#i feel like making either of them a hades kid is to on the nose but also the visuals would be dope

[karda]

joy and madeline percy jackson au* brain explodes

[kekaki-cupcakes]

hello, are you still doing requests?

if so, could i have some sibling headcanons of nico with a hades kiddo that's really peppy and into colorful things and people find it hard to believe they're siblings at first because their personalities are polar opposites of each other?

thankyou!

Heya, I'm still doing requests but I have so many so it might take a while to get an answer, feel free to request something else though! This kind of went off track but oh well <3

Don't take it to heart---Nico/opposite aesthetics sibling!reader

»»————-　★　————-««

-The minute you skipped up to the porch of the Hades Cabin with your stripey rainbow leg warmers and a tote bag with a stupid pun about a show with something called ‘carebears’, Nico winced.

-He’d need sunglasses if he had to keep looking at you, but he didn’t really want to borrow the big yellow star ones on the end of your nose, so maybe that was a bad idea. Your first interaction went a bit like this:

You: “Heya, you're the emo kid, right? I’m new! So, where’s our cabin?” 

Nico: “Uh… you're supposed to go that way.”

You: “No, that’s the Iris cabin, at least that’s what Chiron said. I’m your new sibling, by the way. Chiron said we have one in Rome too! 

Nico: I- well, yes, I- we do.

You: Are they as grumpy looking as you?

-Needless to say you got off to a great start. Nico proceeded to dump your bags on one of the beds, which has a zebra print doona matching one of your headbands, and then left immediately. You shrugged it off, obviously, and started stacking your things on the coffin shaped bookshelves. You ignored the candle that was supposed to smell like ‘the souls of the damned’, and put your own flowery one next to it. 

-You found out you loved arts and crafts, where you made friendship bracelets with Lacy, as well as pegasi riding. You saw Nico once, and he waved awkwardly, but went back to the small child he was glaring at quickly. You quickly became attached to a creamy coloured mare called macaroni as well, but Butch wouldn’t let her sleep in your cabin. He did take a friendship bracelet, though. And he let you weave daisy chains into macaroni’s mane and tail, so you liked him. 

-You had brought a musty old record player with you after finding out that there was no wifi, but you had to pause ‘Washing Machine Heart’ [by Mitski, of course] when Nico came trudging into the now bright cabin. You’d opened all the curtains and taken the spiders that fell from them outside, dumping them in the bushes behind the Athena cabin. 

-Nico stared at the squishmellows on your bed and then the dreamcatcher by one of the windows, and the row of brightly coloured converse with striped laces lined up by his three different pairs of black Doc Martens. 

-He shrugged his jacket off and went straight into the bathroom, leaving a little trail of muddy footsteps along the heart shaped rug you’d put down.

-He was just adjusting to a roommate, you told yourself. It wasn’t anything to do with you personally. You hadn’t done anything wrong, maybe you should just give him a bit of space. That was a good idea. Leave him alone for a bit until he was used to you, and don’t take it to heart. 

»»————-　★　————-««

-You took it to heart.

»»————-　★　————-««

-Months had passed, and you were thankful for the Ipad Piper [she was so nice, and she let you borrow her Olivia Rodrigo records] lent you so you could facetime the family and friends you had left behind occasionally. They had seemed to adjust to you not being there anymore, now that you knew you were a child of Hades, the outside world was too dangerous to risk. You tried not to take that to heart either.

-Macaroni was getting used to the beaded bridle you’d made her, but you were still training her to get used to flying around while you used your new weapons.

-Nyssa had helped you make them, able to actually craft a design after glancing at you scribbled drawing with glitter gel pens that you really had worked hard on. Now you had a sparkly belt with three attachments, that you could click in your spray cans too. The cans were filled with different coloured paint, only the base liquid was melted down celestial bronze flakes, so when you fought a monster, which you were still learning to do, it would seep into their eyes and turn them blind, or crack through their skin and dissolve them. You loved the spray cans.

-Drew had warmed up to you as well, and you were even invited to Barbie premier night in Cabin ten. You got to wear your sparkly leg warmers and the cropped leather jacket in a light shade of pink.

-You were making your way to the arts and crafts center with a box of clay and little paint brushes in your arms to run the pottery class [you’d been elected as head of arts and crafts pretty quickly, shared with Elsa, one of the Athena kids who specialize in weaving and sewed the cutest pajama pants] when you bumped into Nico.

-Literally. 

-The box may have been a few heads taller than you, so it wasn’t really your fault, but Nico still snapped at you. 

-You gathered up the little tubs of paint from the grass and apologized quickly, your chest tight with anxiety. You hurried away after that, ignoring your brother as he tried to explain he hadn’t realized it was you when he hissed curse words Drew had started teaching Harley and Lacy. 

-The class went well, the scrunchies Elsa was making her girlfriend for her birthday went along well, and a few more kids than usual showed up, taking lumps of clay from the tray and working it into figures on their tables. You were making beads that you’d string onto a bracelet for Nyssa, because she always broke the plastic ones with hammers and drills accidentally.

-You thought back to your interaction with Nico and regretted it dearly. Maybe if you’d just heard him out or even apologized and blamed yourself, he might’ve come to your class to see your works, or sat with you at dinner, or even just waved from across the infirmary when you went to get panadol for your headaches. 

-You knew you got them from straining your eyes to read and draw in the dim cabin, but whenever you opened the curtains or switched on your blue lamp with a cloudy pattern that you hadn’t got to use yet, Nico cleared out completely. 

-It wasn’t your fault, you reminded yourself, you were just… too different.

-People started filing out after putting their creations to the side, you complimented each of their idea’s even though you felt like getting some Ben and Jerry’s from the camp shop and curling up in bed to watch ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ again. 

-The beads for Nyssa were nearly done, so you went to find a container to pop them in.

-When you got back, they had been ground into the bench until the delicate tracing of different things Nyssa likes were just shapeless brown blobs. An Ares kid, Grey, was standing with their arms crossed and a smirk on their face, which was mostly obscured by a nose that had been broken too many times.

-You stared down at the squashed clay and felt your eyes prickle with tears.

-Grey jeered at you, calling you things you’d rather not hear again, because they only made the tears fall. You rubbed your nose and smoothed the front of your tye-dyed camp shirt flat. Grey called after you, something about being a ‘rainbow prissy’. You stumbled out of the center.

-Nico wasn’t in your cabin when you slammed the door behind you, thankfully, and you hopped into bed, kicking your yellow converse off and pulling the doona over your head so you didn’t have to look at the skull filled walls around you.

-It was so dark, it was so dark and shadowy and there were bones you were too scared to ask about their origins lining the mirror in the bathroom you kept seeing things behind you in. Your crocheted blanket that used to sit across the black doona cover had been folded up a while ago and placed back in your suitcase, along with a few of the more multicolored posters and the fruity scented candles that seemed to annoy your half brother. 

-You rubbed your eyes with your sleeves and held your hand over your mouth so Nico wouldn’t hear crying when he would eventually come back a few hours later, late enough that you could pretend to be asleep. 

»»————-　★　————-««

-The infirmary was busy with bleeding and laughing demigods when you wandered in looking for some panadol. Your headache was making it hard to think straight, but whenever you cried too much you got one, so you knew what to do by now. 

-Will waved from over from where he was pulling a ruler, a stapler, and a glue stick out of the stomach of an Iris kid who was giggling the entire time, coughing up glitter. He grimaced when a chunk of glue hit his face. You waved back and turned the corner, heading to the rooms at the back where Austin would be. He usually had the panadol. 

-Someone groaned in the corner, and you spotted Grey. 

-They looked like a soggy bag of a human, their mauled nose the only definable shape. You couldn’t pull your eyes away from the grotesque demigod blob.

-Austin shuffled up behind you with a grimace, passing over a few pills and a glass of water without looking away. You gulped them down quickly as Grey let out another moan and rolled a bit on their hospital bed. Austin told you that he’d been spotted on the floor of the Arts and crafts center. 

-Apparently, every few minutes one of his bones would disappear.

-It was only a few fingers at the start, then most of his ribs couldn’t be found and there was something wrong with his mouth, which Austin found out meant his jaw had decided to not be there. 

-A screechy sound came from the front of the infirmary, and you both looked to the door, which Clarrise was dragging Nico through, holding him up by the back of his jacket. He pummeled at the chunky daughter of Ares, but couldn’t get out of her grip. Clarrise glared around at the staring demigods and snarled, “why is this little shit de-boning Grey?”

-You didn’t know who yelled ‘that’s what she said’ from across the room.

-”Because they deserve it.” Nico hissed a bit like a cat, glaring up at Clarisse with narrowed brown eyes underneath his floppy hair.  

-Will ran up to the pair, brushing glitter off his gloved hands onto his scrubs instead. He folded his arms and stared Clarrise down until she finally let go of Nico, who dropped to the ground and then sprung back up, wrinkling his nose at the daughter of Ares, who just stuck her tongue back out at him. 

-Will pinched his nose, “Clarisse, more people come in here because of you then Nico, so you don’t get to talk. Nico, just fix them, they’re too annoying to be kept in here.”

-”But people deserved to be punched by me,” Clarrise argued with a scoff.

-”And Grey deserves to lose their bones!” Nico shot back, glaring up at Clarisse and balling his fists, “they stepped on my siblings clay stuff!”

»»————-　★　————-««

-You yawned and stretched your arms out above your head, then blinked up at the roof with bleary eyes. The skulls were gone, now it was just black concrete. You rolled over a moment later and stuffed your head back into your pillow, pulling your crocheted blanket back over your head.

-There was a ‘shing’ sound as curtains were yanked open, and you just sunk further into your comfy bed, ignoring the bright beams of early morning sunshine that streamed in and lit up the dark cabin. It made the rainbow rug in the center of the cabin even brighter, and you groaned loudly in protest. “Whaddaya even doing up so early? Go back to bed you vampire!”

-”It’s only six am?”

-”You’re more of a psychopath then I thought before,” you muttered, but made sure you were loud enough that your brother could hear you as he padded round the cabin getting changed and ready for his much too early start to the day. 

-Nico huffed and the bathroom door shut as he completely ignored the hairbrush you’d given him to passive aggressively deal with his scruffy black hair. “Leo forgot the code to the safe in the big house that he changed when he was hiding those icey poles from Piper.”

-”And how are you supposed to help him remember?”

-Nico’s boots were loud on the floorboards as he trotted over. He kissed you on the forehead gently, “oh I’m not, I’m gonna go watch him suffer the consequences with Jason.”

»»————-　★　————-««

[astaroth1357]

Demigod MC Series: Athena

So. I have to deal with the virgin goddesses… By mythos, there really shouldn't ever be children of Artemis, Hestia, or Athena (yes, Athena was a virgin goddess). PJ got past that by making it canon that Annabeth and her siblings were born from cracking open Athena's skull (yes, that's also more or less the canon explanation). They gloss over it real quick but I remember, Rick. I've always remembered and that mental image has haunted me for years...

I can't, in good conscience, ignore the history around Athena's worship (call it an academic restraint) but I REFUSE to do the skull thing. So, since I make the rules here, I'm going with magic adoption. They still get magic powers, they're just more human than demigod. Cool? Cool.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena

Lucifer

The human that popped out of the portal seemed to have enough sense not to attack everyone in the room for a change, but even Lucifer could tell that was more of a strategic choice than for lack of ability...

Their very existence was highly unusual… and quite worrisome. He wasn't even aware Athena could have "children" of her own, but apparently she had been taking in some particularly bright humans to raise and train like her own...

Unbeknownst to him, a surprising amount of human scholars, diplomats, and generals have her to thank for their trade… and that alone should speak to the level of intrigue at play here. 

Was this an accident or Athena's attempt to plant an Olympian spy in the Devildom too…? Either way, he didn't trust them from the get go…

Look, Lucifer isn’t stupid. Athena is a goddess of Wisdom and War and war happens on more than just the battlefield… 

Since they've shown up records have been going missing, official documents keep getting misplaced, and he swears that there's some kind of bug in the student council room...!

