's not the time to risk it.

"Sleep, Jake, we have to set those bombs around first thing tomorrow."

"So?" Lily crosses her arms. "What's so important that you have to tell all of us at once?"

Ara asked Lily, Jason, and Piper to meet her outside the Big House on the morning of her departure. Leo's standing next to her, fidgeting with loose screws and avoiding Lily's eyes at all cost.

"I'm not even sure I should make a big deal out of it," Ara starts. "But I guess—"

"Let's just say it," Leo urges her, he looks like he's about to pee his pants. "You're leaving in thirty minutes."

"Okay! Well, uh..." Ara locks eyes with Piper, her smile encourages her. "Leo and I are dating."

Lily's face is pale on a normal day, but right now she looks like one of Nico's ghosts. "What!"

"Congrats!" Jason says.

"I'm happy for you," Piper grins. "I mean you, Leo. I feel bad for Ara."

"What!" Lily repeats again, eyes wide. "You've known each other for like a month! Barely!"

Ara knows this is insane from her best friend's perspective. Lily can't trust as easily as Ara, even Connor, who's been her crush for the last few years, had to earn that the hard way, and he doesn't even know it. Connor thinks Lily tolerates him most of the time.

"Well, it's been a long month," Ara replies, unable to be serious. "C'mon, Lils, it's not like you didn't see it coming."

Lily replies in disbelief. "How was I supposed to know? You spent years swearing you would never date a Cabin Nine camper and I—"

Ara laughs. "Are you happy or not? I can't tell."

"She probably isn't," Leo jokes even though Ara knows he means it. "I'm the bad boy, right? You said something like that to Annabeth."

Lily blushes. "I said you're untrustworthy when it comes to following rules. You sleep at the bunker the days Ara isn't around, and you lie when she asks you things."

"What?" Ara looks at Leo frowning. "What are you lying about?"

Leo scowls at Lily. "Are you spying on me?"

"Yeah, and good thing I do!" Lily argues. "I knew Ara liked you, so I wanted to know if you were—"

"Lily, I told you not to spy on Leo!"

"But he lies!" Lily insists. "He doesn't eat and doesn't sleep, he's going to faint or drop dead and then it'll be up to you to carry on with his work and you'll stare at that picture of him in your room all day and—"

"Alright, let's take a moment!" Piper intervenes.

Ara turns to Leo. "For Gods's sake, just eat. I want to come back to a living, healthy boyfriend, not your malnourished corpse. Don't take Lily's actions as an attack, she's trying to help you."

Leo understands of course, after the talk they had last night. He mumbles and shrugs, still poutig. Ara then turns to Lily.

"Promise me you won't be harassing Leo to make sure he follows orders."

"But—"

"I know," Ara interrupts calmly. "But even Michael respected our free wills, perhaps more than anyone we ever knew. You're a lot like him, Lily, you see the potential in people. Please do that with Leo as well, and be nice. He'll need your guidance sometimes."

She looks between the two. Lily and Leo are blushing out of annoyance.

"Truce?" Ara presses.

"Not truce," Lily crosses her arms. "But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Wow, how generous," Leo scowls.

"Cool!" Ara continues. "So, uh... that's all we had to say."

Jason clears his throat, he glances at Lily with a bit of concern. "Well... we're happy for you two. You guys make sense together."

"Totally," Piper agrees. "I see it, though it's still kinda weird."

Ara is pretty sure Lily is muttering something about elves, then she sighs and shrugs. "Well, at least I get to do this." Lily pulls the walkie-talkie from her belt and presses on its button. "Connor?"

He replies almost immediately. "What's up?"

"Start plan 19."

"What's plan 19?" Leo whispers to Ara worryingly.

"I don't know," she raises a brow. "Lily—"

The girl lifts a finger asking her to wait. There is a long silence before Connor replies.

"Are you serious right now?"

Lily presses the button again. "I'd never joke about this, Stoll."

"Connor, what—" Ara tries to take the walkie but Lily is quick to pull out one of her daggers. 

"Stand back, Jackson," she warns her. "Let us do our job."

Ara is deeply confused, but then she spots Connor, his brother, Malcolm, and pretty much all of their Cabin Nine and Cabin Ten friends hurrying to meet them uphill. The Stolls are carrying towels and the evilest look in their eyes she's ever seen.

"Oh, shit," she backtracks.

"Wait," Leo grins. "Is it lake time?"

Ara looks back at Lily almost pleadingly. "Lily Saggio, I'm your best friend."

