#does annabeth get her period?

[lilislegacy]

does anyone else forget that percy and annabeth (and all demigods) aren’t actually human? they’re part human, part deity. but not identified as either.

like… they have some human dna, they appear human and act human and feel human… but they are not human. just like they’re 50% god, but they are not gods. becasue even though the gods choose to appear as humans, they are composed of the same fundamental particles and forces that make up everything in the universe. they’re incorporeal energy. they’re these metaphysical transcendent entities that can shape-shift

and that is half of what a demigod is. percy and annabeth are not human beings. they’re some kind of hybrids. they’re humanoids. if percy and annabeth were to take DNA tests, the results would look something like this:

findings: what the fuck? error.

and i low key feel like they would have a good time using this fact to make ppl uncomfortable

like imagine percy and annabeth are out with both their families on a walk near the beach, and there’s this little mini cliff. percy and annabeth just casually jump down, but the rest of them are like “uh, guys, we can’t do that” to which percy and annabeth just respond “ugh, humans…🙄” knowing full well that for the rest of the day, all any of them will be able to think about is how the two of them are in fact, not human.

[freddie-77-ao3]

an incomplete list of camp antics that lee fletcher put up with during his time as counselor/camp dad

malcolm. that's it. malcolm as a whole. that boy is so fucked up he's his own bullet point.

the fourth of july where cecil, lou ellen, and will raised the dead, and started a plague (that spread through the ones they'd necromanced)

the christmas where cecil, lou ellen, and will set hermes cabin on fire to win extreme cabin decorating

the four times michael climbed him like a tree so that clarisse couldn't reach him

the pair of wolves connor and malcolm brought home (and camp then adopted)

katie selling weed at camp

katie selling weed to gods

katie selling weed to mortals

travis' addiction to caffeine (10 espresso shots a day, plus a caffeine pill, plus four cups of black tea)

travis' caffeine WITHDRAWAL that one time cecil and lou ellen hid it on april fools day

drew tanaka inventing a gene editing program to make a giant fuzzy catapillar (so that she could ride it into battle)

the three week period that connor insisted on wearing four inch heels and a rainbow pride flag as a dress because sherman used gay as an insult

will trying to kick michael out of the cabin so they could have a cat (and michael's subsequent supportance of the action)

lou ellen experimenting with magic and turning katie into a lion

lou ellen experimenting with magic and permanently changing her hair color (on accident)

the time drew turned in a book report on connor's diary and lee, as the head counselor for winter session, had to read and GRADE it

the time annabeth and percy got into a fist fight over the correct definition of hamburger, and whether percy could play it in scrabble

travis eating katie's lip balm and getting sick

travis eating another tube of katie's lip balm and getting sick (again)

every time michael and jake babysat harley

the time cecil tried to learn the lyre

the time lou ellen and will learned how to break lyres (in 18 different ways)

katie pranking travis by making corn mazes grow around him randomly for two months straight (the amount of corn lee then had to eat was infuriating)

the winter sessions where drew, connor, and malcolm were counselors (and subsequently hijacked every counsel meeting with insane bullshit)

the two month period malcolm and drew became new york vigilantes

the following four month period malcolm and drew convinced connor to become a new york vigilante WITH them

lou ellen and will knowing cecil was in prison for three days before bailing him out (has happened at least four times)

michael lighting clarisse on fire

the possum memes cecil spends hours making on the infirmary computer going viral and chiron questioning lee for an hour and a half on whether lee thinks there's a leak at camp because memes in the mortal world are dangerous apparently?

the time malcolm macheted through a bunch of stacks of paperwork because of connor's typo

the time drew convinced connor eggs weren't real when they were six

the time drew convinced connor eggs weren't real when they were twelve

malcolm got hit by a taco truck and drew proceeded to buy tacos from the same truck

cecil drinking shampoo because tsa told him it wasn't allowed on the plane

cecil drinking shampoo because he liked the taste

cecil getting his stomach pumped because he drank four bottles of shampoo in a day

travis and malcolm getting married in vegas during a mission

cecil drinking glowstick juice

cecil learning that drinking glowstick juice is bad and swallowing a glowstick whole

the time lou ellen, cecil, will, connor, and drew left malcolm in chicago for a week before remembering and malcolm just bought himself an apartment and didn't want to leave???

clovis convincing all the campers that every child of hypnos is narcoleptic and he needs to sleep ALL THE TIME (he does not. some do. clovis isn't one of them)

cecil, will, and lou ellen setting the big house on fire for lee's birthday party. it uh. it wasn't even his birthday.

the month where travis decided that jellybeans had a high enough fruit concentrate that he didn't need to eat any actual fruit or vegetables

connor dubbing a depression corner and making malcolm sit in it when malcolm said things about his childhood (or life in general)

malcolm eating scrambled eggs despite being allergic and breaking out into hives every time

drew drowning malcolm (he lived dw)

malcolm lighting the microwave on fire

drew and malcolm convincing connor to snort smarties with them to see if they had different flavors

lou ellen, cecil, and will burning down three cabins with a flamethrower (to see if they could)

cecil eating dirt (multiple times)

every time malcolm dislocates his joints to prove points. it happens a lot.

the tunnel systems that connor and malcolm found and started living out of (actually lee's not too mad at that one because they found actual rooms and now some of the year round campers have like. bedrooms. underground tunnel bedrooms, but bedrooms nonetheless)

malcolm making a game out of is it asthma or a panic attack

drew making a scoreboard out of malcolm's game is it asthma or a panic attack

cecil making cookies until he was happy. it didn't happen. he made 479 cookies before anyone stopped him.

Austin complaining about how his severe third degree burns from the lava wall meant he couldn't post a youtube video one week

michael doesn't believe in raspberries. nothing lee does convinced him.

malcolm and lou ellen messing around with magic and both getting turned into babies.

babified malcolm almost getting blended because travis didn't know it was the chili dog to be blended, not the kid

will's emo phase where he insists lee sing welcome to the black parade at campfire every night

clarisse thought the tooth fairy stole your teeth. for. a good four years.

connor tried to ask malcolm on a date and just asking ended so badly that athena cabin burned down

michael doesn't think penguins exist

lou ellen, cecil, and will's magic trick that burned percy's eyebrows off for two weeks

instead of making the connection that malcolm has a crush on connor, malcolm thinks connor cursed him???

cecil eats orange peels. he's allergic to oranges.

connor drew and malcolm start several cults in the mortal world. one is about a god of teeth. they have followers.

every time a new camper arrived for a solid two months, drew would say want to hear a gay joke and connor would emerge from a closet (that drew shoved them in)

travis drank vinegar because he didn't want to go get water

travis drank oil because he didn't want to go get water

thalia told someone to not run down the stairs. they jumped out the window instead.

clarisse destroyed 24 ping pong tables while lee was alive. 37 overall.

Miranda bought a parenting book, and then highlighted it and added names according to the issues everyone had

travis used the rim of a gatorade bottle as a monocle for three weeks straight

At camp counsellor meetings, Malcolm sits in Connor’s lap to ‘save space’

cecil tried to teach lou ellen to cook. she blew up three ovens.

[ajs-bookmark]

PJO episode seven SPOILERS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED DONT SAY I DIDNT WARN YOU

episode SEVEN

ready for a better episode after disappointing ass lotus casino

my honest reaction: “GASP the waterbeds !”

BRO WHY IS HE FIGURING OUT ALL THIS AT ONCE PERCY IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUCKING STUPID

ARRRRGGGGG ITS MAKING ME MAD 😾

annabeth and her invisibility hat 🥰

there was supposed to be a fight i’m so sad :( 

theyre leaving so much out

AW AW AW THE SCENE WITH HIS MOM he’s so persassy

does grover have a fucking stressball

please let there be the bathtub line please please please

“we’re all dying to some extent” HELP HSHAHAH

YOU CAN BUY A NEW WHISTLE IS WILD

why is cerberus lowkey adorable

awww annabeth petting him is so cutesy

lmao grover rolling out from under his lip 💀💀

UH OH THE SHOES

yes yes yes the ball my favorite part

percy’s so concerned for annabeth its adorableeeee

OMGS GROVER LOST HIS PEARL

this is so much higher stakes than three pearls to begin with 

WALKING ACROSS THE ROOF OF A GYM HAHAHAHA

“period” 💅

holy hades that skeleton thing scared me 

it’s giving “one more reel before bed: the reel:”

“i’ll be okay” i started crying

“you can do this i know you can”

OMGS GROVER BEINGGDRAGGED INTO TARTARUS

wtf tartarus is so scary

THE THE THE THE THE LIGHTNIGN. BOTL WHAT

zeus is just gonna have to wait ICONIC

“why are you trying so hard to get rid of me. i’d never do this to you.”

hades’ palace is so cool !!!

“is this our stop or” bro wtf do you think

hades is interesting. i was expecting him to give DILF vibes ngl. i don’t like the actor for him ill be honest, i wish he was more dark and brooding

“huh ?” he’s so me

“i seldom kahoot”

“my helm 😾😾😾😾😾😾😾😾😾”

what a king. i know he loves his mom and all but he knows what’s up

POSEIDON ???? please be hot please be hot please be hot

he’s such a basic white man wtf. 

IS HE BRITISH ???? nvm he’s so sexy i changed my mind mmmmm british man

OMGS THE WAY HIM AND ANNABETH LOOK AT EACH OTHER IM CRYING SCREAMING

him and ares are about to fight to the death

in summary, i am hades.