It's infuriating watching the MC suck up to Diavolo when he's almost certain that they're running their own agenda behind the scenes! And he can't prove any of it!! They cover their tracks too well!

Lucifer has one of those corkboards covered in newspapers and string in a secret wing of the Castle - 100% dedicated to just tracking the MC's activities…. The longer they're there, the more obsessed he becomes...

He swears between Simeon, Solomon, and MC he feels like a shepherd wondering why the sheep are growling… The Devildom has never been in more danger than it is right now... Send help.

Mammon

To be honest, he kind of thought that they were just going to be Satan 2.0 but that's not really true.

They're more than just a book sponge! Though they do read, like a lot. Let’s just say from one schemer to another… Game recognizes Game.

They come up with plans and ideas soooo fast, it’s insane! Honestly, there are times where he has a new money-making plot and he just brings it to the MC first to run it over. 

Nine times out of ten, not only do they sniff out any problems but they have a solution for him in a matter of minutes! His scheme game has been on point since they’ve shown up!!

They’re also even better tutoring than Satan is, so he’s even managed to get a couple A’s for the first time in his life! Lucifer actually told him he was proud (which he secretly recorded and now uses as a ringtone much to his brother’s regret...)

So yeah, he likes them... buuut that doesn’t keep him from thinking they act a little weird sometimes... 

Mammon: *points to a unused tower close to the RAD building* Over there is the Tower of Sorrow. We use it for storage.

MC: Ah. Interesting… *starts writing in a notebook, muttering* It may need a few minor tweaks but the location is defensible...

Mammon: *stops* Ya say somethin’?

MC: *looks back up* Nope! Say, you’ve been to the Castle a lot haven’t you? Do you know any good ways in?

Mammon: Uhm… Why do ya want to know that…? *starts looking around for Lucifer*

MC: In case of emergencies. I like being prepared. 🙂

Mammon: Look, I don’t know what Lucifer might’a told ya…

MC: I’ll pay you a thousand Grimm for it.

Mammon: Well shit, ya want those maps with or without color?

... Yeeeah, that’s pretty weird… But it’s probably fine. I mean, as long as they keep giving him money, who’s he to complain? 🤷‍♀️

Leviathan

Also thought that they’d be a lot more like Satan but was pleasantly surprised that they were into more than books.

What else did they like exactly? Military strategy!!

It’s been a looong time since he’s been able to talk to someone who’s actually interested in all the battles he’s fought, both in the Celestial Realm and the Devildom, and their curiosity is kind of flattering...! Not a lot of people take his strategic prowess all that seriously anymore...

Plus, they are the BEST partner to have any turn-based strategy game. Hands down. He once got stuck on a level of D-COM for weeks until the MC walked in and mopped the floor with the AI!! They have a serious head for probability and tactics.

The House once made the mistake of letting these two be on the same team during a Hell Game and they absolutely demolished the competition. Mammon didn’t even get a single shot off before half his team was lost to a rigged paint grenade… It took a whole day to clean up… 

However, Levi’s also noticed some odd things about the human… He likes that they’re interested in his past but maybe they’re a little… too interested?

Levi: -and that’s how we defeated the Four Horsemen before they escaped from Purgatory. 

MC: Wow, Levi that’s seriously impressive!! *furiously scribbling on a notebook*

Levi: Well t-thanks… 😅 But, uhm... are you writing that down…?

MC: Hm? Oh no, just doodling. *they lift up the notebook to show a bunch of cute little sketches on the page… and not the magic-based invisible ink all over them…*

Levi: Oh you draw too? Can you do fanart???

MC: Eh, sometimes. But say Levi, can you tell me about your naval ranks again? I’m still really curious… *gets the pen ready again with a smile*

Satan

Oh, it's been a long game of cat-and-mouse between these two… and unfortunately, it’s been pretty addicting too.

He honestly had every intention of tricking the human into making a huge mess do he could bother Lucifer, but at every turn they proved just a hair too clever for him...

He once gave them a cursed book to “lend” to Lucifer, but they saw through it the moment they touched it and lifted the spell before handing it over.

He rigged a podium to spray glitter during one of Lucifer's speeches but the MC disconnected the trigger mic before he even got on stage. It was pretty dang frustrating...

At one point he got so desperate that, just as a test, he tried to trap them in the House's Music Room. Fortunately for them, it only took a few minutes to work out an escape. They even passed by him in the hallway with a wink!

It's confounding! It's infuriating!! 

...and it's so damn sexy... He should be furious but he’s just in awe!!

Add on that they know their art, literature, and multiple different crafts thanks to the tutelage of their adopted mother and that’s it. He’s finished. This boy is in love.

Truthfully though, a part of him is 90% sure that they’re also gathering state secrets… Like, they’re watching Barbs and Diavolo far too close for comfort - but he just can't bring himself to care. 🤷‍♀️

The MC could walk into his room one day and say, "Hey, do you want to help overthrow the monarchy with me?" and he dreads it because deep down he knows that he wouldn’t say no…

Take some notes, kids. Some bad influences get you to drink or do drugs. Others pull you into a centuries long conspiracy to destabilize and topple rival realms from within… But he has fallen for their brain hard. Devil help them all…

Asmodeus 

They’re pretty clever, he’ll give them that, but uh… Are they a little off to anybody else?

Asmo is a charmer by birthright so he has a bit of nose for when someone’s just a liiittttle too nice… Not much of a nose mind you, because he can be thrown off by compliments himself, but enough to think that the MC might be a little too… “kind” for their own good...

First off, who wants to spend that much time with Levi?? They don’t even seem that interested in anime! They just keeping asking him for old war stories…

Then all the sucking up they do to Diavolo and Barbatos? Look, he gets it. Diavolo is a delicious piece of man-hunk and his butler could give him a lesson or two in sweet-talk (and he has), but they seem to be just a little too… nosy.

Of course, Asmo’s suspicions disappear pretty quickly after they start to spoil him with spa nights and beauty secrets they picked up from “casual research” into the subject.

And you know, get a little Demonus in Asmo and start massaging his back? Oh, sweetie he’ll sing like a bird!! … with gossip. Singing with gossip.

Asmo: So I’ve heard that Lucifer has been spending more time at RAD than usual… His whole club is talking about it, they think he’s meeting with some witch!

MC: Hm, is that so? *works on a knot near his shoulder blades* What do you think?

Asmo: Ooh~! Right there, MC! *purrs and lays his head on his arms* Well come on, this is Lucifer we’re talking about! I’m sure he’s just working.

Asmo: Hmm... though come to think of it, I think I heard him asking Barbatos for the spare keys to the Tower of Sorrow…

MC: Oh really? Huh. *works out the knot and gets up* I just remembered that I left some papers with Satan... I’ll be right back.

Asmo: You’re going already??

MC: *waves him off quickly* I’ll be right back, Asmo. *hurries out the door to do totally on-the-up-and-up things… surely*

Beelzebub 

Honestly he doesn't like this one… But not for the reasons you'd expect.

He agrees with everyone else that they seem a little shady, but Solomon and Simeon are too so it's not like that's anything new... 🤷‍♀️

No, no. He dislikes them because they're the person who FINALLY figured out how to keep him from eating all the food in the kitchen!!

Turns out that the trick was to put a teleportation charm on the fridge door that would send all the food away if it’s opened after a certain time of night… 

And where does it go? The Purgatory Hall fridge. And where does the Purgatory Hall food go…? The HoL fridge…

It doesn’t sound so bad until you remember that it means half of their fridge is now Solomon’s leftovers…. 🤢

After they put the same kind of spell on the pantry, it was all over… He couldn't get midnight snacks from the House anymore… Everything was contaminated by Solomon…

The MC is a nice enough person, he doesn’t have a lot of complaints about them, but he wants them to leave. Now. This is inexcusable… He’s so hungry… and he doesn’t want to die by “goulash” or whatever Solomon calls his latest culinary catastrophe… He’s still too young for death… 😓

Belphegor 

In a way, he absolutely could not have asked for a better person to help him get out of that attic.

… In another way, he got one of the worst possible people to try and kill... Like. They saw through his scheme sooo fast…

How was he supposed to know that the human had training in body language and sniffing out lies???

Getting the door open was a piece of cake for them. They knew enough magic to undo the seals and just rummaged around Lucifer's stuff long enough to find the key to the door. He could not have found a more competent individual for a break out, really.

It’s just… well he didn’t expect to go from locked in a room like a prisoner to tied up in enchanted rope, still like a prisoner but now mobile. 😑 

They even used his own hug ruse against him! They caught his wrists when they got close and tied him up before he could shake them off...

Admittedly, it wasn't exactly the best look for them either - what with walking Belphegor downstairs to the others like a one-man-prison-caravan but they're as silver-tongued as they are sly so they talked their way out of it beautifully… 

And like hell was he going to trust them after that!! And not even Beel liked them so something had to be up...

Well, you want a detective? Look no farther than Belphie (no seriously, it’s in the canon). He can put things together pretty fast when he puts his mind to it and watching the MC for a while gave him enough proof to work off of...

He always knew that, humans were bad news and the MC just proved it to him all over again. They are bad news, bad bad news and they’re going to-!

Overthrow… Diavolo…? Is that what he is getting from them…? Huh…

Wait a second, MC. You might just have him interested… 😏

[antihero-writings]

Before it Kills You Too (Ch2 Snippets 1, 2 & 3)

Fandom: Lore Olympus

Chapter Summary: When Hera gets into a car accident after a fight, Zeus has a moment to ruminate on their relationship. Written using the song “Wait” by Maroon 5 as a prompt.

Character Focus: Zeus

Please note!! This is the previous Ch2 snippets I posted + a new snippet (the new snippet starts with “I would venture to guess she was driving too fast.”)

I’ve been having trouble with this chapter for a very long time, so I’ve decided to post it snippet-by-snippet, because that seems like the only way I’ll successfully finish this fic. 

While this should be as close to the final version as it can be, anything in this snippet is subject to change when the full chapter comes out. (And, hey, to that end, if there’s anything you think needs to be edited here, please kindly let me know!!)

Im really excited about this snippet!! Definitely one of my favorite parts of the chapter!!

Thanks again SO much to those who support this fic and want to read more!! The fact that you want to read more really does mean the world to me!! I appreciate your kind comments so much!!

I’d really appreciate it if you could leave a comment and/or reblog!!! I’m not kidding when I say that makes my week!!

Tagging some folks who’ve shown interest!! @jayyy007 @autumnmoon21 @sunsetsofanemoia, @lynnie51 @what-the-fuckaroni @masquejj

And please do let me know if you’d like me to add you to a taglist for this fic, or message you when new snippets/the next chapter come/s out!!

Chapter 2 Snippets 1, 2 & 3:

Hera was standing in the crowded meadow, surrounded by her friends, laughing that girly little giggle full of sunshine that just about made Zeus’ heart ooze in a puddle out of his chest.

Her blue dress made her eyes look like two shimmering sapphires.

“Have I seen her in a dress that color?” Zeus inquired excitedly from behind the bushes.

“How can we know what you’ve seen?” Aidoneus muttered. “With you creeping around, you might have seen her naked for all we know.”

Zeus punched him in the arm, (lightly).

“I don’t think she’s worn a dress that color!” Posiedon bubbled.

“Thank you, Posiedon. At least someone can answer a question.”

“I think she looks like the sea on summer day.” He put his hands on his face, them sliding slowly.

Zeus eyed him. “Alright, keep it in your toga, Little Green Man.”

“Should we really be here?” Aidoneus muttered. “We weren’t invited.”

“Oh come on,” Zeus stood up, putting his hands on his hips. “Who wouldn’t want to see the King of the gods here?”

Poseidon grinned and stood up behind his brother. “No one!”

“Hestia, Demeter… assorted sane people.” Hades muttered as he stood to follow.

“If that’s sanity I’m glad I’m insane.” Zeus trilled as he strutted up to the entrance.