"Save it," her friend smirks. "You would show no mercy if you were in my place."

"It's the middle of winter!"

"If you get sick, you got your boyfriend to look after you."

"Yeah, no problem!" Leo says, bouncing on his spot. He waves at the small crowd. "What's up! I believe you're here for me!"

"I can't swim!" Ara exclaims.

"Are you lying to my face right now?" Lily questions, eyes bright with amusement.

Malcolm scowls when he sees who's standing next to Ara. "Aw, man, it's Leo," he groans.

"Pay up, loser," Lily extends her palm out to her brother.

"Buckle up, Birdy," Travis smirks.

Ara is not a coward, but she tries to run anyway. Naturally, she gets caught almost immediately. 

She hates the cold. Genuine hate. Even the thought of it makes her angry and now her friends are about to throw her into frozen water, and she wonders if anyone actually cares about her because this is basically like a murder attempt.

"You okay, sunshine?" Leo has a huge smile on his face. "Now's your last chance," he holds out his hand.

Leo lets Jason, Piper, and his siblings carry him like this is a game, which of course it is, but Ara is playing rough. She knows rules are rules and she's dating someone, therefore she's got to take one for the team, but the gods above know she'll complain about it up until the last second.

Ara seizes his hand. "Oh, it's too late for anything."

"Think about it this way," Jason says happily. "Leo's finally going to take a shower!"

"Hey!" He hits the back of Jason's head. "I don't smell that bad!"

Ara tries not to, but a laugh escapes her. Lily whistles, pointing at the lake. "Take them!"

"Have a nice swim, guys!" Jake Mason exclaims.

As soon as they make contact with the lake's ice-cold surface, Ara's entire body screams in agony, but Leo's hand is still firmly wrapped around hers, making sure she stays close to him. 

They resurface gasping for air, Ara shivers like crazy. "Holy f—"

"It's fine, it's fine! I'm right here," Leo squeezes her hand, pushing the hair out of her eyes so she can see. "You okay? Nothing broken?"

"N-No," she coughs out, swimming to the edge.

"The world didn't end," Leo teases her. His lips are slightly purple, but he doesn't seem to care in the slightest. "And now we get to be together in public! I love this camp..."

Ara sneezes and hurries to where her friends are. "Do me a solid, Valdez. Don't talk to me until I'm out of the water."

The Hephaestus kids hurry to pull Leo out while Ara's siblings tend to her. Lily is quick to wrap a towel around Ara and Piper approaches with a leaf blower.

"You had a plan for this, really?" Ara raises a brow, still shivering.

"I wasn't going to just throw you in a leave you wet, though I should've," Lily rolls her eyes. "I have a plan for everything, Queen B. I'm also prepared for a breakup if things go bad."

Ara laughs and shakes her head, looking at her friend with admiration. "Honestly, I should just date you instead."

Piper uses the leaf blower on Ara, and then she smiles at Lily. "I love the girls in this camp, you're all so fun to hang out with."

Leo approaches with a towel around his shoulders, mostly dry. "That was fun! I don't know why Jason complained so much about it."

"'Cause it's winter and I was wearing socks," Jason makes a face. "Who in their right mind enjoys that?"

"And yet you still threw me in," Ara points out.

"Yeah, it's fun to watch," he grins.

"Well, this was great, but my girlfriend is leaving in like, fifteen minutes, and I haven't seen the picture she keeps of me in her room," Leo wraps an arm around Ara's shoulders. "See y'all— scatter, or whatever. What's that thing you say, doll?"

"You're dismissed," Ara replies in an embarrassed tone, blushing at Leo's proximity. 

Once they're out of sight, Leo kisses her cheek and speaks in a more serious voice. "It's over! I'm having nightmares about Lily and her knives for the rest of the month."

Ara laughs. "She's harmless!"

"Yeah, right. I've heard the stories, sunshine. She is far from harmless—and you're even worse!"

"What makes you think that?"

"All the times you've tried to kill the son of Hades—"

"He had it coming," Ara rolls her eyes.

Leo raises both hands in surrender, then adopts a playful expression. "Is it true that you got a picture—?"

"Oh shut up, I know you kept the stupid hat my mom gave you," she says defensively.

"Hey, that's different! I collect hats!" He argues.

Ara stops. "You what?"

"I collect hats," Leo repeats casually. "I like them."

"Hats."

"Yeah," he smiles. "Unique hats."

Ara can't tell if he's joking, and that's enough to realize he's not. "When you got to camp you didn't have any hats with you."