[punkeropercyjackson]

Ultimately the reason Percabeth is such horrifically bad ship yet gets praised so much is that while Percy and Annabeth canonically love eachother,they also canonically don't like eachother LMAO.Percy's constantly wishing Annabeth was extremely different than who she actually is because he finds her unbearable and hard to be around and finds escapism in being around people who're unlike her with the biggest example being him having been in love with Rachel before they settled into still close exes

There's also his friendships with the Grace Sibs,Thalia had infinitely better progress with him in TTC than Annabeth has in the entire saga and he admires her a lot more too and it's a running theme that Jason is Annabeth's opposite and Percy became instant best friends with him upon first meeting and all three of their first meetings are more charming and unique than Percy saying his type is princess-y girls in his narration but Annabeth hating being seen as one because she's gnc and 'You drool when you sleep'.I also think if anybody is Percy's cosmically intertwined soulmate it's not any s/os but Nico and Hazel and by that i mean in a found siblings with him also being their pseudo-parent way.All their dynamics are interesting and richen their characters and they're from different time periods which only adds to how special their bond is

And on Annabeth's end.......She kinda straight up hates his existense.She's always talking about how stupid he is and that he's useless without her and i get that Rick tried to sell it as affectionate teasing but she's angered by it so often it's obvious it's just Rick being a cishet nt white old man.She gets angered by finding him attractive too?????This trope can be good but Percy never actually does anything,he's literally just existing and that includes not actively pursuing her back since he dosen't want her even half as much as she thinks she wants him.It's rare compared to her mean-spirited comments he explicitly never consented to and finds unnecessary and one of the many thing's he wishes she wasn't and he never returns her physical assaults so 'they're demigods and it's normal!' excuse dosen't add up

Yeah,they're dating in canon and gonna get married.Percy's also gonna not only go to college but a demigod college when again and again and AGAIN he says he dosen't want to be a half-blood and he's only going so he can live out a traditional lifestyle with Annabeth so so much for 'his thether to his mortal side' i guess.Annabeth never got any shit from Poseidon like Percy did Athena or terrorizing like Aphrodite does everybody else she talks to and Percy was forced to narratively forgive Luke,again,only because of Annabeth when he groomed him for a bit and abused him tons too and it's so vile to gaslight us into thinking Luke was anything but a serial pedophile and beyond far right to Percy's lifelong outcasthood and anarchy and Annabeth as a direct victim of his sick sexual 'interests' in plausible deniability font due to being a pg series.Percabeth is the peak cishet romance norms taken up to 12 like the Olympians and it's embarrasingly obvious nobody saying they're t4t has ever been in a transmasc4transfem relathionship

That's why this moment is so fucking depressing.She knows him and she dosen't like any of what he is and he dosen't say it outloud because he's scared of the truth,that he ended up with the wrong person,that he fucked up again and she's hollower whenever she's around him because she exists FOR him and for almost nothing else.They weren't eachother's choice,they were eachother's destiny decided by everyone but themselves.This fucks up my autistic ass so much man,no wonder i only ever liked that lesbian!Percabeth au with transfemme Percy and butch Annabeth that was popular when i was a kid,that's deadass the only way you can make it work,they'd need an entire rehaul but at this point i don't care to try because the shippers don't deserve it after how demonic they've been since the 2000s.Percabeth was never a good ship,you were just a tween

[artist-issues]

On the Percy Jackson series, now that the season has concluded, do you have any thoughts on it, whether standalone or as an adaptation, about what worked and didn't work in it? I ask partly because I want to analyse it as its own thing but I can't stop getting hung up on the changes and I'm not completely sure why.

Of all things, Gabe is the big one for me. They turned him from a repulsive abuser to a pathetic manchild who lacks the power dynamic of his book counterpart and was so consistently treated as comic relief that I actually pitied him. The fact that he shares the fate of his book counterpart actually kind of angers me and it's hard for me to look past that. It left a mean-spirited taste in my mouth.

I don’t think I’ve talked enough about what did work, and I do think there’s a place for talking about that, so I’m glad you asked!

I think Walker Scobell could play a really excellent Percy Jackson. And I think Leah Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri are both very endearing in their roles.

I’m not going to throw shade on 14 year-old actors and actresses. There’s no shade to throw. Acting is vulnerability combined with introspection and understanding. No teenager is going to have the same level of vulnerability, understanding, and introspection, expressed with the same skill, as we’re used to seeing in adults, period. And the show doesn’t do them any favors by giving them very adult lines and very adult-behaving characters to play.

Which segues nicely into—the character’s “arcs” are completely different in the show, but they feel more like…”alternate universe” characters than “out-of-character-rewrites.” For the most part.

I already touched on how Grover is a completely different Grover in the TV show. His fear is both too serious and not extreme enough. He’s not comedic. Instead, he is a voice of reason, and he does have a maturity the other two don’t have. He’s written to talk to the other adults differently than Percy and Annabeth are—more like equals, less like teen-vs-adults. You can easily believe that Grover is a 24 year-old in a kid’s body during those scenes, like the ones with Ares.

But there’s a reason he’s not like that in the Percy Jackson books; he’s comedic, and he’s Percy’s best friend. Percy’s only 12 when they meet; it’s weird for a 12 year-old to be best friends with a 24 year-old—who BEHAVES like a 35 year-old, with all the gravity, and maturity, etc. But if the 24 year-old is a magical creature who, for his species, is still pretty young, and has a comedically immature personality, then the chemistry works much better. Anyway. Not my point.

My point is, Grover might not be Grover, but you can still see trace elements of Grover in him. Like how you can see echoes of Spider-Man in Spider-Gwen’s story. It’s an alternate-universe, not a do-over.

Grover still wants to be a seeker.

Grover still feels guilty about not taking better care of Thalia.

Grover still gets the most outraged and cares the most deeply about nature and crimes against nature.

Grover is still a peace-lover at heart, so he’s the most gentle in relational interactions.

‘That kind of stuff is still there. It’s just re-contextualized and…made less fun. That’s all. More serious. More grit.

Same thing with Annabeth:

Annabeth still wants to prove she’s the best of the best.

Annabeth’s still given up on her normal family and is most comfortable in life-or-death strategizing.

Annabeth’s still smart, but specifically wise enough to notice Percy’s heart of gold while everyone else is busy being afraid of or disappointed in him.

Same thing with Percy:

Percy still has the stubborn rebelliousness we all know and love.

Percy’s still a guy who goes with his gut first and foremost.

Percy’s still willing to sacrifice the future for the present, if the present means saving the people he loves.

Percy still makes wise-cracks at wildly inappropriate times.

And I think some of the show is really well written. Some of it. Two parts in particular stand out. The first is when Annabeth and Percy have the post-killing Medusa conversation, and they have that, “she tried to get me to betray you. What did you say? I killed her sister. What did you say? I cut off her head.” exchange. That’s great. The point of that conversation is “you can trust me because no matter how I might be tempted, this is the line I won’t cross.” But they don’t come out and say that. They have the characters say it without saying it, if that makes sense.

The second bit of good writing that comes into my brain was Luke’s conversation with Percy about being small and scary. It was such a good way to introduce the important concept of why gods need demigods/why gods fear demigods, while also lore-dropping things like “Annabeth is afraid of spiders” and “this fantasy world does have rules.” And on top of those boxes getting checked, you can also see the conversation from Luke’s point of view—he’s bitter about being thought of as a small thing to the gods, but now he’s starting to embrace the scariness part.

So some moments are good, writing-wise. Especially if you tilt your head and say “this is an alternate universe.” I just think they’re not always the right moments for Percy Jackson.

[aristia-pjoheadcanons]

can i request hcs of jasón w a fem reader who gets easily jealous? maybe he left her behind at camp jupiter when hera took him. he’s not dating piper, but she doesn’t know that. ty!

He comes home

pairing: Jason Grace x female!reader

warnings: none

author's note: Let me just say that if my man was talking came back with a girl next to him and he was almost acting normal, I would rip my hair out.

The reader would be seething, clenched teeth, hot cheeks, and everything.

He disappears out of nowhere, which you probably understood wasn’t his fault. You’ve been there from the very start since he came to Camp J. He had fully booked appointments with quests, no wonder he was gone one day: but you realized that it wasn’t the same. You felt this anxiety pooling in your chest, you knew this wasn’t the normal disappearance.

When he arrives with his so called “crew” you didn’t like either Piper or Annabeth. But you knew Annabeth wasn’t someone that would do anything, since she was Percys.

But even so, the thought of Jason settling down with others for six-fucking-months, made you want to absolutely go ballistic.

But you knew deep-down that he didn’t do it on his own, it was the same situation as Percy – it was against his will, and he had lost his memories.

But does he remember you?

That thought washed away when you saw the way he was acting stand-of-ish when he saw Reyna. So, he does remember, he remembers you.

It gave you some relief. But how were you going to make up for the time he was gone?

Based on the ever-so-serious facial expression on his face, the quest was not over. Not even close. You wanted to sigh and almost act immature about it, but it would do you no good.

Maybe even the reader would do impulsive things just tog et his attention. Jason is very analytical with his feelings, to the point where he rationalizes them – so he wouldn’t react much after the first time, its almost like he shuts off his emotions just to protect himself.

But he would have to take the convo private and talk to !reader, to get a clearer understanding of the situation but also your feelings present.

He wants you to be the feeler in the relationship. While he is the cool-headed one, he can’t let himself get too caught up in his feelings – so when you express yourself hate, love, happiness he feels good. He feels safe to know that there is someone there to express and project my feelings for me. You are not just a person to him, but something essential for him to feel human, a person that isn’t just a tool or a weapon for the Gods.

He would definitely understand your point of view and make it very clear that he did not leave on purpose and that he is not in any romantic or close relationship with any girls. He got some of his memories back, but part is still left out. Even so, he would try his best to explain that his feelings are still very real but if you want to break things off, he will let you.

The last statement might cause an argument, because why would you want to leave him? No, you’re angry because he left, and you spent months without knowing if he was really safe.

One hour later, Jason is holding your hand when he introduces you to the rest of his crew. You’re happier but can’t help but feel needy in a way.

Jason would let you hold his hand and put an arm around you, but he gets distracted and ends up moving away from you just to talk a little about the next step for their quests.

In order for your relationship with him to work, you will need to agree to let him go when he wants or needs; also, be comfortable with him being around others for long periods of time.

But Jason would know of your jealousies already and would know the perfect way to make you feel better: spending time together and some wholehearted apologies.

Lets say he didnt come back, you would go on a search for him and maybe even treathen a couple of minor gods just to find him.

[nicolikesmoms]

I am going to try to explain something as best i can so it comes out how i mean it but that is something i am the worse as doing. I think that when it comes time to cast rachel in pjo i think she should be white, not because of her original character or i that i think we shouldn't have diverse casting. I think that rachel being white may not have been that important in the books, if rick does it for the show it could make it a bit more layered in some sense, if rachel was white, rich, ect it would contrast to annabeth in a new way. Now when annabeth is insecure about Rachel and percy being close it is bit deeper i guess, now it's oh no Rachel feels societial beauty norms more than me because societial beauty norms are inherently racist and exclude people of color, or like if percy and rachel got together it would be like rachel is giving up more than her cause of her not being a demigod so she is putting herself into more danger, or she has money and her family is influential anf she is setting herself to lose that, ect. When this is stuff that annabeth already doesn't have like white women are constantly praised for doing a lot less than woc in many ways like in feminist movement, i also think it could leave insecurity about being in an interracial relationship, even if it's legal (cause remember it wasnt always legal in the us) it's still not completely excepted by everyone, so now if annabeth and percy get together it leaves room for insecurity about being the cause as to why percy is being treated differently together because they are together in a way that rachel anf percy wouldn't and i know rhis is a kids show but i think even if tjey don't mention it, it leaves room for people to perceive or i cant find the word i am looking for, but it would be very similar to how annabeth in the book was blond and it was don't base someones intelligence on stereotypes but in the show annabeth was black and it still carried the same message but now because poc are veiwed as less intelligent in a lot of spaces because of how they speak like aave, their hair or systematic oppression like public funding in predominantly black areas ect., it takes the same message but makes it more relatable to this time period and for more people, i think that is the best i can explain. If i said something wrong please tell me i would love to learn from it and correct i, this is just my opinion and if rachel was a woc i would not be super mad or like send death threats, (the bare minimum), i will be happy with whoever gets casted these are just my thoughts on what would make an interesting dynamic

[ilikebigants]

Hi, I need someone else’s opinion on Leo’s ending in BoO cause personally I hate it. Like Leo’s entire reasoning for why he would die out of the seven was that he was the least valuable member and like. He’s right? Cause he does die, so his assumption was correct! And also him believing that no one would be near him/ capable of (willing to) save him is why he gave the vial to feastus instead. I know it’s meant to be like Leo defies fate and everything but it’s got to be so shattering to have your extremely low self esteem essentially be given a thumbs up by the universe.