A cute pink nymph—(rather well endowed in the chestal region—not that he noticed!)—greeted them at the archway.

“Oh! Zeus!” She flushed and bowed. “It’s an honor. Welcome!”

“Why it’s an honor to meet you, my lady.” He kissed her hand, and she giggled. “See?” he turned to his brothers. “They’re delighted to have us.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling.” Hades muttered.

Hera was closer now; she smelled like summer, and she looked like it too. Poseidon was right about the ocean thing; she practically shimmered as she spoke with her friends.

“I’m gonna go talk to her.”

“Wait—!” Hades was soon swallowed by the crowd.

Zeus scooched behind her at lightning speed. One by one her friends began to take notice, their eyes widening.

Hera took a step back and would have tripped in surprise if he hadn’t caught her.

“Careful there, you might fall, Birthday Girl.”

“Oh, Zeus!” She looked up at him, the back of her head hitting his chest, “hi!”

That golden smile.

“I made you something!” As she spun to face him, he produced a little carving of a bird from his pocket. (And, no, he didn’t make it).

“Oh!” She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, gently taking it from him, “It’s beautiful!”

All his responsibilities and stresses melted away with the sight of that smile, and he forgot there was anyone else at the party…in the world.

(…He wished he saw that smile anymore.)

Zeus’ chair was spinning empty at his desk before his assistant could say another word—

And Olympus wept, distant peals of thunder rending the sky into pieces.

Lightning crackled and cackled through his hair, creating violet tracks through the air, as Zeus sped through the sky.

It was freezing, and people were staring, but he didn’t care.

All that mattered was getting to his wife.

“My you look stunning.” Zeus sidled up behind his wife, running his fingers gently along her arm. “Is that a new dress?”

“New as that girlfriend of yours.” Hera grunted.

His eyes widened with shock, his voice with an indignant undertone to it. “Is something wrong?”

She paused a moment. He could see words fluttering behind her lips—(like they did so often, too often)—the words Yes you did something wrong, how can you not know?

He knew she wouldn’t believe him when he said he didn’t mean to hurt her.

“You weren’t invited,” she said softly.

“Not invited? Me?” He put his hand to his chest, like the thought of him ever not being welcome to somewhere was absurd. “To what?”

“The party, you nitwit!” She whirled around, her hair nearly whipping him in the face. “You just came barging in like you owned the place!”

“Well…to be fair—”

He stopped short at the look in her eyes, like two blue-hot flames.

He knew it was taking her a great amount of effort not to slap him.

“Do you know how long I’d been preparing for that?! How long it took me to get everything just right? I told you, but you never even listened, did you? And then you just barged right in!”

“Why are you so upset? What’s so important about a party?!”

“They were my friends.” Her gaze softened, and her tone became more serious. “They were—” Until she cut herself off, and her expression hardened as she whirled around, her hair billowing behind her.

“Bunny, wait!” His tone was softer too.

He wished she’d just turn around. That he could say sorry.

Was it really so hard? He should have started there.

Had he ever apologized for that?

He was always doing that; barging in where he wasn’t welcome. The world was his, yes but…he had to concede there were some parts of it he ought not just barge in on.

When he burst into the hospital, however, they wouldn’t dare tell him he wasn’t invited, wouldn’t dare tell him he couldn’t see her.

“Where. is my. wife?” Lightning slammed into a lamppost just outside the front door, shattering its glass box, and making the light spark, the rain pounding at the window like rabid dogs.

The desk clerk looked like she was about to pee out of sheer fear.

“Sh-sh-she’s not out of surgery yet, your majesty...I understand you want to see her, but I can’t let you…until-until they’re finished.” She was practically vibrating. “I assure you the moment she gets out, we’ll notify you.”

Surgery? He wanted to demand. She’s the queen of the gods, how could she be in surgery?

Electricity sparked in his eyes, trailing throughout his hair. He could say I demand you let me see her. He could say I don’t care! She’s my wife, and I’m not waiting! She’s fine! She’s the queen—she’s my queen—she won’t be hurt from a little car accident!

But there were some places he ought not just barge in on… and the surgeons room was probably one of them.

The lightning let out a sighing crackle, before he closed his eyes, his hair falling back upon his shoulders. It was then that he noticed he was dripping wet from head to toe. He sighed himself before muttering something like a garbled “I understand, thank you.” And turning to sit in the lobby. Behind him the desk clerk’s coworker held her to keep her from fainting.

He snapped his fingers, drying off, so as not to get their nice, barf-colored carpet all wet. Once he sat down in a chair—(the cushions didn’t have any cush to them)—a kid in the chair across from him scooched away.

He could have that kid lightly charred if he wanted.

Instead he settled for a nice glare, and reached over to pick up last month’s—(or maybe it was a few months ago)—issue of  “Goddess weekly” listening to the rain die down to a drum.

The same old gossip. Usually if he picked one of these up he’d check for any news he ought to be aware of. You know, as the king. Not to mention the ladies weren’t unappealing. Now he flicked through without seeing any of it.

Speaking of ladies, there was a nymph sitting across the room from him, her skin blue, her ears down, and a cute little half smile. She surely wasn’t in here for anything serious. She kept glancing from her own magazine to him—but not in a nervous way. If he wasn’t mistaken, she wouldn’t be opposed to a session of hide-the-German-sausage.

If he wanted he could take her there in a darkened closet in the hallway. It wouldn’t take long—(if it didn’t need to…or it could take all night). That would be a nice way to relieve the stress bubbling in his body.

—Someone was laying next to him, her skin smooth, practically glowing. There was rather a lot of it exposed.

She turned over, her eyes fluttering open, a small smile creasing her features as she rolled onto his chest, tickling his chin with her fingers.

“I had a wonderful time,” she twittered, and he practically purred, staring into those big blue eyes, glittering like river stones.

He pushed her green hair behind her ear.

“Is that all? I’d like to think a night with the King of the gods would be more than merely ‘wonderful.’”

She giggled. “No no, it was much more than wonderful! It was spectacular! Mind-blowing!” She threw her arms in the air.

“That’s more like it.” He grinned—

When was that again? Two years ago, or two days ago?

It could have been either.

Had he apologized for that?

Would it have mattered if he had? Would she have forgiven him? Would he have stopped?—

Bile rose in his throat, and he dove his nose so hard into the magazine he almost smacked himself with it.

His wife was bruised and bleeding, and potentially worse in a nearby room, at the mercy of some quack holding a scalpel and a few comforting words…and here he was thinking of betraying her for the…

How many times had it been now?

He threw the magazine back on the table and sank in the chair till his head was nearly on the bottom cushion, his lip flapping his he blew out a breath, making his hair fly up a little.

The kid and his mom got called, and seemed glad of a reason to leave.

After a healthy dose of moping he pulled out his phone. After checking fatesbook and playing a few games he decided it was time to open his messages.

He didn’t want to be alone. He wanted some sensible and non-conjugal company.

He scrolled through and clicked on a name.

A number of old conversations sprinkled the page, often detailing Zeus asking about getting together and the correspondent saying they were busy.

He thought a moment about what to say—(a rare occurrence for him)—before deciding any vague requests would probably get ignored, so he simply decided the boldfaced truth:

Hera’s been in a car accident. She’s in surgery.

“WHAT?!” The word was spoken aloud—and very loudly at that.

Hades was standing in front of him. If the king being here wasn’t enough reason for weird looks, this outburst had sent more than a few eyes their way.

Zeus did a finger wave at the nymph, before he grabbed his brother’s arm, whisking him off to a less crowded hallway.

The only thing here was a vending machine, and a few overly picturesque pictures of trees.

“How did this happen?!”  Hades shout-whispered.

“I would venture to guess she was driving too fast.”

“I could have gathered that myself, thank you very much!” Hades was clearly trying not to shout. “What was she doing?! Where was she going?!”

Zeus rolled folded his arms. “Does it matter?”

“Sure it matters! Well at least it’d be good to know!”

“…I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?! What do you mean you don’t know?! She’s your wife—!”

“I said I don’t know!” he kicked the vending machine.

The air shattered and reformed itself.

Zeus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, his voice softening. “I…I don’t know.”

Two sides of him warred. One wanted to shout at Hades. He expected him to know where she was at all times? Oh yeah, that would go over well with her. What kind of helicopter husband would he be then?

And yet, it felt wrong for him not to know. Like some sort of failure. She was his wife. Shouldn’t he? Shouldn’t he have asked? Shouldn’t he care?

Hades’ gaze softened.

“I upset her.” Zeus murmured. “We got into a fight.”

Hades leaned against the wall. He was probably resisting the urge to say he could have gathered that too.

Zeus leaned his head forward onto the glass of the vending machine, his hair falling to the side, his reflection vaguely eyeing him.

“We got into a fight and she…I hadn’t even realized she went for a drive.” He paused, observing the chocolate and chips sitting in neat rows in the machine. “Do you think she liked Twyx?”

“Huh?”

“Do you think she liked Twyx?”

Hades pondered it a moment. “Probably. She tends to like things with caramel in them.”

Zeus smiled wryly. “See? I didn’t even know that.”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to ask her all your burning questions about her favorite candy flavors very soon.”

“That’s not the point.” Zeus whispered.

Zeus was feeling a little off-kilter.

He nearly fell into a three-thousand drachma vase.

Okay, make that a lot.

The sound of heels on the staircase. The white one they’d painted for that one event…what had they been celebrating again?

His hazy gaze made her glitter even more than usual.

“Have I ever told you that you’re like the sea on a summer’s day?” Zeus’ voice came out blurry. He put his hand in his hair, trying to look sexy, you know, like the kind of guy you’d wanna forgive.

This was met by her hair slapping him in the face as she walked by him. She paused a few steps below him, turning.

“Is that alcohol I smell on your breath?”

“I may have had one—“ He hiccuped, “or five, appletinis.”

“And this is what? An intelligent conversation you’re trying to have?” She folded her arms over her chest.

“Actually,” he held up a finger. The action made him feel off-balance so he leaned against the railing, trying to land in a sexy pose. “There is something I wanted to say.”

“You’re barely coherent when you’re sober, at least spare me until then.”

He rolled his eyes—(and made himself feel even dizzier).

She turned to go back up the stairs.

“Wait!” He shouted.

She stopped, looked over her shoulder, eyes narrow as a cat’s. “What?”

“I-hic!” He covered his mouth as if embarrassed. Clearly emotion was dangerous. “I wasn’t trying to get wasted! I just-hic!-needed more than three or four to say this.”

“Oh yeah? Spit it out Grape Sorbet.” She folded her arms over her chest.

“I’m…” he held on to the railing for support. “I’m sorry.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”

“You…You were right.” He took a step closer.

“About what?” Her breath bated.

“I just…I didn’t want to admit it. I couldn’t…” He looked away. “I couldn’t tell you sober.”

“About what?” The words had a rough edge to them, her chest heaving with breath.

Ah. She knew. She knew what he was going to say, even before he said it.

“I…I did cheat on you.”

“Wh-What?” Her eyes tinted red…but there was so much hurt in the word.

Fear and shame rose in tandem like ocean waves, threatening to bowl him over, and he realized that the truth wasn’t going to help at all. But all he could do was let it pour out of him.

“You-hic-You asked if I was with-hic—”

“Stop.” She covered her mouth as if to keep the worst words from spilling out, tears welling in her eyes.

“But I—”

“I said stop!” Her voice rang through the room like something shattering.

Maybe something was.

Her heels against the stairs, fast and sharp, and away.

“Wait!”

Turn around please, let me apologize, let me explain, I won’t do it again.

He threw up in the vase.

“Daddy? What was that all about?” The small voice made his blood run cold. “What did you cheat at? Were you playing a game?”

Zeus turned, horrified, to see Ares, hiding behind a crack in the door.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at her.” He breathed. “It was stupid, really.”

Hades put a dollar in the vending machine and punched in a number.

“People say all kinds of things when they’re angry. Doesn’t mean you’re bad, just means you’re people. Which…” Hades looked him up and down, adding under his breath, “I wonder about sometimes.”