"Well, I don't carry them around," he rolls his eyes, "but I had hats in my dorm, in Wilderness School. I never went back to get them, so my collection is lacking again."

She smiles a little. "No new hats since you got here?"

"I've got the hat your mom gave me, a party hat from when the drunk nymphs tried to kill us—when you first kissed me remember?—And I got a winter hat from the last time Thalia and her hunters visited camp."

Ara notices that as he lists these items, his skin glows like gold. "Leo, you should've told me, I could've given you a hat as a present for Christmas!"

"You can give me one for Valentine's Day," he winks. "But it's got to be super weird or magical, like Annabeth's cap. Got it?"

Ara pecks his lips. "I'll keep it in mind."

I point at Lily without stopping and gesture at her to follow me. "You're coming with me."

She gets up and seizes her knives. Connor tries to stop her. "Woah! Where are you going?"

I glare at him, he stops and looks at me with a bit of apprehension.

"Where is Grover?" I ask him.

"I-I don't know," he looks around. "Have you asked Percy?"

"He can't know I'm leaving," I squint. "Is that clear?"

Connor glances at Lily, she's calmly placing her knives in place, concealing them under her armor. Her eyes are red and puffy, but she's determined to join me.

"Just be careful," he says. "Lily?"

She nods without looking up at him. "Sure."

When we find Grover, I use charmspeak so he tells us how Percy got into the Underworld, and then I make him forget. We walk out of the Plaza toward Central Park, and Lily doesn't say a word until I speak.

"I'm visiting your patron."

She points to a bunch of rocks. "There's an entrance there, I can feel it."

I draw out Grover's flute, and play a lullaby he taught me years ago during our first quest. The entrance opens, and I take one step forward. 

"It was Nico's idea," I explain as we enter. "You know what that means?"

Lily sighs. "That he took an educated guess as to why we wanted to contact Achilles?"

"He guessed wrong," I scowl. "And he's gonna pay for that."

Lily frowns. "Why?"

I tell her what Percy told me, but she isn't as angry as me. "Well, it worked, right? Percy's invincible. Strong enough to destroy a bridge..."

I stop. "That was Michael's idea."

"Yeah, after Percy messed up."

"Are you blaming my brother?" I stare at her, annoyed, but she's grieving as much as I am, there's no point in arguing about it. Her mind will clear up eventually. "Look, this is exactly what we needed. Your patron wants a godsend and Nico wants to win our trust back."

"And..?"

"I have both in the palm of my hand," I reply, my gaze stuck on the dark horizon. "I'll make a deal with Hades."

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 @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles

[happyk44]

It was difficult to think.

He never knew Thalia had a brother. Had that been why she was so anxious earlier? Searching for the little brother she lost? What the fuck happened to this kid?

His teeth were still stained with Ethan's and Iapetus', now Bob's, blood. It meshed gold and red against his lip, onto his lower jaw. He didn't follow Nico as he stepped forward to show his father the sword they recovered. Instead, he watched Thalia and Percy closely, cautiously. Half lowered to the ground. There was a menace to his stance. Animalistic. Fingers curled. Teeth barred. Eyes, bright blue and distrusting. The smell of lightning, burning and acrid, edged at them. A warning of what he could do.

What he was willing to do.

Ethan's burnt bloody body came to mind.

Percy's head was buzzing with questions. He could barely hear Hades as he spoke, regarding Nico with a soft love and Persephone with thinly veiled annoyance.

Funny, Percy thought. He would've assumed it would be the other way around. But there were clearly a lot of things about the underworld he was unfamiliar with.

Hades stepped down from his throne as the sword was lifted into the air by the Furies. He slid one hand, fatherly and calm over Nico's head. Then turned to his wife and grabbed her by the jaw. Percy's breath caught in his throat. Thalia stiffened, hands clenched tight at her side.

"Stop disobeying me," he seethed. "I'm already at risk with the boy here. Why are you so insistent in putting us in harsher light?"

Despite the grip on her face, Persephone looked only amused. Her hand came to rest on his wrist. "I only wish to help. You know that."

He rolled his eyes and let go of her with a gentle shove. With a quiet snap of his fingers, he vanished into the darkness.

The air was heavy and then, "You test his patience too much."

Persephone smiled gently at Nico. "Oh, I test a lot of things when it comes to your father."

Thalia grit her teeth. "You-" She inhaled sharply, spared a single glance for her hunched over brother still glaring at them. "He didn't know it existed."