I hate it as well, for a multitude of reasons. Let's start with the obvious: Unbelievably low self esteem.

His entire life, he's been a victim in one way or another. He was called a diabolo by his relatives for simply being born different, and his entire life he'd been going from orphanage to orphanage, being abused and bullied the whole way through. There's a high chance he's also been homeless for extended periods of time, which can give you so many different mental issues, one of the most common being a feeling that you don't exist due to how people ignored you in your time of need.

And then, Piper and Jason happen. He finally has friends!... except he doesn't. They treat him awfully, half the time wishing he wasn't there or insulting him in their minds. And as stupid as the fandom portrays him to be, he IS smart and perceptive. He definitely notices but won't bring it up because he knows what might happen if he does: they might leave him again. He'll be alone again.

People who haven't experienced long-term involuntary isolation don't understand what that does to someone. He was terrified, I can be sure of that.

How do you think he felt when he realised the friendship he had was just a product of the mist? Fearful? Helpless? He definitely wasn't happy, and I'm almost certain his heart sank at the realisation he was alone once more. The one time he wasn't only being a lie.

And then Frank and Hazel happened.

People seem to forget that Frank was an antagonising asshole WAYYYY before Leo ever insulted him or made fun of him. Why? Because Hazel treated him nicely, and Leo didn't treat her like shit. It's ridiculous. "He was trying to steal hazel1!1!" No, he wasn't. BFFR. He spoke so many times about how he'd never do that out of respect for someone else's relationship.

The reality of the situation is that he was once again isolated. He can't be friends with Frank or Hazel due to Frank's jealousy issues. Voila, he's once more alone. The 7th wheel.

Not to mention the underlying thought that Hazel only likes him because he reminds her of Sammy.

And THEN there's Percy Jackson. The saviour of olympus. Boy wander and popular as all hell. And Percy doesn't like him. Remember that? It's explicitly said that Percy didn't like Leo. Bam. There goes his last chance to make any friends. If Percy doesn't like you, then Annabeth doesn't like you. Yeah, Annabeth and Leo have been mentioned to talk about engineering with each other, but it isn't even implied that they're in any way close or talk outside of projects for the argo 2.

Why SHOULDN'T he have low self-esteem? Nothing and no one have shown him he's anything more than a tool. A thing to fix stuff around the ship. And this isn't even with me mentioning the guilt he feels for firing on New Rome, or his guilt for throwing Annabeth and Perry into Tartarus, or the MILLION of other things that have made him believe he was expendable!

His one "friend," Festus, is torn into fucking pieces!

So really, no fucking wonder he clings to the idea of a girlfriend so fucking tightly. The prospect of someone who won't leave? Who'll like him? Who'll LOVE him?! Of COURSE he wants that! And that explains why he's so eager to get back to Calypso!

I'll say it, I believe that the only reason he went back was because he thought that he and her had 1 thing in common, and that was loneliness. I genuinely believe he saw how toxic the whole thing was and didn't care because she was just as alone as he was. It's codependency in its purest form. They fought at the start, they fought in the middle, and at the end, the last scene we ever see of them together is them STILL FIGHTING. Say whatever you want about the age gap, even if it wasn't there this STILL would have been a bad relationship for both of them!

But back to the original point. Leo sacrificing himself. Personally, I think that he did it not out of a feeling of inferiority, but because he was suicidal. Straight up. And as a last ditch effort to prove to himself that the others cared.

And he was proven wrong, as they didn't care.

He was right at the end of the day. No one cared for him.

The entire story feels like a giant "fuck you" to Leo. His happy ending being losing Jason and being unhappily married to Calypso.

And on a meta level we have how the fandom treats him, basically being ignored in fan content unless they need a Comic relief.

People talk all the time about how hard the others got it in life, and I agree, but they had 1 thing that helped them make it through: a support network. Leo had it the hardest out of all of them, for the single reason that he didn't have that.

Not only was his suicide basically applauded and rewarded, but his gift for saving everyone was to be miserable for the rest of time.

We never did find out what happened to the 7 after the Trials of Apollo, but in my mind, Leo Valdez only ever talks again to Nico D'angelo. Why? Because after years with Calypso, he stops pretending, and with a gun in his right arm, he's dead.

[romanitas]

look at me go, it hasn't even been a month! we're back with (i think) the penultimate part of the spy au !! thanks to @perseannabeth who helped me figure out some plot points literally irl for the final stretch. there's always been a vague plan for the end, hopefully it lives up! also again available on ao3 if tumblr formatting screws up.

-

Annabeth hasn’t seen Percy for four and a half weeks. She’s been off the Jupiter Industries case for just as long, what with Luke Castellan’s involvement; they’re currently restructuring the plan forward. She’s not used to boredom, but she’s not sure she could consider it full boredom when her brain will not stop churning. She’s aware it’s usually a stomach churning, but no, in this case, her mind is on the go in a thousand different directions. She doesn’t feel nauseous or sick - just overwhelmed mentally, which as far as she’s concerned is one of the worst kinds. She’d rather be vomiting.

She’s back at her apartment - her real one. It’s nearly as empty as the fake one. She doesn’t keep a lot of things around, not wanting too many distractions on top of the fact that she feels like she spends very little time actually in it. The most personalization is an owl throw pillow with a matching blanket on the couch and a few architectural prints across her walls. It feels emptier than it ever has, and she cruelly imagines what it might be like if Percy came here. She really, really needs to stop thinking about him, but it feels impossible, because if she’s not thinking about him, she starts to think about Luke. And that’s worse.

She faceplants directly into the owl blanket with a groan and lays there, ignoring the wafting smell of her Korean BBQ takeout sitting on the countertop. This has been her life each day for the last week: different dishes but a very familiar static and face full of fluff, followed by dejectedly eating lukewarm food. And then she just gets mad at herself for being such a sad sack. She’s Annabeth fucking Chase. What the hell did Percy Jackson do to her?

Reyna checks in periodically. She sends minute updates, but not enough for Annabeth to start doing her own poking and prodding. Frank stops by a few times to make sure she’s eating, and she does welcome his company in an absent way. He brings some of the best takeout, but he knows all her favorites. He carries the conversation in directions that serve the best distractions.

“You should use this time to get out,” he says one day, dragging some naan through the rest of his curry. When Annabeth stares at him, he clarifies. “I mean, maybe think of it like a vacation? You never take a vacation. Do things you’ve always wanted to.”

She grumpily shoves her own naan into her mouth to avoid answering him. But maybe he has a point. Maybe she does need to leave the house more often, if only to refresh herself. To get back on her feet. It’s only a matter of time before they give her a new assignment, and she refuses to fall into distractions again next time.

She takes herself out. She ventures further than a ten block radius and tries a new Pho place she’s been wanting to check out. She looks up a current run of temporary exhibitions around the city, buys tickets for three of them. She makes a reservation for herself at one of the museum restaurants, uncaring that it’s definitely overpriced and she can get a burger down the block for half the cost. She is utterly determined to give herself a good, clean, solid break from her time with Percy, so she’s prepared for the next chapter. Whatever it brings.

Naturally, it’s at one of the exhibitions that she runs into Sally Jackson.

Annabeth isn’t sure she could have been caught more off guard by Luke. She turns the corner and nearly runs into the woman, but her instincts make her sidestep at the last second. She’s not fast enough to avoid eye contact, because Sally moves at the same time, an apology on her lips.

“I’m so sorry - Annabeth?”

Why is this her life? Annabeth freezes, and she can feel the guilt rain down on her like a tsunami. She’s very rarely caught off guard like this, but this warm, wonderful woman unnerves her in an unexpected way. She just assumed she would never see her again, another casualty of her break with Percy.

Despite it all, Sally offers her a small, tentative smile. “Hi,” she says, tone infused with that very same warmth Annabeth knows she doesn’t deserve.

She swallows. “Hi,” she replies, weakly.

Sally reaches out to give her arm a gentle squeeze, and Annabeth nearly combusts on the spot. But the older woman can sense her discomfort, because she pulls her hand away just as quickly and sighs. “Will you get a coffee with me?”

Every single part of her is telling her to say no; every rational, logical piece of her being knows this is a bad idea, but there’s a quiet desperation that wins out against her better judgment, and Annabeth nods mutely. Sally smiles again, then walks them both towards the museum cafe. She orders Annabeth’s coffee exactly the way she likes it and orders herself a chai latte. By the time they sit down at the table, Annabeth’s nerves are shot, so she just wraps her hands around the cup and takes a sip, burning her tongue immediately. She winces, and Sally offers her a napkin.

“Percy told me you broke up.”

Annabeth almost laughs, hollowly. There’s no way he would have told her anything - Percy might have been royally pissed at her, but he’s also not cruel, and she knows he wouldn’t jeopardize her by spilling all the beans to his mother. He also wouldn’t want to put his mom in danger. Instead, her shoulders sink, and all she can do is nod once.

“He didn’t really tell me why,” Sally continues, wringing her hands around her own cup. She gets a thoughtful wrinkle in her forehead that looks so much like her son Annabeth almost flinches. “He said it wasn’t his place to share your history, but he did tell me you lied about a lot.”

She doesn’t know if hearing that from Sally is worse than her whole exchange with Percy a month ago. She doesn’t say anything, but her lack of answer is its own confirmation.

“My son is everything to me,” she says, and Annabeth prepares to be reamed out. Why wouldn’t she be? She just broke this woman’s son’s heart, and they’re two of the kindest, best people she’s ever met. “And I have never seen him so miserable.”

It’s not yelling, but it might be worse for real this time. Which is why the next thing Sally says is the most surprising part of all.

“I think he misses you.”

Annabeth’s head whips up so fast, and she says the first thing since her awkward greeting, which isn’t much more articulate. “What?”