“...You must think I’m a terrible husband.”

Hades grabbed two chocolate bars and handed one to his brother.

“I think you need something sweet, maybe a little hydration, and some rest.”

Zeus unwrapped the bar and took a bite, not really tasting anything.

After a moment Hades sighed.

“It’s not so simple as that.” Hades said between bites, “I don’t necessarily think there’s such a thing as a ‘terrible husband’ or ‘the best husband.’ I…I don’t even think there’s such a thing as good and bad people. There’s just…people. There’s just husbands. But there are rules that come with being a person, and/or being a husband and…” he paused, trying to choose his words carefully, “you don’t always follow those rules.”

Zeus fell back against the wall, looking at the floor, denials dying in his throat.

It was raining.

No, actually it was pouring. And thundering. The lightning was like cracks in a collapsing sky, and Zeus’s gut was twisting like the snakes on the head of a gorgon.

“What? You-you think you can just undo this?!” Hera’s words were biting. “It’s done!” Her laugh was wry and sardonic, like an ache in her throat, red tainting the blue of her eyes. “You can’t just fix something like that! Once someone cheats at the game no one else just keeps playing!”

“It was a mistake! One stupid night!”

“One stupid night, huh?! Then how do you explain this?!” She held up his phone. The pictures. The…Oh Gaia.

The snakes in his gut bit down, and he bit his lip looking away. He hadn’t known she knew about that.

“You’ve got it all wrong! That was just—!”

“I thought you were different!” She bit off his excuse, the anger cracked, and the pain was bleeding through, and he wasn’t the only one making it rain: A tear fell down her face, then another, her mascara running black along her cheeks. “You made me smile, you made me laugh! You saved your brothers from your father. And I thought we could make a kingdom—a world—together!” She shook her head, grimacing, trying and failing to keep more tears from falling. “I thought we could be something!”

“We are! We have! I just made a mistake! I—!”

“No, Zeus.” There was a finality to her tone.

Tears streamed down her face now. He hated it when she cried. She didn’t do it often, and whenever she did he was ready to smite whoever hurt her but…he’d hurt her worst of all.

“I thought you were different. But you’re—“ the words were like an antique vase, riddled with cracks. “You’re just another bad guy.” She punched him in the arm, and the vase broke, the defiance into pain. She punched him in the arm…but it was weak and far too soft, and that’s how he knew she was really hurt; she could bring the sky down on him if she wanted.

She looked down at her hand, twisting her wedding ring with a finger.

“I’m staying with a friend tonight.”

Her wedding ring tinkled on the floor.

As she turned and walked away the word rang out like he was hoping his voice alone could rewrite his sins and bring her back:

“Wait!”

She didn’t stop, didn’t turn, didn’t make any indication she’d even heard him.

“Please…Please just wait.” These were soft.

He fell to his knees on the marble, scooping up her wedding ring and enclosing it in his fingers, holding it to his forehead, and trying not to bring the sky down upon himself.

He’d seen her angry. He’d seen her sad. But this? Seeing her break for him…was so much worse.

It reminded him too much of another time. Of a scar on her stomach. How she broke herself just to be his.

—(And he wondered, for a fleeting moment, if it would have been better if he had been the one to break.)—

“There you are!” Said a voice. “You can come see her now,”—a cleared throat— “your Majesty.”

*

Notes: Aright, so this chapter had a few things I was unsure about I thought I’d ask about here!

1. Does anyone have any other clever play-on-words for candy brands? I feel like Zeus would know that she likes caramel in general, so it’d make more sense if Hades said “she likes [X similar candy] so she’d probably like Twyx.” But Twyx is all my brain came up with and I don’t even know that it’s all that good XD

2. I’m aware that the gods don’t call each other “people” they call each other “beings.” However, Hades’ lines don’t have as much impact with “beings.” Did the fact that I used “people” stick out too much? Should I change it to “beings”?

3. I know Ancient Greek wedding ceremonies are different from ours, and they might not even have wedding rings. But that image was so impactful for me I decided to use it. Should I remove it? Or did you find it impactful?

Please let me know if there’s anything you felt was inaccurate to their characters!!

Thanks so much for reading!! 💕💕

[thebigqueer]

A while back you mentioned something about the Apollo kids parents meeting up every one in a while and Apollo running into them during one of those times. Do you think you could write a lil fic about that?

ahhh yes that’s one of my favorite headcanons!!

thanks for the prompt, and i hope you like this! and, as always: i do little to no editing on these fic prompts, so don’t be too judgmental as you read through them. they’re definitely not my best work but i just can’t ever be bothered to look back aslkdjslfkd

this will be in first person because idk i really loved apollo’s pov in first person so i hope i do his character justice lmaoo

also as i was writing this i’m not gonna lie i felt really bad for apollo all he wanted was to have some time with his children 😭

also!!! we are!!! so starved!!! for dad!apollo moments!!!! bro can we just!!! see more dad!apollo moments!!!! come ON rick!!!! i didn’t realize how much i wanted them until i wrote this halskjfaslkjf 

I will say, I wasn’t quite sure what to be expecting when I came down to the mortal world today. It definitely was not to find out all of my exes regroup annually to mock me. 

Since becoming a god again, I’ve made it a personal promise to come down every once in a while. I’ve grown quite attached to these mortals, especially to my demigod children. After all, my own descendants are the best of all living beings; it’s only fair that I come and talk to them every once in a while. And, believe it or not, being around mortals helps me, too. It makes me find comfort in a world where lives may be short but lives are lived; as a god, I only ever exist. 

When I was human, though, I truly lived. It was exhilarating. Now that I am a deity again, there’s a hollowness that resides in me.

Sometimes coming down to this mortal world helps me simulate that experience of being human again. It helps me feel less lonely up in my world of immortality and timelessness. 

The sun blazes overhead as I traipse along to my cabin after just meeting with Dionysus. The insufferable bastard beat me once again at pinochle and would not stop gloating, so I decided to storm away from the wine god before he could start beating my ass in Uno.

However, as I approach my cabin, my rage ebbs away. My demigod children stand around the entrance, talking in hushed voices, and my heart bursts with warmth. It has only been a few weeks since I’ve last seen them, but each time I do, I feel only a flush of pride looking at them.

“My children!” I exclaim. “I’m here once again!” 

They all jump as if I’ve scared them. For a moment, no one says anything. Then they break apart and each of them offer me a shaky smile of their own. 

“Hey, Dad,” Will says, his voice a bit higher than I remember.

I step forward, happiness flooding over me. It hasn’t been too long since I’ve seen them but it certainly feels like it’s been millennia. “How are you all?”

Kayla pushes a pack over her shoulder. “We’re... good. How are you?”

Her words carry a bit of hesitation as if she’s nervous. Suspicion crawls over me. I cross my arms and respond, “I’m good too. Why do you have that bag over your shoulder?”

Austin, Will, and Kayla all turn to each other, sharing a look of panic. A shiver runs through me as I realize they’re up to something. I smile. “Ohhh, are you planning something? A prank, perhaps?” I rub my hands in anticipation. “Can I get in on it?”

Austin raises a hand and scratches his head. “Um, not quite. We’re actually... going somewhere.” 

Panic seizes my heart and I rush forward. “Going somewhere? Where? Like, a quest?” I reach out to my children and hug them, feeling each of their bodies in my arms. “Why did no one tell me? Oh, gods, what if I never see you again?” Tears well up in my throat. I’ve only just come down to the mortal world, and they’re already leaving for doom?

“No, no, no!” Kayla exclaims, pushing against my arms. “Not like that, Dad! Not a quest. We’re just going out to the city. No need to worry.” 

Relief washes over me and I laugh, taking my arms away from them. “Oh, that’s great! Are you going somewhere fun? Can I come?”

Before any of them can answer, a familiar demigod steps out of the Apollo cabin. They step towards Will and hand him a pack of ambrosia. It takes me for a moment to remember that it’s Nico di Angelo. He opens his mouth to speak to Will, then stops when they notice me. “Oh no,” they mutter. 

“What do you mean, oh no?” I ask, the claws of suspicion creeping over my skin once more. “What are you three up to? Is Nico coming with you?”

Nico whispers to the three, “You haven’t told him?”

“Not a good time,” Kayla hisses.

“Well, I guess now is a better time than never,” Nico says. They turn to me and state blatantly, “They’re going to meet their parents in New York City.” 

Kayla and Austin smack their faces and Will sighs. “You could have let us say it,” the blond mutters.

“Better to know from a child that isn’t his,” the child of Hades reasons, shrugging.

I blank. I was not quite expecting that response, and definitely not so casually. I stare at the four demigods quizzically. “Oh? I suppose that’s fair. But all three of you? All your parents know each other?”

“Um, well... they’re kind of friends,” Austin admits. “They... communicate often.”

A wave of humility washes over me. I will admit, it’s a little bit embarrassing knowing that the three people you’ve had children with all know each other and actively communicate. I would have suspected they’d feel a bit awkward with each other, but I didn’t quite expect they would be actual friends.

I tip my head in a sad nod. “I see. Well, I hope all three of you have fun today!” I’m trying not to sound too upset, but it’s a little bit hard when you’ve come down to the mortal world just to find out your children are going to be going into the city far away from you.

“Hey, Dad, we can hang out later!” Will suggests, a kind smile balancing over his lips. But he’s only saying that out of pity. He feels bad for me. This makes me crawl in further into myself.

“Yes, that sound alright,” I promise, feigning a smile. "But, really, don’t feel bad.” My shoulders rise and fall in a shrug. “The last time I met your parents their careers were becoming quite busy. I suppose you don’t see them as often as you’d like, is that correct? And at this point, you’ve been seeing me even more often than your own mortal parents. It’s only fair that you have some private time with them.”

A tense silence tightens the air around us. Austin shifts on his feet. After a moment, Kayla says, “Well, we better go. We’ll see you later, though!”

A cold fist seizes my heart.

Will winces. He reaches over and squeezes my shoulder. “We’re sorry to leave you like this, but we didn’t expect you to come by today. We can definitely do something later, though. The three of us will be back by six. Nico’s going to do ghost stories tonight, too, so maybe you’ll want to hear those.”

I wave my hand dismissively and try on a smile that doesn’t quite fit right. “No, really, don’t feel too bad. I’ll come by later and we can do a movie night together after Nico’s ghost stories. I’ll see you later! And have fun!”

They all glance at each other hesitantly, then seem to come to a collective agreement. “Thanks, Dad,” Austin says, pulling me in for a hug. The other two do the same, then all three demigods wander out into the sun, aiming for the exit out of camp.

Nico stares at me, eyebrows raised. “So, what are you going to do now?” Picking at their jeans, they add, “You’re Apollo, so I’m expecting that you will be doing something stupid.”

I frown. “Those are brave words for a demigod to say to a powerful deity.”

“You’re too mushy at this point to pulverize me. They’ve made you soft.” He means it as an insult but their eyes glimmer. A smile laces his mouth.

I offer them a smile back. “Well, I suppose you are correct. I shall see you for your god-tier ghost stories.” 

Nico shakes his head and turns to leave. “Please never reference modern things ever again.”

~

A little bit later, I’m balancing on a chair at a pizza shop in New York City. I’ve chosen the disguise of a businessman, mostly copying the image of a fairly attractive man I met on the way. Perhaps I will go and look for him after I’m done stalking my children. 

The scent of pizzas swirl around me, contaminating my nose. The excited chatter of families and friends surround me. Some afternoon sun pours in through the open windows, offering the entire pizza place a relaxed look.

Somewhere to my left, a large group eats and talks, laughter echoing from their table. All my children are sitting to one side of the booth, while the adults loom over them on the other. Will’s bright blond hair gleams blindingly as the sun washes over his locks. 

I wasn’t quite sure of what I was expecting from all three of my exes. Perhaps more gray hair, some wrinkles over their faces. No doubt all three of them have those, but they each look at peace, happy with life. There’s a brightness in their eyes as they gaze at their children. 