Almost bored, Persephone smoothed her dress down. The puzzle clacked together in Percy's head. "That's why he wasn't there!" He stepped forward and froze when Jason snarled viciously. He held his breath but kept going. "That's why you gave us the mission. He told you he didn't want the sword."

A soft whistle slid through the air, as breathy as a spring day. Jason relaxed on his haunches. As she approached slowly, Persephone regarded Percy and Thalia like annoying bugs she'd discovered in her garden. Something to quash.

To get rid of.

Then she stiffened up as Nico joined their side. He was still, rigid. A little off to the side as he'd been all day. But ultimately with them.

"Percy's right," he said quietly. A little frown to his face. "The balance of power is all thrown off now. Other gods barely trust my father as it is. There's no way they're going to be okay with this."

"I can handle other gods, Nico."

"When has he ever wanted other people to deal with what he has to handle from other gods?"

More questions boiled at the top of Percy's head. There was a history he was never going to understand - something Thalia, in all her Huntress, direct line to a goddess glory, probably knew better than Percy ever would. Something Nico already had a hand in.

Persephone rolled her eyes. "It'll be fine. He's accepted the sword. It will be finished, and he will finally be as powerful as his brothers. More so, if we're lucky." She gestured loosely. "Our realm will be protected, against Kronos or anyone else who wants to threaten us."

Anyone else? The fuck did that mean?

"Dad likes to handle that kind of thing himself."

"Your father doesn't like to ask for help." Persephone's eyes were dark now, blazing like a storm. Her voice was cold, frozen. "I chose to stop offering. Better to ask forgiveness."

Something akin to guilt, to understanding was in Nico's eyes just before he shielded them from view. What did he know? What did Persephone?

The way she spoke about the sword - Percy had always assumed that Hades was the on the same standing as his brothers. The Big Three. Equal. Powerful. Balanced.

But here was she acting as though they weren't. That there was something unfair.

Percy looked over at Nico again, the way he stood off to the side. He was on Percy's side but still standing away, like he wasn't sure if he was allowed.

Keeping an eye on Jason, Percy shifted towards Nico, protective. He got maybe an inch and half before Jason growled, lowering cautiously. Percy stopped

Thalia released a heavy grunt. "Fine!" she spat. Persephone turned her gaze to Thalia. The darkness in her eyes turned from a storm to a void, empty and uncaring. "You have your fucking sword. You have the power you wanted, whatever, but why!" She jabbed a hand at Jason. "Why is my brother here!"

"Well, little sister, Jason had a difficult time after your mother abandoned him to the wolves-"

"Wolves?" Thalia hissed.

Persephone ignored her outburst. "The place he was staying could not handle him in the long-term. They called my husband for help. Storms are difficult to contain, they wanted him to go down easy. Instead, Hades offered to take him in. He showed our brother a kindness."

"A kindness?" Thalia's voice was pitched high, angry, scared. She pulled out her spear. "You're fucked in the head if you think this is kind!"

She was on the ground before Percy could exhale. Jason had thrown himself at her. A muzzle of shadows was pulled tight over his face as he snarled viciously. A leash of flowers was strapped around his chest, keeping him from clawing at Thalia's skin. He was spitting, angry, enraged.

Persephone only looked annoyed.

Nico rushed last Percy and yanked Jason further back. Thalia breathed hard. Tears dropped from the corners of her eyes. She swatted Percy's hands away and stood up shakily. Jason was thrashing violently, ready to attack again. He seemed partly aware that Nico was holding him back, just barely holding himself from hurting him but hellbent on digging his gnashing teeth into Thalia's throat.

"Jason is barely a person," Persephone said. She laid a hand on top his head. He grunted under her touch, recoiling back from it but ultimately quieting. The muzzle and leash disappeared. "I have done quite a bit to help him move on from the nature instilled in him, but there is no cure to it. He will never be the child you remember."

Thalia let out a broken sob. This time she didn't fight back from Percy wrapping an arm around her. To her credit, Persephone's gaze softened at the sound.

"He has a purpose and a life here that he would never have had otherwise. But test my patience again, little sister, and I will happily have him watch as I wring you out to dry. Believe me." Persephone's voice dropped to a chilly whisper. "He will not care."

She pulled a duo of black roses from her pocket. Handing them off to Nico, she levelled Thalia and Percy with a look. "Speak about the sword before it is completed and I promise you will regret it immensely."

As strong as it was, Percy held her gaze. "And Jason? Can we talk about him?"