It’s Sally’s turn to be quiet, again looking thoughtful as she finally takes a sip of her own drink. “I’m only telling you this because I know he was happy with you. Happier than I’ve seen him in a long time. And I know what he’s like now. I’m not going to ask you what happened. I know you hurt him, deeply, and I know maybe it’s not my place to sit here with you and tell you all of this. I know maybe things have been damaged too greatly. I know it’s his life, not mine. But what I want to ask you anyway is if you want to fix it, and if you still love my son.”

Annabeth’s eyes well up. She can’t answer this one with a nod. It’s everything she’s been trying to push away, the impossibilities of Percy chasing her down more harshly than Luke in the alleyway. “I love him,” she admits, and saying it aloud to someone else nearly knocks the wind out of her. “But I don’t know if I can fix it. I really, really hurt him, and there are parts of it that feel too broken.”

She shouldn’t be sharing this with Percy Jackson’s mother, but there isn’t another person who’s spoken to her about Percy specifically like this. A person who prioritizes Percy the way he should be, no matter what her own stupid heart and head are doing. Frank worries about her, but she’s the one who needs to grovel, and Sally will always, always put her son first.

Sally takes another sip, watching her carefully over the brim. She’s never felt more scrutinized in her life, and she’s a goddamn spy. Annabeth’s been alone for a very long time, and those months with Percy and his friends and his family were the closest she felt like a real, normal person in a long time. But she isn’t normal. She can’t just slip into a real architect’s life and become a new Annabeth Chase.

“Are you willing to try?”

She’s taken aback by the question and the way it connects to her thoughts, and she’s sure the surprise is on her face. “I don’t think he wants me to. It should be his choice, not mine.”

Sally hums. “Will you give me your address?”

“He’s not going to come to my house.”

“It’s for me. Not him. I won’t give it to him.”

She hesitates. She’s unlisted for a reason, her residence deeply under wraps. She still gets mail, of course, and it’s not like she lives there most of the year. But then she stubbornly takes the receipt from the drinks, scribbles the P.O. box on the back before she can second guess herself, and slides it back over. “Can you memorize it and burn it?” she says teasingly, trying not to feel ashamed of joking about it.

Sally slides it into her pocket. “I’m giving you a chance now, because I love my son and I want his happiness more than anything else, but I can see you're in just as terrible a state as he is. I wanted to see for myself, after I realized it was you.” She lifts her drink again, and Annabeth’s not sure if the pause for dramatic effect is intentional or not. “This is not forgiveness. It’s not my place to give it. This is me having a conversation with you, because you’re a very smart, put together woman who has spent a significant amount of time with Percy.”

Annabeth doesn’t feel very put together at the moment, but she’s hardly going to interject.

“And above everything, Percy is my son.”

It’s not a threat, but it almost feels like one. In lieu of another response, Annabeth takes a cowardly sip of her coffee.

“Thank you, for having coffee with me,” Sally says, and it sounds like a goodbye. Like this might be the last thing they ever say to each other. They sit in silence for a few more minutes, finishing their drinks, and it’s Sally who leaves first. She climbs to her feet in a cool movement and adjusts her bag before giving Annabeth a nod, then walks away from the table.

Annabeth sits there for another thirty minutes, though what she spends it thinking about, she doesn’t really remember.

-

Three days later Annabeth receives a package in the mail, with Sally’s return address. She holds the box in her hands and doesn’t really know how to process it. She sets it on the kitchen island and stares at it, afraid of opening it for stupid reasons. Watching it out of the corner of her eye, she heats up a box of frozen mac and cheese, then reaches for a steak knife to slice open the packing tape as the microwave beeps.

Inside she finds a dozen chocolate chip cookies, wrapped up neatly in a transparent blue bag. Underneath them is an envelope, which she nervously lifts and carefully opens. There’s a note inside, and what looks like two tickets to - to an aquarium. Not just any aquarium, the one where she met Percy - or rather, where she orchestrated her meeting of Percy. Puzzled and sad all at once, she reads the note in Sally’s loopy writing.

Annabeth,

I bought these for you both a month ago. I’m giving them to you alone now as a final gift from me to you, and I hope you use them. Use the time to think about everything. Don’t try to return them.

Perhaps one day we’ll see each other again. Take care.

Sally

[ampresandian]

Finding the "Athena's kids aren't born from a normal gestation/birth process" interesting rn bc like... are the kids of the other goddesses born "normally"?????? Like I always just imagined Aphrodite being pregnant and giving birth to her kids but also it feels kind of insane right? Or is it like when Mr D was under the rocks in tlo and a part of his consciousness (or whatever) was at the party to talk to Percy? So like one version of themselves could go off and be pregnant and give birth and not impact the "rest" of her? I didn't ever imagine them being pregnant for the whole nine months but I guess if that were true it wouldn't even matter? Or maybe they don't do that and actually they just go ahead and create their own kids just like Athena but nobody mentions it???

I feel like this sort of goes with how I guess I always imagined since it sounds like there are very very few kids who stay on camp year-round (basically Annabeth, Luke, and Clarisse? I can't remember anyone else getting mentioned in the original books) that the mortal parents of most demigods probably expected to have the kids (unlike Frederick Chase seems to be depicted)--so like the fathers of Demeter and Aphrodite kids probably knew they'd gotten the goddess pregnant at least? (I am thinking here about Athena being a maiden goddess and the others not being that, so therefore like.. having sex versus Athena's asexual reproduction.) Maybe the pregnant part of the goddess lives with them for nine months, or maybe they just like get told to expect a kid, but I feel like this would be important to their acceptance of said kid? (I do feel like this is where Athena went wrong with Mr Chase in many ways)

Also like how long does it take Athena to mind-create her kids? I feel like it would be reasonable for it to be at least as long as the other goddesses' gestation periods, but I also always imagined it as being basically overnight.

[alextextbook]

Quotes I’ve Heard/Said pt. 2

Leo: We’ve got a request from the peanut gallery up front.

Percy holding an otter plushie.

Percy: Seems like someone was in otter space.

Reyna: How are you guys today?

Lavinia: Delusional.

Reyna: it’s okay. a little delulu is the solulu.

Alex: I’m just built different.

Lester/Nico: I’m just built stupid.

Sadie: Honey Nut Chereos are JUST sawdust.

Alex: You look like an among us

Carter: Honey Nut Cheereos are just Bagel Seeds.

Sadie: Have you ever had nut less cheerios?

Piper: Lucky Charms are just the gay version of cheerios.

Nico: No, fruit loops are the gay version of cheerios. they have fruit in the name.

Magnus: Whoa, I think I just saw your tonsils.

Alex: Why is your tape special when it shouldn’t be?

Apollo: (to an ex) This is why we divorced.

Daedalus: I’m not good at numbers.

13 y/o Annabeth: But you’re a math teacher!

Dionysus: He doesn’t bite you, I promise. If he does I’ll turn him into a dolphin.

Nico: He rescued a hellhound and named her Mrs. O’Leary.

Clarrisse: Ugliest dog ever.

Alex: Being gay is my canon event. All the Alexs in every universe are gay.

Alex: So it’s like if ghosts had periods.

The Lightning Thief Time

Annabeth: Tomato is a fruit.

Percy: Vegetable.

Annabeth pokes Percy with her dagger

Grover: Hey! He’s going on a quest!

Annabeth looks at Percy

Annabeth: Go kill your-

Magnus: Kindnesses is matters.

Piper: It’s serving grunt.

Lester: It was my y/n moment.

Will: First of all, cringe. Second of all, red flag.

Will: Your back doesn’t hurt, you’re sixteen years old.

Apollo: I have something to say. Gay people are real.

Lavinia: WHAT? I exist?

Coach Hedge: I know I shouldn’t have smoked it from a lion’s asshole.

Halfborn: Alex, it’s so funny that you can’t read my handwriting.

Alex: Are you going to be a doctor?

Kayla: My shoulder rest is not resting shoulderly.

Will: If you stab your teacher I’m taking away participation points.

Alex: Saw dust? It’s girl dinner.

Cyclops: I’m pescatarian but I still eat people.

Leo: (Using a screwdriver) Synchronized screwing.

Percy: I don’t think I’ve looked at your neck today. It looks nice.

Magnus: What’d the musician tell the other musician? Ciello-ut.

Nico: I’m older, gayer, and wiser than you.

Hazel: OOO! I cracked all my knuckles! I’m gonna get arthritis.

Frank: I have a hard head because I was hit a lot.

Nico: It’s okay. I’m aged… but I’m not dead

Calypso: no man deserves two balls

Nico: I’m worth 19 dollars.

Will: I think you’re worth more.

Nico: … 20?

[barbarianprncess]

the anatomy of a hurricane

read on ao3

part i // part ii // part iii // part iv

or

part v: dissipation

Clarisse does not enjoy the sight of blood.

The irony of her aversion is not lost on her. It’s not that she’s afraid of it. She’s a daughter of Ares, violence is something she has great respect for. She doesn’t faint at the prospect of needles, or flinch at the thought of her period. She just doesn’t like it.

Contrary to popular belief, when she plays combat games at camp, she doesn’t aim to do any permanent damage. Unless you’ve royally pissed her off, she prefers the crack sound of her opponent’s broken bones, or the conch sound of knocking her opponent out. But her real enemies, monsters, don't bleed. When you’ve bested them, they become puffs of clouded dust, falling like ashes where they stood. Ashes means victory.

Blood is a demigod thing. A human thing. Her blood is what makes her who she is. It bonds her to every other kid at camp. It is their strength and their vulnerability. She’s protective of it, and the sight of it in open air means defeat. Blood means loss.

Clarisse doesn’t like blood.

And there was just so much of it.

Annabeth’s blood.

Pouring from her shoulder. Spilling through Grover’s shaking fingers. Soaking Thalia’s jeans where she crouched in the pool of it. Dyeing Percy's shirt as he cradles her to his chest. Staining her cheek where he touched her face, smearing from teardrops he couldn’t seem to help.

Clarisse kind of fucking hates blood.

Hates the way it rushes in her ears, and hates it even more because she’s grateful for it. Grateful for the fact that she can’t hear what’s going on around her. In fact, blood is all she can hear, all she has heard since Grover let out that disbelieving half-laugh, half-sob. Since Thalia threw her chair at the opposite wall.

Hates the way it’s all encompassing, even so far away from the source. She can see it, the half-dried streaks left behind in Percy’s hair from his fingers raking through it. She can smell it, potent and relentless, coming off all of their clothes. She can fucking taste it, metallic and fresh in her mouth from biting the inside of her cheek too hard.

Clarisse doesn’t know how she ended up here, shaking with rage outside the Olympian throne room. Well, she does, but it’s strange. It doesn’t feel real. None of it. But it has to be real because she can still see it and she can still hear it and she remembers.

She remembers the gods finding them on the bridge just in time to do absolutely fucking nothing. She remembers every agonizing second the gods just stood there and gaped at the tableau of misery they’d created. She can still see Luke's mangled body feet away from Clarisse, Thalia, and Grover, huddled around Percy clutching at Annabeth's body. She can still hear how hoarse the desperation made Percy's voice when he demanded the gods, “Do something!”