I understand that look. I feel the same pride when I see all three of them. 

Envy roils inside me. I’m not sure why, considering that I see the three demigods more often than they see their own mortal parents. Perhaps I’m just nervous that they adore their mortal parents more than they care for me. 

But I wouldn’t blame them if they did either. I’ve spent too long only caring about myself. A coil of embarrassment wraps around me.

But I’m changing that now, aren’t I? I wasn’t the best parent, but I can only hope my children are seeing that I’m here for them. I only want what’s best for them.

Another burst of laughter erupts from the booth, and I turn my head, straining my ears to listen. Naomi’s silky voice echoes over them: “...and just as he got up he tripped over himself and fell on the ground. Honestly, I have no idea how he could have been a god, but he sure was dumb.” Naomi sighs. “Maybe that’s why I thought he was so adorable. People just constantly try to impress me. He did, too, but at least he was failing. He may have been a god, but he seemed almost human the night I met him.”

With a shiver, I realize that she’s discussing the moment she met me. Red hot embarrassment spreads over my face. Gods of Olympus, that was a terrible evening for me. I was just so awestruck by her performance. She literally made me come down just to see her perform. I could barely contain my excitement when the show was over!

Will’s sunny voice stands out, amusement lacing his voice. “Speaking of dating, tell us about your new girlfriend. I don’t remember you telling me about her too much at our last Iris message.” 

My eyes widen. Girlfriend? I wasn’t aware Naomi was queer! A pang of guilt stabs me in the heart. What else don’t I know about my loved ones? I know I haven’t quite kept up with her, but shouldn’t I at least know this about her? 

Shouldn’t I know anything about the three of my exes?

The chatter continues for a bit longer. The adults discuss some more dating history, especially surrounding their humiliating encounters with me. I cower behind my newspaper, feeling only the heat of embarrassment under my skin. Why must I be such an idiot?

Perhaps this is why my children don’t seem to like to me too much. Because I only ever do things to embarrass them. Maybe I’m just a loser of a father.

As I wallow in my own pity, the conversation turns another direction. My ears strain a little more. This time Latricia is speaking, a whisper of nostalgia brushing through her words: “He sure was something. But I think that we can all agree on something: I’m glad he came into my life. Without him...” Her lips quirk into a smile and she brushes her fingers over Austin’s. “Well, without him, I don’t think we’d have each of you. He really brought light into our lives.” She sighs. “He may not have stuck along too much, but you three make it sound like he’s getting better. I’m just glad that... that you’re getting to talk with him again. It seems like he really is starting to care about his children.” Latricia’s eyes rove over all three children, eyes glimmering with satisfaction. “I’m glad he’s seeing you three in the same light as we do.”

My ears turn hot and a red blush coats my cheeks. She’s right; I do appreciate them. Without my children, I don’t know how I could have managed to get through everything I did. Even now, after all that’s happened, it feels as though I have nothing better to look forward to than knowing how amazing they are. Tears stab my eyes. 

And I almost jump out of my seat when someone calls, “You can stop hiding behind that newspaper, Apollo. We know it’s you.”

The voice surprises me so much I pop right back into my typical godly form, chiton and all. I’m already so embarrassed that I barely even realize that I’m half naked in public now. Grimacing, I stand and offer an awkward wave. “Ah, hello.”

Darren Knowles smiles at me, a knowing sparkle in his eyes. “You thought you were being stealthy, didn’t you?”

It’s been a while since I’ve really seen Darren, and the years have certainly aged him. Yet there’s still a flutter in my chest as I look at him. He doesn’t look so bad; he’s probably in his thirties or forties. I smile. “Well, I thought my godly powers would help disguise me.”

“Not as well as you thought,” Latricia remarks, smirking at me.

“How long have you known I was here?”

This time, Kayla speaks up. “Dad, we literally knew you were here the moment you got here.”

I blink. “And you didn’t call me out?”

Will shakes his head. “We wanted to see what you’d do. Gotta say, I’m surprised you didn’t do anything too spontaneous. Good job.” 

He’s teasing me, but even then I feel a brush of humility come over me. “Well, I have to say that I didn’t quite know you three only come together to make fun of me.”

Naomi waves her hand in a dismissive manner. “Only to make sure our children know how lucky we are to have them.” Her eyes rove over me, almost as if judging how much I’ve changed. “I haven’t seen you in a while," she notes.

The three adults share a look, carrying a silent conversation with each other. Will, Austin, and Kayla watch me as if they expected me to do exactly this. Austin laughs. “You really don’t take no for an answer, do you?”

I shrug. “I just... I don’t know. I know I already see you three often enough, but I suppose I just wanted to see how things were going. Especially with your parents.” I glance at them, my cheeks blooming red. “I haven’t exactly been the best parent in the past. I just want to apologize. And let you know that your children... Well, they���re some of the most extraordinary people I’ve ever met. You’ve raised them better than I could ever have.”

Silence lingers in the air, waiting for someone to make the next move. Then Darren gestures to the food before them. “Why don’t you sit? I suppose we’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

[descendantofthesparrow]

Shuffle Playlist - Rewrite - Part of Your World - Harry Hook x Reader - part 12 - Its goin’ Down

=

“Don’t-ow! Don’t bite me!” Mal huffed, wrangling the mini dragon form of her mother and placing her back into the pencil case she had brought her in, placing the top back on and securing it with tape, making sure her mother wouldn’t accidentally, or purposely, be knocked out of the case and be let loose. Her mother hissed at her from inside the box and Mal hissed back, smirking at the sudden stop of noise. “Now would you rather scrounge for bugs and water? Or be pampered in your nicely decorated tank back in the dorms?” when no other hiss came from the box Mal nodded in satisfaction. “That’s what I thought.”

She turned to Evie, who nodded and grabbed Mal's backpack filled with the glove smoke bombs “Ready?” Mal asked, walking over to Evie and making sure they had everything before they left the hideout for the last time.

“Ready.” Mal took a deep breath to calm her nerves, there were so many things to be stressed over. Harry, the boys making it back in time, what if Uma figured out the wand was fake before they got Ben back, would they get out of the wharf in time before Uma discovered the wand was fake? So many worries, no time to worry about them “Let's go” Mal nodded and quickly followed after Evie out of the hideout and down the stairs, holding her mother close to her chest.

God, she really hoped that everything would go according to plan.

-

Ben shifted his sleeping leg a bit, trying to get rid of the static feeling that was buzzing through it. But he couldn’t move much thanks to the rope that secured him to the mast. He glanced at Uma who stood to his right, overlooking the docks waiting for Mal and the others.

Suddenly a hand slammed up next to his head, the chitter of a monkey following it. Davy stepped around the mast, getting into Ben's face as he gave a crooked grin. ‘I wonder if Harry would be the one to do this if (y/n) had never convinced me to invite him too’ Ben thought, slightly wishing Harry was still on the isle, if only because he’d rather have Harry get into his face than this fucker.

“So, what's the use of being king if you’re like this now huh?” Davy teased, Jack the monkey screeching on his shoulder as he patted Ben’s shoulder and moved around the mast. Ben rolled his eyes and looked forward, doing his best to ignore the annoying pirate.

He appeared on Bens other side and started to speak, but stopped as Uma walked up and smacked his shoulder, sitting in front of Ben “Leave it Davy, we don’t want damaged goods” Davy glared at Uma for a split second before resting on the rails of the ship behind him, crossing his arms impatiently.

“you better hope your girlfriend comes through” Uma droned, narrowing her eyes at ben.

Ben's eyes stung for a moment and he looked away “She's not my girlfriend anymore” he muttered, his brow twitching as Davy and Jack started to laugh. Uma glared at the two and nodded her head towards the rest of her crew.

“Leave us alone Davy” the first mate glared at his captain and grabbed at Ben, harshly bunching up his jacket before walking towards the crew, muttering curses to himself.

Ben looked back at Uma, watching her as she leaned on her legs and glared up at him “I get-I get that you don’t deserve this” Ben tried, frowning a bit as Uma laughed and leaned back on her hands.

“this…” she glared back up at him, a snarl on her lips “this isle is a prison thanks to your father!” Ben swallowed hard, remembering (y/n) and Harry’s insistence on getting more isle kids off the isle. “And don’t pretend to look out for me.” Uma’s eyes glazed over, and she pushed her hair back. Ben's eyes being drawn to the black and red bead bracelet with a simple hook charm hanging from it “Because no one’s looking out for me… it's just me.”

Ben furrowed his brows, no one? Then what about Harry and Gil’s constant babble about the girl in front of him? Were they nobody now? “so, this isn't your mother's plan?” Uma scoffed and rolled her eyes “Isn't that her necklace?”

Uma gave a sarcastic smile to Ben “My mom doesn’t care about me either” she glanced off “well, not unless you need someone for the night shift”

“ouch,” Ben winced, once again remembering (y/n)’s speech about how the villains definitely didn’t treat their kids as they should. Uma glared up at him.

“I don’t need your pity” she snapped, gritting her teeth.

Ben shook his head “no, you certainly don’t. you’re very resourceful.” he muttered softly, once more looking around him at the ship and docks, he looked back at Uma, whose eyes had slightly softened and a smile played on the edge of her lips “I don’t see you tied up.”

Uma laughed, staring at Ben In slight awe as she expected the king to be snooty and attempt to trash talk her, but he was only kind. “alright, so let’s trash talk Mal” Uma tried, her brow raising as Ben shook his head slightly and looked into her eyes.

“I’d rather talk about you” he pushed, hope growing in his chest as Uma laughed again and took a step back.

“mmm, funny, and a gentleman. I really hope I don’t have to feed you to the fishes.”  Ben tried to follow her as she turned and hiked her boot up onto the raised platform. But was stopped by the rope.

“you don’t!” he pleaded “set me free and we’ll go back together!” Uma stopped, turning back to him with wide eyes.

“oh, so now I get an invite” her smirk dropped, rage setting into her eyes again “gee I wonder why” Ben swallowed, man he really didn’t know how to talk to someone like Uma, who knew what she wanted and had no hesitation.  She smacked her hand next to his head, once more glaring at him. “when you brought Mal, Evie, Carlos, Jay…Harry and Gil” she stopped for a moment, her eyes glazing over again at the thought of her “boys” “to Auradon…that was the maddest I’ve ever been…and believe me, I've been plenty mad” she patted his cheek and turned again, messing with her shell necklace.

“I never thought…no-that sounds-“ he racked his brain for something to say, hell maybe something (y/n) would say! (y/n) somehow always knew what to say, and either calm a dangerous situation, or end it then and there with just her words. “I’m sorry, that it's been so long” Uma glanced back at him in slight confusion at his words.

“the plan was to start with four, then it became six so we could get more kids off in each group. But I got so busy being king, that sounds lame, and the council hasn’t budged on the vote to continue the program…I’m so sorry Uma…you were supposed to be the first of the next group to come…but I've been foolish and let it all slip my mind” He stared at Uma with a pleading look “But help me fix my mistakes, set me free, and you can come with us to Auradon. You’re a leader Uma, so am I, you know what's best for the kids still here and how to help the isle…come to Auradon and be part of the solution” when Uma just continued to stare at him, Ben tried another tactic. “Harry and Gil-” at the mention of her “friends” Uma’s eyes flashed. But Ben paid no heed. “-have been telling me for months to get you off, but-this is going to sound really bad-but I stupidly ignored them…I’m sorry” When Ben finally looked at Uma properly, he froze, the softness that was once there was gone, only rage to be seen.

“You ain't a good liar beasty boy, if they really had been talking about me all this time, I would have been off this rock months ago, I know a trick when I see one.” She grabbed his shirt and growled in his face “Don’t you ever, try to use them against me ever again…as I said to Malsy, they.are.dead.to.me.” Ben’s eyes widened in disbelief…that wasn’t what he was expecting.

Uma released his shirt and called Davy over, picking up her shell necklace and giving Ben a sharp grin “Let's see what this puppy can do eh?”