"I wouldn't recommend it," Persephone said. "Jason has his own purpose in this war and our father, bless his soul, is undoubtedly paranoid of every little thing. We don't need him coasting in on petty concerns before Jason can complete what he's been requested to assist in."

Still shaking in Percy's hold, Thalia inhaled sharply. "And after the war?"

Persephone shrugged. "Depends on if he lives, I suppose. But he's a strong fighter. The wolves wouldn't have tolerated anything less." She gestured to the roses clutched in Nico's hands. "Crush these beneath your feet to return to the world above." Before she vanished into a pool of daisies, she smiled. "Do not try anything stupid."

As petals landed on him and Nico, Jason shuddered, shaking himself off like a dog caught in the rain. He huffed and clocked his jaw against the top of Nico's head. Nico grimaced and patted Jason's shoulder.

Thalia breathed heavily then stepped gently out from Percy's hold. "What does- what does he understand?"

Jason looked at her briefly, tensing. Nico bit his lip. "A lot. He doesn't really know how to speak but he knows words. And he likes it here. He plays with the dogs. I think they remind him of the wolves." He snorted. "Cerberus thinks he's annoying."

Thalia swallowed thickly. She opened her mouth but no words came out. Percy stepped up to her side. The suddenness had Jason growling low. Electricity bounced off his skin. Percy put his hands up.

"What exactly are they planning to use him for?"

Nico was quiet for a moment, then, "You won't see him. It's on a different side." He shook his head. "Not Kronos. Just. Elsewhere. I can't really explain, but it's nothing for either of you to be worried about."

Percy thought about the sword. The way Persephone spoke of his dad, of Thalia's dad. The way she alluded to their other enemies. The way it seemed that Olympus was an area of concern.

Nico eyes, however, were nothing but earnest. Pleading.

Percy glanced at Thalia, who seemed to be thinking the same thing as him as she regarded the daisies being swept up by a skeletal janitor.

The two of them glanced at one another. Then Percy nodded. Thalia nodded back and turned to Nico. "Okay," she said, voice thin. "I'll trust you on that."

Nico picked a petal off his shoulder and watched it flutter down to the ground. "I'll have to ask but... Maybe after the war, you can come down and I'll tell you about what he did."

He held out the roses in his hand. Thalia plucked one from his palm and Percy followed suit. Jason tracked their hands closely, brushing closer to Nico's side with every inch. Once Thalia and Percy had returned to their positions a couple feet away, Jason relaxed a little bit, shifted away from Nico.

His hands flew together in a stiff blur. Nico ran a hand threw his hair and nodded. "Yes, they're leaving soon."

Jason rolled his shoulders and eyed the two of them like he didn't believe it. Like he would make them leave if they didn't. He seemed more human now. Blood was still dried to his face, but there wasn't an undercurrent of violence radiating off of him anymore.

Still, the way he held himself. Persephone's words came to mind. Jason is a barely a person.

He was still glaring like he wanted to hurt them, but less like he wanted to rip their throats out. There was no recognition in his eyes when he looked at Thalia.

He is not the child you remember.

Nico rubbed his face tiredly. "Um. I'll keep an eye on Bob. And Jason can watch him when I'm not here. It'll probably do him good to be biting people other than Menoetes. Or Hermes."

Hah.

Dogs and mailmen. Percy would've laughed if the situation wasn't so tense and painful.

Nico crossed his arms over his chest. "You guys should go before Jason starts freaking out again. He's not really good around new people." He cleared his throat, glancing at Percy. "You remember my offer?"

A shiver went down Percy's spine. Oh yeah. That. "I'm still thinking about it."

"Don't think too long." Nico glanced at Jason and clicked his tongue. "Jason. Come on." Jason prowled close to Nico's side, eyes on Percy and Thalia the whole time. "I'll see you guys." He turned and began walking away. Jason followed close behind, eyes never straying from the two behind him until he turned the corner out of the throne room and vanished from sight.

Thalia wiped at her face. "What-" She shook her head. "What was Nico talking about?"

"He has a suggestion about how to fight Kronos. Told me about it last summer." Percy sighed heavily. "But it's dangerous and a lot to think about it. I've had enough danger today."

"And I have enough to think about today," Thalia said. She wiped at her face once more and exhaled harshly. "Let's fucking get something to eat and pretend we were never here, yeah?"

He watched as she stared emptily at the doorway Jason had just disappeared behind. Squeezed her shoulder and smiled thinly when she turned back to him. "Yeah. Sounds like fun."