Apollo had knelt down to pry Annabeth out of Percy’s arms, (which tightened instinctually as the god approached) to see the wound itself, and the look on his face at the sight of her shoulder—swollen and green and still fucking bleeding—was the farthest thing from reassuring.

Clarisse vaguely recalls some whispers and shuffling before Apollo said something to Hermes about getting the child to his infirmary, who dragged his eyes away from his son's corpse, shed a single tear, and snapped his fingers. In a flash they were sitting in uncomfortable plastic waiting room chairs, a stark contrast to the golden doors of Olympus, watching helplessly as Apollo placed Annabeth on some kind of ancient floating gurney, and called to some dryads she assumed worked for him to follow him down the walkway.

And then there was radio silence.

Hours must’ve passed since the Gods locked themselves in the throne room without giving any clue as to when they’re coming out again. Or maybe it’s been minutes. An excruciatingly slow collection of seconds. She really has no idea.

All she knows is the floating tufts of goat hair Grover had been anxiously combing—ripping—out.

All she knows is the furrow of Thalia's brow.

All she knows is in the years she’s known him, Clarisse has only ever seen Percy be this still before once.

The golden doors swish open with far too much elegance for the occasion.

All she knows is the smell and sight and feel of Annabeth's blood.

And as four of them enter the throne room, she is certain that that’s all Percy knows too.

As they stand before the grandeur of the Olympians, Clarisse is underwhelmed.

The gods had reverted to their giant form, in order to fill up their royal thrones. The twelve were seated and arranged in a wide U, like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood. Her brain couldn’t really process the whole of it; instead her ADHD bounced between details. How her father’s sunglasses seemed seconds from slipping off his nose. How the waves that, at first glance, seemed to be engraved in Poseidon’s throne, are actually moving, mini storm systems whirling up and around each of the legs. The snakes on Hermes' staff tearing into a rodent. The simplest of the seats of power being empty; she knew instinctively it was Hestia’s. A quick scan found the goddess still in human form, poking at an enormous fire that crackled in the central hearth pit. The room itself radiated power, and yet Clarisse has to fight the urge to scoff.

She thinks of the battle at Zeus’s Fist last summer. Pictures them sitting in this exact circle watching in relative boredom. Watching the children that they created, lose their lives to a war they didn’t start. And she feels nothing for her father, for any of the beings before her. Not fear, not awe, not even pity. Certainly not love. She feels nothing.

The same cannot be said for Grover or Thalia who radiate disgust at the display of ego before them.

The same cannot be said for Percy. Percy is livid. Clarisse doesn’t blame him.

“Welcome demigods,” Athena addresses them first, “I’m sure you have many questions about what just occurred and I am happy to make everything clear for you.”

“Demigods,” Zeus begins. “I will admit I was as in the dark as you were about this…plan, but I must say I am grateful it took place.” Somewhere to her left Grover coughs, as if physically repulsed by the statement, but Clarisse isn’t sure; her eyes are staring straight ahead piercing a hole through the hearth.

“We recognize your bravery and sacrifice.” Thalia laughs out loud, earning a disbelieving scowl from her father before he continues. “And we understand your desire for an explanation. Athena?”

The aforementioned clears her throat in a way that makes Clarisse want to rip her hair out. She feels a strange sense of deja vu as Athena runs down The Plan in her clipped, pragmatic, light-as-air tone. And that smug look on her face, like everything went exactly the way she envisioned, like she didn’t almost ruin several people's lives by taking someone out of it. The no remorse smirk on her face is something Clarisse knows she’ll see in nightmares for the rest of her life.

(If she ever does start sleeping again.)

Clarisse must’ve zoned out because soon that curled lip is saying, “Any questions?”, and Thalia and Grover are bursting at the seams, so clearly about to explode and Clarisse is waiting for the deadliest of pins to drop.

“How?” Percy speaks but doesn’t look at them

“I’m sorry?” Athena quite literally begs his pardon. Clarisse would laugh if she wasn’t seconds away from spontaneous combustion.

“How did this happen to her?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“The whole point of your plan was to prevent demigods from injuries. I know Annabeth better than anyone, and I’m certain one of the reasons she agreed to your dumbass plan was to keep demigods safe. But that’s not her job. It’s yours. All of yours. And you failed. You’ve been failing miserably for millennia because you’re too busy to get involved with individual children's affairs. But you did. You got involved the second you presented Annabeth with this dumbass fucking plan, and as soon as she agreed it became your responsibility to take care of her. To keep up your end of the deal. You said she was to be kept in an enchanted safe house. That it was almost impossible to detect, or to infiltrate. She was safe. I don’t know if you noticed— but the state she’s in, is not anywhere close to safe. So. How, the fuck, did this happen?”

Demeter, who’s been irritatingly disinterested at the proceedings around her, furrows a brow. “Are you implying that the injury of your little friend—,”

“Annabeth. Her name is Annabeth.”

“—is somehow Athena’s fault?”

Athena raises a regal hand. “Thank you, Demeter, but I’m afraid the demigod is right.”

Clarisse isn’t the only one taken aback by the confession but Athena barely gives any time to process it. “The safe house was scheduled to dissolve on August 19th. The only condition Annabeth gave for her participation in this plan was to receive hourly updates on Percy’s…survival status on August 18th, starting at midnight. I was so caught up in surveilling New York in preparation for the eminent battle, I did not send those updates. I would tell you what happened, but Hephaestus has put together the footage, so you can see for yourself.”

A clear screen that reads Hephaestus TV materializes in front of them. One second she’s looking at Aphrodites too-shiny fingernails, the next she’s looking at unnervingly clear security footage of an all too familiar house. There are Greek letters blinking in the lower right hand corner, 23:45 blinking in the upper left.

Military time, Clarisse thinks. They’re using western military time. She itches at the thought. Because she knows that’s how the gods viewed them. As soldiers to take orders from they’re higher ups at any moment. She knows that objectively, has seen it in action, but for some reason those blinking numbers hit her hard in the gut.

Roughly translated, the screen is reporting the time as 11:45 pm, August 17th.

The room is messier than she remembers. There are more papers strewn on the floor, a pile of barely eaten sandwiches ready to spill out of the trash can, ancient books with pages ripped out open on the ground. The only thing up on the wall is what appears to be a calendar open to the month of August. There are little notes on different days, and four big red circles surrounding a date she doesn’t have to see clearly to know what it signifies.

And suddenly, there she is. A curly blonde whirlwind spinning on screen. Next to her, she hears Thalia stumble back three steps. Grover lets out a bleating moan.

She glances at Percy. He doesn’t move or speak or even breathe but he’s looking at Annabeth on the screen like he’s seeing Olympus for the first time, a mortal standing before Zeus. Like watching Annabeth pace around in a safe house in New Jersey is a religious experience.

Clarisse looks away.

The video speeds up until the clock reads 12:00 am, August 18th.

On-screen Annabeth uncaps a marker and x’s out the circled day on the calendar. Drags an old fashion looking phone that Clarisse assumes is magical out of a closet and on the floor and sits cross-legged in front of it.

Her left leg is bouncing over her foot. She’s picking at her nails. Tugging fingers through her curls. Scrunching her nose. She’s waiting, it’s palpable, you can feel the anxiety through the screen.

At 1:36 am, Annabeth taps at the phone, picks it up, and says something into the speaker. Her words are muted but her mouth is frantic and her brows are furrowed.

At 2:43 am, Annabeth fills a bath with steaming water and uses one of the few emergency drachma she has to Iris-message someone who doesn’t answer.

At 3:13 am, Annabeth pulls out a bag of what looks like rocks and throws one of them on the ground. A sort-of glowing portal opens where the broken pieces should be. She takes one last look at the house, grabs a piece of paper off the nearest table, stuffing it in her pocket, and steps through.

The footage switches to grainier surveillance of a street corner. A figure is lurking behind her. Bile rises in Clarisse’s throat when she reads the street sign.

She was two blocks away.

She was right there the whole time.

Clarisse doesn’t want to think about what happened next. There’s a boy with an eyepatch that Percy seems to recognize based on the growl he lets out when he appears. There’s a fight. The part of Clarisse that has trained with Annabeth half her life knows that based on Eyepatch boy’s skill level, Annabeth could take him any other day.

But it’s August 18th.

And she’s distracted, and terrified, and alone, and unarmed.

She never stood a chance.

Annabeth fights it out for a while but the odds are more than stacked against her. She ends up on the ground, and the Eyepatch boy is standing over her. He raises his dagger to take the final blow and Annabeth rolls away at the last second and the blow aimed at her chest ends up lodged in her shoulder.

Annabeth lets out a blood curdling scream.

The video cuts off.

“I’m sure you can infer what happens next.”

Thalia scoffs, high pitched and false. Grover throws up in a gold-plated bucket.

And Percy is raising a hand.

A great sense of resignation expands in Clarisse’s chest.

Thalia notices first, choking down her laughter and calling out, “Percy, dont!”

The room begins to rumble. A crack appears on the stone floor beneath him, and snakes its way to both sides of the room. He’s drawing a line in the sand separating Clarisse, Thalia, and Grover from the gods.

He’s protecting them from himself, Clarisse realizes.

The room rumbles, cracks crawl like spider legs beneath in Olympus’s throne room. Pillars begin to crumble, symbols of power are shaken from their mantles and Percy effectively turns the proudest place in the universe into dust and rubble.

“Perseus Jackson!” Poseidon yells, but the only thing he succeeds in doing is turning Percy’s attention on him. “Stand down, son. Before we must make you.”

“Okay.” Percy smirks, with an empty look in his eye.

“Make me.”

That seems enough goading for Hermes, who steps forward and points his staff. Clarisse flinches, preparing for an explosion or an energy blast or something but nothing comes. Because as he prepared to strike, the snakes on his cattle prod slithered up close to his face and whispered something in his ear.

“He has taken on the Curse of Achilles.” Hermes exclaims. “Ancient law is clear, we cannot—,”

“But, this is a direct attack!” Ares shouts. “Can we not defend ourselves?”

(Her father, she remembers. That thing in the leather and the sunglasses is her father.)

“He is at the mercy of the fates, and only the fates.” Hestia answers, strangely calm in the middle of an active earthquake. “We can do nothing.”

A crack in the ground crawls its way from the center of the room to the center of all godly thrones. Clarisse follows its path all the way to Zues’ feet, who looks up and locks stormy eyes with his nephew.

Percy is still looking in Zues’s eyes when he breaks his throne in two.

His symbol of power.

The greatest, most powerful seat in the known universe.

In pieces.

The room stills and no one breathes, nothing moves, and all eyes are on Percy.