-

Mal tapped her thumb anxiously on the temp mini dragon carrier as the limo finally pulled up next to the tunnel connected to Uma’s ship less than a minute to noon. Lonnie hopped out of the front seat, slightly surprising Mal and Evie before they remembered (y/n) had said to let her come along as an extra hand.

“Lonnie!” Mal gasped in relief, holding out her free hand for a hug as Lonnie jogged over to her.

“(y/n) apparently said to bring me; so here I am!” Lonnie nervously chuckled, wrapping her arms around Mal for a split second before pulling back.

“Thank Hades she did.” Mal sighed, biting her lip as Jay and Carlos rounded the back of the limo and pulled out a carrier full of R.O.A.R swords.

“Welcome to the isle, it’s good to see you” Evie gave a quick hug to Lonnie before turning to the boys, watching as Dude trotted behind Carlos who handed the wand to Mal as she made grabby hands at it.

“Oh! Lemme see!” she turned it over in her hands, wincing slightly at the thin line in the side of the wand, a telltale sign of 3d printing “Good job, let’s hope she doesn’t figure out it’s a fake before we have Ben.” she handed back to Carlos who pulled out his phone and showed the time.

“It's noon” Jay muttered, nodding as Mal looked around at them.

“Okay, we ready?” Evie lifted Mal's bag filled with the smoke bombs and nodded. “Let's do this” she turned to walk through the tunnel, stopping as Evie gave her a look and pointed at her chest. Mal looked down and scoffed at herself as the pencil case holding her mother was still in a death grip.

She turned and ran to the limo, pulling open the door, setting her mother on the back dash, and muttering to her; “Stay” she slammed the door closed and walked back to the tunnel “Now; let's do this”

Mal was the first to step through the tunnel, scrunching her nose a bit as the smell of rotten fish and wood flooded her senses. She didn’t miss that smell that was for sure.

Carlos hid the fake wand in his jacket and picked Dude up, whispering the plan to him “Don’t talk until Mal tells you too, okay?”

“Got it” Dude whispered back, lifting a paw and batting at Carlos’ hand in comfort, Carlos smiled and rubbed Dude’s head, following his friends through the tunnel and walking onto the docks.

A whistle came from the high point of the ship, a shorter male with dark hair grinning down at them “Captain! They’re here!!!”

Mal watched as Davy shoved Ben across the deck, a maniac grin on his face as he grabbed Ben’s arms and twisted them up, Ben slightly yelping at the pain that flashed up his arms. “Welcome!” he yelled, his smile twitching down as Uma took front and center with a wide grin.

“Finally!!!” she cackled, shimmying her body a bit as Mal walked up in front of the gangplank leading to the ship. Carlos quickly set Dude down a bit of ways away from the main area of the docks, putting his finger to his lips for a split moment before walking behind Mal on the main docks in front of the ship.

(I ain’t writing its goin’ down so just watch the music vid and either take Harrys rap out or give it to Uma…oh and mentally remove Harry n Gil from the music vid T_T)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvZt2n9PL80

Uma flipped her blade in her hands, watching as Mal held up the wand and started walking towards her, her green eyes flickering between Uma and Ben. “Hold up” Uma hummed, holding her hand up and shaking her head “mmm. Too easy” Mal stared at her in slight shock. “why don’t you take it for a test drive” Mal glanced back at her friends for a moment before realizing this was exactly why (y/n) had said to bring Dude along. “We wanna see it work!” the pirates behind Uma cackled and taunted, yelling out for a show.

Mal shrugged in agreement “Smart” Uma blinked at that, Mal had never called her smart. Mal turned to Dude and lifted the wand, taking a deep breath, and quickly coming up with a spell on the fly “Although it seems absurd/turn your bark into a word” she willed her eyes to glow to sell the effect and waved the wand, forcing herself not to wince as the headache returned.

Dude just stared at her for a moment, the pirates getting antsy the longer he stayed silent. Mal rolled her eyes, turned to Uma with a weary smirk, and barked out; “Talk. Dog”

“Treat first, Tricks later” Mal closed her eyes in relief as the pirates burst out into laughter. “Yo dudes anyone got some bacon…cookies?...Come on I’m starving here!”

“He acts like I don’t feed him.” Carlos huffed at Dude, shushing him with a wave of his hand. Uma laughed and licked her lips, holding out her hand to Mal.

“Give me the wand!” Mal furrowed her brows and gestured to Ben.

“Give me Ben!” the two girls stared at each other for a few moments before Uma broke her gaze and looked to Davy who was holding Ben close to the edge of the plank and nearly hanging him over the water.

“Davy, bring him over” Davy growled a bit and pulled Ben back, reluctantly shoving Ben over to Uma. A cruel smirk slowly grew on his face as he thought he could take the wand after Uma used it to break the barrier and use it against her. He wiped the smirk off his face as Bonnie gave him an odd look and shoved ben to his knees next to Uma.

Mal gasped slightly at the rough treatment of Ben, her eye twitching a bit as Uma pouted at her and held out her hand for the wand, Mal holding out her hand for Ben in turn. “Cut him loose Davy” Uma hummed, keeping her eyes on Mal and not seeing the sneer that Davy gave her.

Mal noticed and furrowed her brows, throughout the standoff Davy had been constantly looking from Uma to the wand, and glaring as if he was planning something.

Too bad. If he was planning to overthrow Uma, he’d be out of luck.

Davy cut Ben loose and Ben grabbed Mal's hand, stopping himself from getting up as Uma clamped her hand onto his arm. Uma held out her hand for the wand again and Mal passed it to her, pulling up Ben as soon as Uma released him and pushed him back towards the tunnel. “Ben” Mal hissed through her teeth, trying to push back a hesitate Ben back “Ben go now”

Uma turned back to her celebrating crew and gathered them around her, holding the wand up to the sky “Okay okay okay!” Mal glanced back, clicking her tongue as she watched Davy continue to watch the wand like a hawk. Mal pushed back Ben again, trying to convey that there was nothing to worry about since the wand was fake without notifying Uma, but he refused to move. “By the power of the sea/Tear it down and set us free!”

After a few moments of tense silence, Uma looked back down at the wand, her breath becoming quick and patchy “NO!” she snapped the wand on her knee, Mal finally being able to push Ben back as he realized the wand was fake “YOU DO NOT GET TO WIN EVERY TIME!” Uma screamed, gritting her teeth in anger as Jay dumped over a barrel and tossed the R.O.A.R fencing swords to his friends. “GET THEM!”

The pirates on the main deck flinched back as a cloud of blue smoke suddenly appeared and blinded them. Another red and orange cloud of smoke bursting out on the platforms above the deck to distract the pirates there.

Evie grabbed an extra sword and called out to Ben, tossing the sword to him. He swiftly caught it and turned back to the pirates, squaring his shoulders and getting ready for a fight “Where’s (y/n), Harry, and Gil?!” Ben yelled, looking back over his shoulder.

Evie shrugged and started running up the docks “I have no clue but I hope they get here soon!”

Mal stood at the front end of the gangplank, watching as Uma rubbed the smoke from her eyes and glared at her, yelling out for her crew to attack. “GO!”  Mal glanced up and grit her teeth as the pirates above the deck swung down to the docks and landed in front of her friends, drawing their swords and swinging at them.

“Where’s (y/n) when you need her” Mal huffed, gripping onto the sword and hoping she retained enough from 6 months ago from when she last used a sword. She stepped to the side as Uma’s pirates ran at her, swinging their swords widely in the air in hopes of nicking her.

Mal mentally cursed herself as her ankle wobbled a bit, why the fuck did she wear these clunky ass heels? They were no good for sword fighting. Mal ducked and dodged the pirates, blocking one's swing and using the pirate's balance against him, and sending him into the raging waters below.

Everything happened in an instant.

Behind her, Evie ducked under a sword and blocked several stabs and swings, grunting as the blades clashed together in a fierce dance.

Lonnie jumped down from one of the higher platforms and smacked her sword against a blonde pirate’s as he tried to help his fellow crew member back onto the docks.

Ben twisted around and pushed Gabe to the floor, laughing as adrenaline pumped through his body.

Mal twisted around the last pirate and turned, moving her arm behind her for balance as Uma stepped forward and drew her sword, flipping it in her hand as Mal taunted her by making a ‘come at me’ motion.

Carlos blocked and parried Drey’s quick attacks, keeping his ears open to be ready to jump in to help his friends at any moment.

Davy hopped up to the highest part of the docks, smirking at Jay as he stepped in front of him. He grabbed Jack by his front paws and set him on the rails, tapping at the monkeys back to get him moving “Hello traitor~” Davy purred, drawing his sword and instantly rushing at Jay, swinging down his blade at Jay’s head only for it to be stopped by Jay lifting his sword and easily blocking Davy's attack.

Uma swung her sword at Mal's torso, Mal quickly moving her blade in the way of the swing and pushing Uma’s back towards her. ‘Thank fuck for muscle memory’ Mal thought in relief, knowing that if she hadn’t retained it Uma would have definitely defeated her in seconds flat. But Uma was still an excellent fighter, and she was gaining the upper hand fast, if Mal didn’t do something now she would lose. The quick clash of swords rang in Mal’s ears as at one point they hit so hard her entire arm quivered from the intensity.

Mal tried to do what she had seen Harry and (y/n) do multiple times against each other and slip her blade between the hilt and pommel of Uma’s sword to disarm her, but she had made it too obvious and Uma easily batted away and swung at her leg’s. Mal jumped back with a yelp and hurried to block another swing before it connected with her neck.

Jay parried another swing from Davy and spun around him, kicking out the back of Davy's legs and pushing him to the ground. Davy let out a snarl and jumped back up, swinging his sword wildly through the air.

Gabe yelled as he swung down from the high platforms of the ship and landed in front of Ben, grinning as he drew his sword “What's up Ben?!”

Ben shrugged and flipped his sword “Oh nothing much just kicking pirate butt” Gabe laughed and swung, a quick flurry of blocks and parries being dished out from both sides.

Uma swung wildly at Mal, gasping a bit in surprise as Mal stepped out of the way from a stab and grabbed Uma’s arm, throwing Uma behind her and spinning around to face her again, swords clashing once more. Mal yelped in pain as Uma hit her sword down and slashed her blade across her cheek. Mal winched and closed her left eye, already feeling heat gather around the new cut and blood drip down her face.

Evie lifted her sword above her head as the pirate swung down at her, she pushed her arms up and forced his blade away, making him stumble back. she moved to the side and slammed her foot into his, the pirate yelped and let go of his sword, hopping on one foot as he grabbed his stomped one. Evie grinned and pushed him over, spinning around to face Jonas who gave a war cry as he attempted to scare her. She just raised her brow and swung at him, thankful that (y/n) had made her learn to swordfight during the last couple of months, without it she would be dead weight for the fight.

The pirate Lonnie was fighting finally let go of his crewmate to fight her head-on, he swung at her and “cornered” her against the dock post. Lonnie quickly disarmed him, but being slightly bored, she tossed her sword up and held it by the blade, pointing the handle at the pirate who gave her a confused look “Here! Take mine.” when he looked at her for confirmation and she nodded, he grinned and gladly took the blade.

He swung once, twice, three times, and by the fourth Lonnie lifted herself up on the railings and kicked him hard in the head. The pirate tumbled to the ground and went limp. Lonnie let out a small bout of laughter and picked up her sword again, running up the docks to fight some more pirates.

“Duuuude” Dude laughed, watching the battle with wide eyes “If only I had opposable thumbs” he stood on his paws and ran down the tunnel as Carlos looked at him and nodded his head at it “I never get to have any fun”

Uma spun low to the ground, trying to swipe at Mal's legs, her grin turned sour as Mal blocked the swing and grabbed her arms, pulling her close and smiling down at her “Is it just me, or are you kinda having fun too?” Mal laughed, squeaking a bit as Uma growled and shoved her away towards the docks. Mal slowly backed up and was soon off the gangplank as she continued to clash swords with Uma.

Jay blocked an elbow punched from Davy and grabbed his arm, locking it to his chest and throwing Davy to the floor again.