Percy is surveying the ashes he made out of Olympus.

“I’m not going to hurt you. This is me demonstrating. Showing you that I could, so you understand what I’m about to say.”

“You may not die. But, you feel pain. You can hurt. You bleed. And you will. If she doesn’t wake up, you will never stop hurting. You will never stop bleeding. I will spend every second, of every day, of the rest of my life, teaching you what pain is. And you will spend every second of your eternal life, wondering if killing her was worth it.”

He looks at Apollo, deadon. “Fix her. Swear on the River Styx that you’ll do everything in your power to fix her.”

“My child…I can't just…there are vows I took—,”

“Fuck your vows. Swear on the Styx that you’ll fix her. Because if you don’t, I will hold you personally responsible. And when I prove that cracking a throne is a kindness, I will make you watch. Do you understand?”

Apollo nods.

“Swear it.”

(He does.)

Percy slams the doors on his way out.

The first week of Annabeth’s coma, Clarisse is at a standstill.

Chiron calls an emergency meeting the second they get back. Well, he calls an emergency meeting the second he looks up from his book and sees Percy covered in blood.

It’s her third time hearing this plan and being completely honest, it makes even less sense the more she hears it. She grips Percy’s bicep the whole time Chiron. Percy’s frame is stiff and brittle and gone is the easygoing sea-breeze he used to carry with him everywhere, and Clarisse feels the pit of her stomach burn.

He doesn’t look at her the entire time, but she doesn’t let go of his arm, either.

The apology is faltered and shaky and it might be the most sincere she’s ever seen Chiron, and it’s not nearly enough.

He doesn’t mention her involvement.

She’s grateful and hates herself for it.

“There was no other choice,” he says, “and for that I am deeply, truly sorry.”

He’s looking at Percy, but Percy is looking at the floor again, and Clarisse is the one who has to watch Micheals’s strangled laughter, Katies’s wild teary eyes and the way Silena’s shoulders sag and face melts into something bitter she doesn't recognize on her features.

She hates it. She hates the thick, suffocating feeling of being in this room full of hearts broken for nothing, like someone came in and hacked them to pieces with a blunt machete and left the remains in a pile on the ping-pong table.

She lets go of Percy’s arm, then, and tries not to let it bother her too much when he doesn’t speak to her. Or look at her. Or otherwise acknowledge her existence.

After spending three days in the Olympus equivalent of an ICU, Annabeth is put in a medically induced coma to give her body time to heal from her injuries. Hermes then transported her directly into the infirmary at camp with a note on her chest with directions from Apollo to Will on keeping her alive.

The first thing Will does when he gets over his shock is get Percy.

And as Clarisse stands with Beckendorph outside their wooden excuse of a hospital, and watch Percy clutch Annabeth's hand and glare at the machines keeping her alive, she wonders aloud, “The fuck do we do now?”

Beckendorph sighs, bone deep.

“We wait.”

The second week of Annbeth’s coma, Clarisse is getting restless.

Other than the breathing tube being removed from her throat — something you couldn't pay Clarisse to witness again — Annabeth has made very little progress.

Camp's routine adjusts accordingly to her presence.

Will gives the same update every day at morning meetings, (She hasn’t gotten any worse. No, she hasn’t gotten any better, but the lack of crises makes me hopeful we will make progress soon. Yes, I know I said was hopeful yesterday. You know Annabeth, she’s a fighter. She’s strong.) effectively setting the tone for the day.

Everyone seems to isolate themselves, reeling and grieving and agonizing in their own special way. Beckendorph locks himself in his workshop, Micheal breaks more bows. Katie has taken up baking and Travis pretends they’re delicious. Connor lets Malcolm tutor him in English.

For the entirety of the first week, Percy stayed firmly by Annabeth's bedside. Will set up a cot for him to sleep in, and Percy refused to sleep in it until they pushed it close enough to her bed for him to hold her hand.

Clarisse is sitting at the far end of the room, watching Percy watch Annabeth's chest go up and down, when he speaks to her for the first time.

Once he starts, he doesn’t ever really stop. It becomes constant background noise. He makes it clear he’s not speaking to anyone else, his words soft, his eyes trained on her face.

She picks up bits and pieces.

“ If your twelve year old self could see you now...”

“…Your dad is pissed. I think you might be grounded for eternity...”

“…Everyone misses you…”

“…Someone punched a hole in the wall in the Big House. I promise you, it wasn’t me…”

“…I miss you…”

“…My mom might be more pissed than your dad…”

“…I missed you when you were awake, I missed you all the time…”

“…I’m mad at you…”

“…I wish I could say I didn’t know what you were thinking when you did it, but I do. I know you. I know what you were thinking. It kinda makes me sick...”

“…I’m honestly, really fucking angry with you…”

“…I miss you, and I'm furious with you, and I need you to wake up so I can forgive you…”

“…I just really need you to come back to me, okay? Please, come back to me…”

“…Annabeth, I need you to wake up.”

(She doesn’t)

Then he’s putting his head down next to the hand he’s holding, and he's crying those terrible, horrible broken sobs that seem to cut open Clarisse’s chest and squeeze at all her vital organs. And Clarisse thinks that she is going to kill Annabeth Chase when she wakes up.

Except she won’t. At this point, Clarisse has decided that death, quite frankly, is an activity that Annabeth Chase is simply not allowed to partake in. It’s non-negotiable. If Annabeth ever tries to die again, for fake or for real, Clarisse is going to lose her shit. Annabeth and death are no longer allowed in the same goddamn sentence, because Clarisse’s life never needs to be this fucking complicated ever again, and, also, Clarisse isn’t completely sure that the boy curled up in the too small hospital bed would survive it a third time.

The third week of Annabeth’s coma, Clarisse is at a crossroads.

Thalia is visiting, so Percy is for the first time leaving Annabeth’s side for a period of time not filled by showering or debriefing. Chris had suggested they take a boat out on the lake and they both agreed, if only to get away from the stares and whispers. And when they were done they sat on the beach until the day’s heat morphed into the night's breeze.

Clarisse is picking helplessly at the sand beneath her when Percy says, “I told him it was okay.”

Clarisse’s entire body goes rigid. She doesn’t ask who or what or why even though her head is swirling with curiosity. Instead, she stays silent and just as she is, like if she moves he’ll change his mind.

“Chiron, I mean. I told him it was okay.” She hears four waves crash before he speaks again. “I didn’t forgive him. I don’t know if I’ll ever really forgive him. I think I might kind of hate him for a long time. But, I understand. Why he did what he did, I understand now. I didn’t before.”

“I was so angry, Clarisse. When I thought that she…I was really fucking angry all the time.”

You deserved to be.

“Luke was angry all the time too. I don’t want to be like him. I don’t ever want to hurt her, not for anything. Especially not for revenge against the gods. They don’t deserve it.”

“I’m just really tired of all of it, Clarisse.”

“I’m sorry, Percy,”

“S’not your fault.”

“But—,”

“I know.” Something about the way he says it, stops her from trying to speak. Because somehow, he knows she knew the truth. And she doesn’t know how or why and she doesn’t particularly care because all she can feel is guilt and dread and a selfish bit of fear. But, Percy does what he has continued to do since that day on the docks to her left.

He surprises her.

“I know, and it’s not your fault.”

“It’s okay, Clarisse. It’s okay.”

They sit like that for a long time. Clarisse reeling, Percy contemplating. She stands up when the bell for curfew rings, but he doesn’t. Her back is turned to him when he asks,

“She made you promise, didn’t she? She made you promise to take care of me?”

Clarisse sighs, “Yeah. Yeah, she did.”

“Well, when she wakes up, I’m telling her you did a shit job.”

She smiles in the darkness, and heads back to her cabin.

It ends where it began—the Big House. Everyone is assembled for their morning debrief, and Will is standing to give his update.

The door creaks open and without looking she knows.

Maybe she knows from Chris's hand on her thigh tightening. Maybe from the way Will drops back into his chair. Maybe from the sound of Conner choking on his sandwich. Maybe from the high-pitched half-sob Malcolm lets out. Maybe from the way Beckendorf sighs like the weight of the world has lifted. Maybe from the way Katie rubs at her eyes. Maybe from Silena’s smile. Maybe from Percy.

Percy, who for the first time since that day on the docks, looks truly alive.

Clarisse turns and there she is. Annabeth. Hovering in the doorway like a ghost, looking as if she’s just as surprised by the fact that she’s here as the rest of them. Her eyes are sunken and wild and darting around the room in a desperate search. They pass over Travis and Katie, Beck and Silena, and Micheal and Chris and—

Percy.

They land on Percy.

Percy, who’s looking at her like she’s the sun coming out.

Annabeths eyes freeze, fill with tears, and positively fracture.

She looks bad—sickly and gray and skinny as one of Nico’s skeletons, and everything about her malnourished frame swaying on her feet suggested a breeze could blow by, and she’d just float away. Her face is ashen and her hands are shaking and her shoulders are drawn up in a preemptive flinch.

Percy is looking at her like she’s divine.

“Hi.” Her voice is high and fragile and afraid. The room is so silent her voice practically echoes through the space. Everyone is frozen stuck in place, gaping at this girl who stopped a war before it began.

Percy’s gaze is darting over her too small figure like he can’t pick between any of the parts of her. Her kneecaps, her collarbones, her ankle, her fingertips, her mouth, her hair, her eyes—he keeps coming back to her eyes—he looks at all of it, all of her. He’s looking at her like he never wants to look at anything else.

“I didn’t mean to barge in on your meeting, I was just….” Percy snapped his gaze to her eyes when she started talking and Jesus, it’s so intense, Clarisse wants to look away on Annabeth’s behalf, but she can’t, she doesn’t seem to be able to. If Annabeth is the sun then she’s somehow managed to pull the entire room into her orbit and Percy is close enough to burn.

“I’m sorry, Percy.” Everything about her is shaking. Her voice, her hands, her legs, they vibrate compared to Percy’s stillness. “You don’t have to accept it, you don’t have to forgive it, you don’t even really have to hear it, I just need you to know it. Selfishly, I need you to know it. That I’m sorry, I’m so fucking sorry, Percy, sorry I did this to you, sorry I couldn’t be there for you, sorry I agreed to it in the first place, I-I just…I was trying to protect you. To keep you safe—alive, just trying to keep you alive. I wanted for you to have more time than the fates gave you. That’s all I’ve wanted for five fucking years, for you to have more time. Because I…you have to know that I—,”

“Annabeth.” She freezes, looks at him, and there’s that orbit again, only this time Percy and Annabeth are the only planets that exist. Together, they are their own personal solar system.

“You died.” His voice is hoarse, low.

“I know.”

“Don’t do it again.”

She hesitates, “I’ll try.”

“You love me?”

She exhales. Nods.