Evie smirked as Jonas backed up for a moment, she brought her left hand up behind her and pointed her toe “Let’s dance~” Jonas swung first and Evie quickly parried, they two hitting their swords against the others quickly. Jonas swung at Evie's feet but she jumped back and trapped his blade between hers and her boot.

Gabe was somehow able to get the upper hand against Ben and pushed him to the floor of the docks, grinning down at him as the sharp end of Ben's blade drew closer to his neck. Carlos jumped behind them and smacked his sword against Gabe's butt, he turned and swiped at Carlos, widening his eyes a bit as Carlos easily held up against him. “Ben go!” Ben ducked under their crossed blades and started to run towards the tunnel. Carlos pushed off Gabe and smiled as he tumbled to the ground.

Evie pushed down Jonas and grabbed his red scarf “Nice scarf~” she pulled it off and shoved Jonas down through the railings with her foot. “It's mine now~!”  Ben hopped up onto the deck with her and Evie spun around to see two pirates run in front of her, another two standing in front of Ben. “Ben!” the two quickly defended against the four pirates.

Jay dodged out of the way of Davy's foot and jumped over a swipe of his blade. He blocked a couple of hard swings from Davy and finally got a grip on his arm. He pulled Davy towards him, ducked under his torso, and lifted him off of his feet. Jay crouched a bit and pushed up, releasing Davy and sending him to the lower set of docks.

Davy hit the floor with a loud crash, the teen laying there for a moment as pain flared up his back “Ow” he whined, cracking open his eyes to see Jay grinning down at him then run towards the tunnel.

-

You glanced at Gil wincing slightly at the passed-out Harry in his arms. You, Harriet, and Gil finally made it to the old garage, the sound of clashing swords and yelling echoing through the old pile tunnel.

You growled a bit, turning to the limo and pulling open the back car door, groaning a bit “Why the fuck did Jay lock it?!” you yelled, punching the window. Moments later Lonnie and Jay came running from the tunnel. Jay stopped; his eyes wide as he saw the unconscious form of Harry in Gil's arms. “What happened to him?!” Jay yelled, running up to Gil and placing his hand on Harry's forehead.

“James Hook is what happened” you snarled, Lonnie and Jay looking at you with wide-eyes as they had never heard you speak with such malice before “I already took care of the bastard and now I need to deal with another one, is Davy there?” you gestured to the battle beyond the tunnel, Jay slowly nodding as he grabbed the keys from his thigh bag and unlocked the car, helping Gil get Harry into the limo.

“Yeah-he’s-what’s he got to do with it?” Jay asked, flinching back as you glared at him.

“HE is the one who told James Harry was on the isle, I have a bone to pick with that fucker” you grabbed onto Harry’s sword and walked toward the tunnel “Harriet, get in the Limo” she raised a brow, looking at Lonnie then glancing at her baby brother being gently laid out on the long side seat of the limo.

“No” you turned, watching Harriet for a moment before she continued “I still have work to do, I’ll stay here and make sure everything stays in order, and protect my little sister and the twins until you can get shit moving. Okay?” you shook your head and took your foot off the tunnel and walked over to her, holding up your hand.

“I’ll be sure to get you and your sister off the isle first, along with the smee twins, I promise” Harriet smiled and clasped her hand with yours.

“I’m holding you too that, thank you for taking care of my brother for me” you smiled and squeezed Harriet's hand before releasing it and walking back to the tunnel, giving her a thumbs-up as she yelled out at the last moment “And save some of that traitor for me! He needs to learn what happens when you mess with Harry”

You smirked to yourself and unhooked the hook from your belt, rolling the weapon in your hands.

It's time for revenge.

-

Davy flashed his eyes between Uma and Ben, smirking as a devious thought came to mind. Kill the king and take control. If he killed Ben, he would gain the popularity he needed to rise above the ranks. Yes, Uma would be the one to have originally captured him, but after he killed the king? Oh, he would take place as top dog.

And then he would take place as captain after he took care of Uma. He would rule the world one day, but first the isle. And while he was at it, he would take out the purple imp as well.

Ben turned and saw him walking towards him with his eyes wild with mania, the king stumbled back for a moment, watching as Davy lifted his sword and prepared to swing down on Ben.

Davy flinched back as a blade was suddenly swung at him, sticking into the ladder between him and Ben, he quickly followed down the scarlet jacket covered arm and his eyes widened, looking into your pissed off (e/c) ones.

“Hiya!” you sang, your smile dropping as you started to swing Harry’s sword at Davy, the boy hardly able to keep up with your pace.

“(y/n)!” Ben yelled in relief, the other vks noticing and doing the same. Uma turned and her jaw dropped, noticing the spray-painted hook on the back of your coat.

“you-“ she snarled, glancing back from you to Mal and shaking her head. She needed to keep focus, and continued to fight Mal.

You took the hook and slammed it into Davy's blade, throwing him off his balance and trapping him against the rails. Ben took the chance and leaned over your shoulder and tickled under Davy's chin, taunting him with a baby voice. “goochy goochy goo~” Ben cooed, laughing as you gave him a side-eye and swiped at Davy's cheek with the hook, you grinned at the cut that instantly appeared and Davys wide-eyed look. Ben turned and blocked the swing of Gonzo who suddenly appeared behind him.

Davy pushed you off of him and stumbled back, yelping as you easily and quickly parried his swings. You took a quick step forward and slid your blade through the hilt of his sword, disarming him and spinning on your heel, slamming your foot into his chest and sending him back. You jumped on him and slashed Harry’s sword across his chest.

He quickly held his arms up and screamed as Harry’s sword sliced a good inch into his arms, blood pouring from the lacerations.

Some of the crew turned at that and gasped as you swung back up and stabbed into his left shoulder “This-“ you twisted the blade, a maniacal smile spreading on your lips “-is for Harry” you pulled it out and stabbed into his other shoulder, making him scream again “This!” you pulled it back out “is for me!” you sliced up near his face, creating a red line from his chin to his brow “And this! Is for everything else!”

“Carlos! Smoke bomb!” you turned and cursed, watching as Carlos knocked one of the pirates off the docks and whipped Mal’s bag around, pulling out one of the smoke bombs and tossing it to Evie.

You looked back down at Davy and grinned “I went easy on you, but Harriet-“ his eyes widened in fear, only just realizing that you had found out everything. “won't.”

You spun around and slid under Ben's arm, arching up with your left hand and slamming the hook into the hilt of Gonzo’S sword and disarming him, using your momentum to slam your shoulder into his sternum and knock him off his feet.

“Evie now!” you screamed, squinting to reduce the risk of the smoke getting in your eyes. Evie threw the bomb to the docks, purple smoke filling the area. “Ben go!” Ben bolted off after Evie as she pulled at his arm. Mal close behind them as she finally pushed Uma off of her and into the smoke.

You pushed at Mal's back to get her off the bridge and turned, making eye contact with Uma as you sheathed Harry's sword and pushed the bridge, jumping a bit as it fell back with a loud crash. Uma growled, her eyes drifting to the hook in your left hand and shaking her head.

What's my name?

What's my name?

What's my name?!

Say it nooooow.

You stared at Uma with sad eyes as she screamed at you, her eyes only showing rage and betrayal.

“(y/n)!!!” Gil yelled from the other side. You gave Uma an apologetic look and turned, not knowing as you did the hook symbol on your back flashed in the light, making Uma scream again and push her crew members out of her way as she raced to take the other way around to get to you.

You grabbed Gil's hand with your free one and hopped down onto the ground of the musty alley, running into the car after Mal and Ben and waiting for Gil to get in before you slammed the door closed. The Limo took off in a sudden start and drove quickly down the alleys of the isle. Mal took a deep breath as she flopped back into her seat, before suddenly sitting up and scrambling to look in her backpack. “My spell book!” she screeched turning to look out of the back window and thumping her head against the leather “shit”

Ben stared at Mal as she closed her eyes and took deep breaths, she opened them and turned to look at him, her eyes swimming with worry. “Are you okay Ben?” she asked, ignoring the large cut on her cheek that was still bleeding. He gave a comforting smile and reached out, cupping her chin and inspecting the cut.

“Are you okay?” Mal smiled and nodded, taking Ben's arm and pulling it off her cheek.

“It's just a cut, I’ll be fine…I’m sorry I dragged us into this mess” she sighed, leaning heavily against her seat “If it wasn’t for my dumb brain none of this would have happened”

“Well, it did one good thing” Ben muttered, looking out the window and watching the isle buildings go by “I got to see the isle for what it really is…Uma helped me see that”

Mal lifted her head a bit “…She's good at making people see the truth” she finally sighed, flopping forward and leaning against Ben’s arm “So what now?”

“Well for starters; remember last time when I said I save you next time? Yeah, same thing” Mal snorted and rubbed her forehead against his arm.

“And as I said last time, let's not let there be a next time”

“I’m all for this re-bonding cute shit but can we do it later?” you snapped, rubbing your thumb against Harry's bruised face. Mal gasped as she finally realized Harry was in the limo and dove forward to sit on the floor with you.

“What happened to him!? Where was he?!” Mal hovered her hands over Harry’s arms, her eyes burning slightly at the sight of the dark and bloody bruises all over him.

“James Hook” you snarled, the others, minus Gil, looking at you with wide eyes as malice once more filled your voice “that’s where Harry was, and luckily Gil, Harriet, her crew, and I made it in time before anything really bad happened to him” Mal sighed in slight relief, while it was scary that James had Harry, none of his clients ever came to take payment. “Do you know any healing spells off the top of your head?” Mal licked her lips, trying to rack through her brain to remember any type of healing spell in her spell book. Finally, she shook her head.

“No, my mother never wrote any spells in the book, and if there were any, they were scribbled over by her…I don’t know any” you scoffed and smacked her thigh, making her jump a bit.

“Then make one up! It's not the book that’s magic it's you!” Mal paused, before smacking her forehead and nodding. “Yep, sorry, my brain is still catching up to everything” she looked up at the front and saw the barrier coming closer “Just-wait till after we cross the barrier?”

You rolled your eyes, leaning against Gil's leg who was sitting next to Harry’s head. “Duh?”

Everyone shivered as the limo passed through the barrier, Mal's eyes glowing for a moment as her magic was once more released. She wiggled her arms to get used to the feeling of her magic again and turned to Harry, her eyes glowing again.

“take these wounds, blue and black/take the pain, gone in a blink”

Harry's body glowed a slight golden purple, and you slumped in relief as the bruises and cuts on Harry's body slowly disappeared until it was as if nothing had happened to him.

You sobbed in relief and sat up, wrapping your arms around his head and neck and pressing your face against his “Thank fuck” you sniffed, pulling back a bit as Harry's lashes fluttered against your cheek as he woke up.

“Love?” he muttered, his eyes drifting around the car and relaxing as he only saw his friends “I’m-wha-“

“Uma took Ben for the wand, we got Ben back, and we’re on the bridge now heading home” you quickly explained, shuffling closer to him and tightening your grip on him as he leaned closer to you and wrapped his arms around your upper torso “You’re safe”

Harry breathed in your scent, burying his face in your hair and nearly falling asleep again. His hands brushed against the leather of your coat and he pulled back a bit, pulling at the lapels of the jacket and smiling. “Yer wearing meh jacket” you looked down and started to take it off, stopping as Harry shook his head, pulling the coat back over your shoulders “No, keep it, it suits yeh” you smiled and leaned forward, bonking your head against his.

Harry looked up, smiling at Gil who was crying “Hey bud” he whispered, grunting a bit as Gil leaned down and gave Harry a tight hug “okay, yeah, hug it out” you sat up on your knees and curled your arms around his torso, laying your head on his chest and taking a deep breath. Harry smiled and pushed his head into Gil’s grabbing your hand with his and squeezing it.

Evie and Carlos smiled at each other and leaned back into their seats, happy that the stressful part of the day was finally over.

Mal got up from the floor and sat back down next to ben, closing her eyes, and decided to get in a power nap for the hour it would take to get back to the school.