“Okay.”

Clarisse blinks and there’s a supernova.

Somehow, through the haze and blinding lights and pure unadulterated love of it all, the rest of the council finds the sense to clear out of the room, and give them their privacy.

(Not that it mattered. Percy was kissing her before any of them could think, let alone avert their eyes. They all fumbled out of their chairs and rushed out the door in such haste, there was no way they were quiet, but Chiron's hooves and Silena’s giggles didn’t seem to penetrate their little universe.)

After what Clarisse considered to be an absurd amount of time considering the fact that they knew the entirety of camp was waiting for them, they emerged with swollen lips and matching smiles. Percy had one arm in a vice grip around her waist, as Annabeth seemed pretty shaky on her feet, but made it down the steps without mishap.

Everyone stood frozen and staring, the spell she cast still unbroken. Annabeth seemed to pick up on this, her smile softening as she held up her arms.

Katie and Silena dive in first, squeezing her way too tight and laughing in her ear. Travis and Connor were right behind them, choked up and unblinking, until Annabeth reached up and ruffled their hair. They let out wet laughs and Connor tripped over his own feet backing up. Thalia holds her face in shaking hands. Grover held her hands gingerly and sob into her collarbone. She took Malcolm’s hand, whose fists had been curled up and kissed him on the cheek, melting the stony emotions on his face. Beckendorph holds out his hand for a complicated handshake, and Micheal bumps her arm with his shoulder. Chiron tucks some of her hair behind her ear.

Then it’s her turn.

Annabeth is looking up at her with wide, and grateful eyes, similar to the look she gave her in the factory but somehow older.

Clarisse is fuming and elated and hates her and never wants her to go away again.

Honestly, Clarisse kind of wants to hit her.

While she’s deciding, Annabeth throws her arms around her neck.

She smells sterile.

Clarisse begins to cry.

Annabeth takes it in stride, kneeling to the ground when Clarisse starts to collapse in on herself, and holds her. Percy crouches in a way that can’t be very comfortable, and holds the both of them. And then there are more arms and more tears and somehow Clarisse is smack in the middle of a group hug and she doesn’t even care.

They’re far from okay. She thinks they might be someday.

When a storm is over, it leaves wreckage behind.

Annabeth’s not-death left behind obvious debris. Foundations of trust were cracked, people were wounded, and some things would never be the same as they were.

But, they rebuild. They fill the cracks, and mend the bones, and make something shiny and new out of broken rusted parts.

It's hard, painful work.

(It’s worth it.)

They are camped out in sleeping bags around Annabeth’s infirmary bed, and for now, the storm has passed.

Annabeth is half asleep on Percy’s shoulder, and the ocean before them is calm.

Percy’s smile is in Annabeth’s hair and the earth is steady beneath them.

They are holding each other and despite it all, there is nothing but love around them.

For now the storm has passed. And that, Clarisse thinks, is enough.

[look-at-the-stars-tonight]

I have more thoughts about Chalice of the Gods

When I was getting through the first hundred pages or so I was a little :/ prob because I’m getting back into the books over a decade later and I had Expectations that I didn’t have as a kid. You could have thrown anything at me and I would have been DELIGHTED just to hear more of Percy’s story. I think the nostalgia factor was actually kind of a negative for me because I kept getting mad at the modern references and how low the stakes seemed to be. I did see a post about how it was good that Rick kept the books at whatever time he wrote them (in terms of references) because it’s literally just like the olympians growing and modernizing. You can’t stay stuck in the past. And I think keeping that perspective in mind will make rereads a lot more fun.

The low stakes seemed to bother me just because we’re so used to seeing Percy in horrible world ending situations and we just got out of HOO. But he really did deserve a break and it was helpful with developing his characterization

I didn’t expect the books to make me feel so emotional! I’ve been out of the horrifying college admissions process for a while now. But the questions he was wrestling with were very universal. At this point he’s accepted that the gods are what they are. There’s not much he can do to change them. He has to focus on himself and his future. And I am a little disappointed that his goals all seem to be around Annabeth. Like I love them but also he’s going to new Rome JUST for her it seems. But also when I was in high school I decided to go to college because that’s what Everyone Does right. I didn’t know trade school was an option. Feeling a little bit like ur life is on a set path and your choices are controlled by other people a bit was at least part of my high school experience. But also from a story perspective it does make sense that he wants to stick with Annabeth! They’ve been through a ridiculous amount together.

Sally having a kid and the emotions that it brought up was also a good way to show that transitional period between leaving home and starting a new life. Your parents are going to move on and do their own thing and their lives won’t revolve around you anymore. Also in general the whole Paul/sally/percy/annabeth dynamic was fucking amazing. The way Paul and sally accepted Annabeth into their lives and how happy they all are is what she fucking deserves!!

I think the end is what really got me. Some of it felt really silly and I did absolutely roll my eyes when Percy told the god he loved him and hugged him. But also him ACCEPTING that he would likely get old was so cathartic. This is a boy who was supposed to die at 16. And barely escaped death again after having his memories wiped and falling into fucking Tartarus. Hes never gotten a break and hes said, in multiple books, that he expects to die very young. This is the first time he says ‘wait I might survive this. I might get old and if I do it’ll be by Annabeth and Grover’s side.’ Percy fucking Jackson who has been the subject of COUNTLESS prophecies, who is reminded time and time again that he isn’t supposed to exist, even by people that he loves, (that was a lil mean of u in the intro Poseidon) CHOOSES to accept that he might get old. Like of course this boy doesn’t have much of a plan for his life yet other than ?? Follow Annabeth?? When has he gotten a chance to think about it!

This is something I did project upon a bit because I didn’t except to live to 18! Or 20! Or 22! And it’s only now at 24 that I’m starting to Accept that I might be here a little longer than I expected and now I have to Plan Accordingly. Like I have to learn these stupid life skills and figure out what I Want from my life now. And unlike Percy, I’m a little angry about it lol because I never expected to have this problem!! But, I too, am slowly accepting that time on earth is a gift or whatever. At the very least I’m stuck here for the foreseeable future so I might as well use it to learn who I am. I GUESS. In my life, Death has always been this ever-present choice I could take if things got a little too tough and I don’t know if that door will ever fully close but I have been dragged away from it kicking and screaming so. Might as well stick around. I’m still a little bitter about it honestly but I’ll get over it. I have to learn how to COOK guys. How fucked up is that. To care about the mundane all of a sudden??

Anyways. I doubt that’s the metaphor Rick was going for, it was probably more of a ‘your childhood ends! You’re gonna get older and that’s a good thing’ instead of a ‘one day you might not have killed yourself and you’ll realize that you’re actually stuck living this life and you gotta learn to fucking deal with it.’

Ok I could go on for hours so this is the last thing. Percy’s conversation with Poseidon, about how small waves are the ones that matter the most, REALLY resonated with me. Like I think I teared up at two parts of this book, the old age part and the conversation with between them at the end. It’s really easy to convince yourself that the way you alter your life is through Sweeping All-Consuming Change where you move to a different continent and begin anew. Unfortunately, through bitter experience, I’ve learned that’s not how things fucking work. Changing your surroundings does lead to new experiences but it doesn’t make ur problems go away! I moved halfway across the state and got what I genuinely believe is the best job on earth and I. Still have the same issues?? And then I thought ok maybe I was wrong this Wasn’t the best job I just need to find one that’s Better but that’s. Not how things work.

This is getting away from me but basically what I’m trying to say is u can make grand changes and it might fix u for a little while but unfortunately you have to put in the work and do the stupid boring mundane things like go on walks and journal and exercise and do things that scare the fuck out of u to actually change and grow and it’s so goddamn annoying. I should be able to become a different person just by being somewhere else but I can’t.

Wait I’m supposed to be relating this to Percy Jackson. So Percy can go on these life altering world defining quests right. And make all the right choices. But who he is at his core is defined by the choices that he makes when the stakes aren’t that high. When it would be So Easy to walk away from Ganymede and go live his life. And I know some people didn’t like that Poseidon was like ‘this is when I knew you were a hero’ of fucking COURSE he knows Percy has been this hero his whole life. But he’s also this person when there isn’t some prophecy, when he doesn’t have to be, when it’s just a mild inconvenience. It’s easy to talk about changing the world. It’s harder to go out there and take those little baby steps that don’t feel like they matter all that much. He has actually changed the world and just not talked about it but hopefully u get what I’m saying. I just liked that thing about small waves being able to sweep you off your feet when you didn’t expect it ok!! Most change is incremental!!

Ok that’s it. Loved Chalice, will probably enjoy it more on a reread and it resonated with me in ways I didn’t expect.

[puzzled-pegasus]

Thoughts I have about CHB as an afab girl

If a demigod gets their period at camp how does that work? Does the same gift shop that has the orange shirts also have sanitary products?? From what I remember it should have everything that is necessarily hygiene related.

then again a few demigods might just stop having their period bc of training like if they train too hard, that wouldn't last forever probably but yeah

Do they have bras at camp?? I guess that's probably a thing kids would usually do when it's not the summer huh but like what about annabeth where did she get bras. Did like another camper give her the first one? That would be so sweet tbh and if they have them at the gift shop, she would prob at least need help choosing one

Why are all the camp shirts the same gd color I hate orange sm at least have some pink ones lmao

The aphrodite kids have definitely complained about that before. Why orange. Why did Rick choose orange. Ew.

If you are sharing a cabin esp if you have sisters how the hell are you keeping track of your shirts if they're all the same damn color

This is more of a statement than a question but i think itd be cute if like the first time one of the girls has a period on the Argo II boat they send one of the boys to go get stuff and he brings back like 15 boxes of things bc he panicked

Logically they could probably just send 1 girl along with but I think that the first thing is funnier

Hair ties

How the hell do you keep track of your hair ties

On quests the girls are probably using everything they can find to tie up their hair

stealing Leo's zipties and shit

Except for Annabeth who has been doing this long enough to know how many to bring and then some but she will share only sparingly

The girls were also probably taking only one or two bras for the entire trip

The demigods can't afford to care abt cramps and that must suck

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: And we're back to not having a break! -Danny Words: 1,945 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Young Love' -by Phillip Vo

XL: Please Say Sike Right Now

Everyone knew about Leo's curse by the next morning. Jason told Piper, Nico told Hazel because Hazel already knew half of it, and then Hazel told Frank because Leo knew about his curse anyway, so it was fair. At least they all had the decency to pretend not to know and treated Leo and her like usual, though they'd started to look at Leo like he'd predicted. 

Ara's recovery is tough throughout the day. If she does things that take a lot of effort she feels something like a heart attack and has to sit down for a moment. Next time she runs into Eros, she'll snap his bow in half.

Things are changing, Nico isn't a sweetheart, but now they've been able to train together without any major fights. More so, they can sit and have a civil conversation without having to be half a mile from each other. Nico is polite when Ara asks what to expect from the House of Hades, and he makes a few suggestions for the best way to tackle the mission. Ara listens and together with Hazel, they make a solid plan.

Leo trains hard, but by the third day the weather gets too unpredictable to stay on the upper deck for long periods and he gets worried about Festus malfunctioning like he did during their first quest, so he takes the day to do a full check-up of the ship.

"So much for the big team meeting," he glares at the gray sky, they were supposed to be holding up a session to talk about their new plan, but there was much to be done. "Looks like it's just us again."

Ara can't help but stare while he works, removing the Archimedes sphere and turning off Festus. He gestures at her to get closer and she does, now he's ready to teach her how to use it, the problem is that she isn't paying attention at all.  She is so in love there might as well be little 3D hearts floating around over her head while Leo points at the symbols around the sphere and talks nonstop about their functions.

All her life she'd been stressing over being the nice, adjustable girl so people wouldn't leave her, all to find out she'd never been the problem, she just had to find her people. Percy, Annabeth, Lily, Leo—heck, even Nico has proved to her that she's valued. Hercules's words don't sting as much now. 

All these kids that are used to moving on and never staying in one place, keep coming back to her. Especially Leo Valdez, and man, she's crazy about him. She can now admit that with a smile on her face. "You're so cute," Ara blurts out, leaning against the control board with a smile on her face.

Leo looks back up at her, eyes slightly out of focus after being interrupted mid-sentence. To Ara's surprise, he frowns at her compliment. "You didn't hear a word of what I just said, did you?"

"I'm sorry," she grins and blushes, feeling like her old Aphrodite self for a moment. "I think I'm sick."

"Sick?" Leo touches her forehead. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm lovesick, Admiral," she continues with a silly smirk. "It has no cure."

The boy looks at her in amused defeat. "Who are you? My girlfriend doesn't flirt like this—she rolls her eyes and pretends to be annoyed at my bold moves until she gets tired and kisses me."

"I flirt!"

"No, you don't."

"I flirt all the time."

"This is genuinely the first time in seven months I hear you say something so wack," he laughs. "Sunshine, Eros did a number on you."

"I literally proposed to you like what, a week ago?"

"I proposed first! You can't flirt by reusing my moves!"

"Guys," Jason interrupts their banter. "Hate to interrupt your argument on who's the smoothest, but we want to know how long 'til we reach Epirus."

Leo has the answer at the ready, of course. "By tomorrow morning, we'll reach the western coast of Greece. Then another hour inland, and bang—House of Hades! I'ma get me the T-shirt!"

"Yay," Piper sighs. 

"Pipes, can you tell your sister I'm the one with the rizz in the relationship?"

"I'm not saying that."

"Of course not," Ara nods solemnly. "Because it's a lie."

"Come back when you get a fanclub of nymphs," Leo snorts.

"I have a satyr fanclub," Ara shrugs.

"Satyrs are easy to charm, though—!"

"Guys," Piper interrupts them again. "I've been thinking about the Prophecy of Seven."

They share a look and then Leo turns to Piper. "What about it? Like... good stuff, I hope?"

"In Katoptris," the girl starts explaining, adjusting the cornucopia over her shoulder. "I keep seeing that giant Clytius—the guy who's wrapped in shadows. I know his weakness is fire, but in my visions, he snuffs out flames wherever he goes. Any kind of light just gets sucked into his cloud of darkness."

"Sounds like Nico," Leo jokes. "You think they're related?"

"Hey, man, cut Nico some slack," Jason scowls.

"He's joking," Ara intervenes, giving Jason a look that means 'drop it'. The point is to not bring attention to Nico, and if they try to protect him from random and harmless teasing it's going to look suspicious.

"Piper, what about this giant?" Jason makes a fleeting face of discomfort before looking back at his girlfriend. "What are you thinking?"

Leo and Piper share a look of confusion, not knowing why Ara and Jason suddenly seem slightly upset with each other, they usually get along just great.

"I keep thinking about fire," Piper continues. "How we expect Leo to beat this giant because he's..."

"Hot?" Leo smirks.

"Um, let's go with flammable," Piper raises a brow. "Anyway, that line from the prophecy bothers me: To storm or fire the world must fall."

"Yeah, we know all about it," Leo glances at Ara, but he doesn't say anything. "You're gonna say I'm fire. And Jason here is storm."

"So you're worried one of us will endanger the quest, maybe accidentally destroy the world?"

"No. I think we've been reading that line the wrong way. The world... the Earth. In Greek, the word for that would be..."

"Gaea." Jason tilts his head. "You mean, to storm or fire Gaea must fall?"

Leo tries to look cheery when she mentions it, once again giving Ara a look that it's meant to say 'I told you so'. "You know, I like your version a lot better. 'Cause if Gaea falls to me, Mr. Fire, that is absolutely copacetic."

"Or to me... storm." Jason kisses the girl's cheek. "Piper, that's brilliant! If you're right, this is great news. We just have to figure out which of us destroys Gaea."

"Maybe. But, see, it's storm or fire..." She draws out Katoptris and places it on the console.

Leo hooks his fingers on the waist of Ara's jeans, pulling her away from the blade. He scowls at it the same way Ara does all the time, neither Piper nor Jason notices, but Ara feels a warmth spreading on her chest at the boy's gesture. It's nonsense because the dagger on itself can't hurt her, but still, Leo trying to keep her away from the things that make her uncomfortable is sweet.

"I'm worried about Leo and this fight with Clytius," Piper continues. "That line in the prophecy makes it sound like only one of you can succeed. And if the storm or fire part is connected to the third line, an oath to keep with a final breath..."

Ara feels a weight dropping on her stomach at those words. An oath. She hadn't thought about it nearly as much as she should've. 

"I think my prophecy overlaps with this," she confesses.

"Ara." Leo says warningly.

"No, listen—I'd forgotten that line," she tells him. "That doesn't sound good for us."

"Ara." The boy insists a little more sternly.

"Wait, what?" Jason frowns. "What do you mean? Your prophecy is about Leo's curse?"

"Yes."

"Guys, wait up," Leo stands between her and Jason to stop their exchange, still holding the Archimedes sphere in one hand. "Don't freak out yet."

"Yet? I've been freaking out a whole month!" She exclaims.

"Leo's right, Ara," Jason tries to reason. "We'll drive ourselves crazy overthinking it. You know how prophecies are. Heroes always get in trouble trying to thwart them."

"Yeah," Leo agrees ironically. "We'd hate to get in trouble. We've got it so good right now."

"You know what I mean," Jason insists. "The final breath line might not be connected to the storm and fire part or your prophecy. For all we know, the two of us aren't even storm and fire. Percy can raise hurricanes."

"And I could always set Coach Hedge on fire," Leo suggests. "Then he can be fire."

"I hope I'm wrong," Piper turns to her. "But the whole quest started with us finding Hera and waking that giant king Porphyrion. I have a feeling the war will end with us too. For better or worse."

"Hey," Jason comments, "personally, I like us."

"Agreed," Leo reaches for Ara's hand. "Us is my favorite people."

Ara squeezes Leo's hand and looks at Jason and Piper. She has a weird relationship with this trio, she's protective of them because they were their first quest as a guardian, like an older sister, even though she's the youngest of the group.

She remembers their time bonding inside a sewer, when they went to a cafe all dressed up for different parties, and their fight to free Hera. The first time Ara felt like a real hero, even if she was beaten, cold, and so scared and angry...

She wants to tell them about the prophecy but Leo is stopping her, knowing it's better to have a clear view of things before jumping to conclusions. She's spiraling and thinking Leo will die if he decides to take matters into his own hands, and he doesn't want her to push him out of this again.

The girl shivers just thinking about what would happen to her if Leo gets hurt again. Then she shivers again and realizes the temperature has drastically dropped. The smell of snow increases, the clouds are thickening above them, and the air... It doesn't matter how crazy the weather can be, there is no way a snowstorm is likely to happen in the middle of July, near the coast of Greece.

"Leo," Piper seems to have noticed something's up at the same time as Ara. "Sound the alarm."

Leo tenses and slams his fist on the button, then the charmspeak wears off and he frowns. "Uh, it's disconnected—Festus is shut down. Gimme a minute to get the system back online."

"We don't have a minute! Fires—we need vials of Greek fire. Jason, call the winds. Warm, southerly winds."

Ara looks for Almighty in her pocket and drags her Octopi bag from under the control board, looking for her flintlock. "Wait, what?" Jason watches them in confusion. "Girls, what's wrong?"

"It's her!" Piper seizes her dagger. "She's back! We have to—"

It happens too fast to understand it: The ship freezes in place and ice quickly covers every surface, Jason draws out his sword and he gets turned into an ice statue like Thalia all those months ago.

"Leo! Flames! Now!" Piper calls desperately.

Something tries to snatch the Archimedes sphere out of Leo's hand and he holds onto it tightly, getting lifted along with the object and he starts to struggle in the air. "Hey! Hey! Let me go!" Leo yells at the wind.

"No!" The moment Ara tries to move, her feet get frozen in place.

"Yes, Leo Valdez... I will let you go permanently."

The boy gets thrown out of the ship so violently that all Ara hears is a brief gasp before he's out of sight.

"Hi again, Arae Jackson. We didn't properly introduce last time, daughter of Olympus," Khione speaks to her. "And unfortunately, there is only enough time to kill you now."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

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[lilislegacy]

imagine that Annabeth did not know about this, that demigods do not menstruate until the age of 11.

She is a very smart girl who reads a lot and I think she has also come across books on physiology, and well, imagine when she turns 11, Annabeth is like, "Hmm, I think my ovaries will start working soon" and she stocks up on everything she needs and waits, but it does not come and worried, she goes to Athena's eldest daughter."

Hey, I'm 11 and my first cycle still doesn't come, maybe I need to go to the Apollo kids or could you take me to a mortal gynecologist?"

And her sister is like, "Oh, Annie, I forgot to warn you, all half-breeds with female physiology have frozen ovaries that just exist, well, like for the external normality of our body, so don't worry, you won't have menstruation in any case :D".

i’m not sure where we landed with the whole “do demigods menstruate” conversation, but if they didn’t, this would definitely happen. she’d be like uh what’s wrong with me?

this also makes me wonder. as a cis female, i despise getting my period, like most people do. but when i think back to like 5th and 6th grade, before i got it, i remember being so jealous of all the girls who had gotten theirs and i hadn’t. i felt less “woman” then they did, and was really insecure about it. and then i was so excited when i did finally get it and felt way better about myself. (the excitement quickly faded.)

so while trans people get gender dysphoria from getting their period, do we think cis girl demigods would get dysphoria from not getting it? 🤔🤔

this topic has ended up being way more complex than i expected 😂