Ben leaned his head against hers and closed his eyes, the two soon falling asleep.

Evie and Carlos slumped against each other and passed out, Lonnie glancing back and cooing “so cute” she smiled at you, Harry, and Gil.

Harry was halfway curled up on Gil's lap, his head on Gil's thigh and one of his arms wrapped around your shoulders holding your hand. Gil's head was now leaning back against the seat and was lightly snoring, one of his arms on Harry's chest with Harry's shirt tightly bunched in his fist. You were still curled up on the floor, your head resting in the crook of Harry's neck and one of your arms wrapped around his shoulder as the other was pressed against your chest to hold Harry's hand.

“I wish I had my phone on me” Lonnie whispered, turning back to the front and resting her feet on the dash. Jay looked up at the rearview mirror, smiling as he looked at his friends.

All his friends were safe now, his job was complete.

-

Davy sat up with a wince, glaring down at the deep cuts on his arms. He yelped a bit as he touched his face “That’s going to scar” he muttered.

He froze as heavy footsteps appeared from behind. He slowly turned around, his eyes widening as he looked into the flashing red eyes of Harriet Hook.

“You’re dead” was all she said, smirking as a dark spot on Davy's pants started to appear.

“Parlay?” Davy squeaked, screaming as Harriet swung her sword at his face.

-end of part 12-

There It is! Part 12! The core four + Ben, Harry, Gil, reader, and Lonnie are off the isle and heading back home safe and sound! Again, if you forgot Dude's voice is now Beast Boy from teen titans because I hate the actual voice the VC gave him even though he apparently can do a good “teen” voice that would have suited Dude better. Also, READER GOT SOM FUKIN PAYBACK FOR HARRY ON DAVY I know she didn’t finish him off but come on, Harriet deserves a shot at him eh?

And Mals spell that she used to heal Harry was one @sephiralorange​ and I created together after she tried to find a healing spell in the “Mals spell books” books and only found a healing potion. I hope it works lol. Also, I think this has been one of my longest fic parts in a long time, 22 pages and 6763 words! Anyway part 13 coming soon, and the Vks will be back in Auradon finally!

oh! fake screenshot i made for the “hiya!” part!

(y/n) is modeled after me

permtagist!

@queer-cosette​ @sephiralorange​

@lunanight2012​ @musicarose​

@daughter-of-the-stars11​ @random-thoughts-003​

@remembered-license​ @verboetoperee​

@imtryingthisout​ @rintheemolion​ @thecaptainsgingersnap​

@descendantsobsessed​

taglist

@thesailbells​ @beccad10x​

[eeriefeelingsat3amuwu]

My lovelies, this is probs the best thing that we (me and my sister) ever came up with when sleep-deprived and creative. Me and my sis were watching Blood of Zeus on Netflix and síce we’re really into the Greek Mythology, we started thinking of random headcanons on the gods. And this is what we came up with:

Zeus:

the oldest sibling, the younger ones call him Big Z

actually very loyal to Hera, would never cheat on her and all of his ‘maidens’ were actually chosen by disaster bisexual Hera

loves cleaning, is very pedantic

is the only one who knows about the real images of all the gods

a great husband, but a terrible father, seriously, don’t leave your child with him

loves his little brothers to death, even if they fight a lot

Hades:

the middle sibling, nickname is ‘Hadie’, Poseidon loves him, Zeus cares for him very much

is a very loving husband, he gives Persephone everything she could desire

since he rarely chooses sides, whenever the other gods are fighting, he and Persephone have date nights, play with Cerberos (he’s seriously a big puppy) or talk to the dead heroes in Elysium

Charon is his best brooo, parties in Tartaros, he even gives Hades and Persephone romantic boat rides along the river for date nights

Poseidon:

the youngest, must be protected even if he doesn’t need protection, has two nicknames: Pony (for joking around and picking at him) and Donie (loving nickname used when talking normaly)

May be the god of the seas, but he can’t swim at all, his older brothers tried to teach him one day and it ended with him almost drowning in a meter deep pool

is really adventurous and traves a lot, if you’re not sure where he is, try either a few California beaches or some historical cities in Europe

is the good dad™️, he takes care of the Zeus children comming in every once in a while and they absolutely LOVE him

both him and Hades are great with kids, but Hades has a wife, so he’s more of a cool uncle then a dad

DAD JOKES

Aphrodite:

you’d be surprised, but she does not spend her free time practising makeup and doing yoga; most of the time, while not in public she downs some oversized hoodie and sweatpants and either sleeps, lifts weights or bingewatches Netflix shows and eats chips

except for Zeus, only Appolo and Ares know this, not even her son is aware of it

Appolo found out when he went to borrow her curling iron and she opened the door without thinking (she was just eating a corndog and when she saw the look Appolo gave her, she slammed the door in his face while screaming ‘if you tell anyone you’re dead’)

Ares is a different story, she actually showed him and they accidentaly became best friends

she can’t sleep at her house since they could find out and so she sleeps over at houses of other gods when she knows they’re not there

Ares:

is actually very peaceful, hates fighting and it’s kinda killing him that it’s his job to be a bloodthirsty warmonger

whenever he can, he drops the act and is just a sweetheart

loves bunnies and has quite a few of them

Aphrodite was sleeping in his house one time because he was supposed to be fighting a war somewhere, but what she didn’t know was that he returns to feed and play with his bunnies every two days (no it’s not animal abuse, he leaves them both food and water whenever he’s supposed to go away and he returns only to calm himself down and make sure that everything’s working as it should) and he returned the day she was sleeping there; she went downstairs as to leave and found out about the bunnies

that’s how they became best friends

his house, to the other gods, looks like some sort of an arena with weapons and spikes all around, but as soon as they leave, he re-decorates and after that it looks like Demeter’s garden

Demeter:

she has alergies

like, a lot

she hates flowers and grass and just every single damn plant because it makes her eyes water and itch, it makes her nose runny and it just puts her in a shitty mood

but because of her profession, she has to decorate her home with them whenever someone is comming over

then she holes up in her house for two weeks until her alergies pass and starts again

Hephaistos:

he hates warmth

yes, he lives in a volcano, but he’s not fireproof, thank you very much

he’d rather do anything else OTHER then what he does because it’s so hot, but he loves his job and so he continues on with it

every once in a while he disguises himself as a human and goes to the show Forged in Fire (he always wins)

Eros:

he loves his job and everything that comes with it

the only little bit weird thing is how invested he gets into the love stories he creates with his arrows

he cries whenever the story has a happy ending and is just all in all a very senstive soul with an undying love for romance

he is so devoted to Psyche that had she asked him to, he would rip off his wings and give them to her

Now, we have the gay friend group:

Athena:

tired™️, always on coffee 24/7, if not, you don’t want to talk to her

curses, is angry and totaly not calm and colected, just chaotic neutral energy

a prankster, along with Hermes

the mom friend, makes sure the rest of the group doesn’t die or kill each other

smart and witty, but doesn’t give two fucks about anything, burned out gifted kid

eyerolls, glares and ‘tsk’s are a must

she WILL make you feel pathetic if she wants to

likes baking

Hermes:

without his shoes, he can’t run to save his life

you’d think ‘Oh, a Greek god, he must be ripped under that Toga!’ but no, he’s a fucking stick; no abs, no biceps, no nothing, just a STICK

can’t exercise, can’t lift anything heavier then a teapot, just...weak baby

living and breathing ADHD

stimming, never paying attention, figet things, hyperfixations, just...

a trickster along with Athena, they are sneaky and they always know what to do to get the best reaction out of every single god

Appolo:

loves to create songs, both lyrics and music, but...a bit different genre

just...heavy metal, rock, rap, he’s just going WITH it dude

also loves the goth aesthetic

plays the guitar, electric one tho

he diguises it as his lyre

Artemis is his eyes in ears for when he needs to change the tone (when the other gods are comming)

he does actually like poetry and loves to read classics and he thinks Shakespear is THE SHIT™️

the theatre kid

loud

Artemis:

the godess of the hunt, huh?

yeah, she’s a vegan

like, a hardcore vegan

goes to PETA protests every once in a while

fights for animal rights with every ounce of her being

but she’s still the godess of the hunt, so sometimes she needs to kill animals

sooooo, she has anger issues.

deals with them by making Hermes exercise

keeps tabs on every animal she has ever killed and cries over the papers where she’s written it down every once in a while

Okay, this would be it for our headcanons, I may or may not be planning to write a fanfic about them in a modern setting and I’m excited af.

Tagging you guys in belief that you’ll enjoy this:

@definietlynotsatan @a-fandom-trashdump @bla-rese

[thegoodgayshit]

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

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Emperor Belos and his Nuclear Eye Drops

Luz’s dream hadn’t given away just how deep the caves of Mount Pelion actually were.

There was a moment when she was running where it felt like she was just sliding straight down, and she panicked for a moment, praying to every god she could think of that she was going the right way.

The torches on the wall were her only source of light, and the screeching and shouting from the battle in the armory were getting quieter and quieter the farther down she descended.

As she walked, Luz realized that this was the first time she was alone, truly alone, since she’d hopped on a bus to escape from Lina on her last day of school. Luz had been alone most of her life, so she knew what it felt like, but she had forgotten how uncomfortable it really made her feel.

She’d made friends, fantastic, lovely, and incredible friends since she’d come to camp. She definitely wouldn’t have made it as far as she had without them. But now that she was alone, she felt every cut she’d gotten during the last few weeks’ worths of battles… every bruise, every sore muscle, every piece of hair that had fallen into place. Without her friends, exhaustion was creeping into her bones, and she was starting to wonder if she should have run away without anybody following her.

She was just one demigod. How was she going to do this on her own?

Eventually, she made it.

All at once, the cave felt familiar. Luz had seen it plenty of times before in her dreams, enough times that she instantly recognized the widening of the halls, the damp aroma of the cavern, and the sinking feeling in her gut that something very unnatural was lying within.

Then, she saw the portal.

Luz didn’t understand how it was possible, but it had somehow gotten even more terrifying than it was in her dreams.

It was still around the same size, but Luz was no longer able to see what lied within it. Instead, the ten foot tall border of obsidian and metal was protecting layers and layers of dark mist. Instead of having one little hearth on the top of the portal, now there was two huge flames sitting on either side of it. The smoke seemed to rise up in to the air and get sucked into the depth of the portal, sinking deeper and deeper until it wrapped into the mist entirely. Next to the portal was the small table and the chalice she had seen in her first dream, and while it looked expensive, it was quite underwhelming sitting next to something like the portal.

Dread started sinking into Luz’s stomach. How in Hades was she supposed to destroy that?

She heard the clanking of chains, and her gaze was ripped from the portal when she saw the cage, and the girl lying within.

She looked like a ghost. Luz hadn’t seen many goddesses before, but based on the ones she had seen, Luz had a hard time believing this girl could be one. She was so small and tiny she barely looked a day over nine, and she was bent over on her knees, her face pressed into the floor of the mountain pitifully. She was straining against the chains, but they might as well have been pinning her in place because despite the obvious effort she was putting in to move, she wasn’t budging an inch.

“Lady Hestia?”

The girl looked up, and Luz’s heart sank. Her eyes… they’d gotten so dark they almost looked black. All the warmth they’d had the first time Luz saw her in the cage was gone.

“You’re too late, brave one,” she said, and despite her voice being barely a whisper it cut through Luz’s ears like an icy wind. “Belos has stolen the last of my flame, and in mere moments the mountain will fall. You must run! Leave this place before it takes you with it.”

Luz froze, blinking. “Leave you? But I came all this way to free you.”

“Do not sacrifice yourself for this,” she insisted, “you have a chance to regroup and fight another day. Do not fulfill the prophecy here… not when the portal has already taken my flame and all the nightmares of the Underworld will rise and serve their Emperor!”

The prophecy. Amity had told her the rest of it… she’d said something like that… Luz wracked her brain trying to remember.

From what you find in the nightmare, a hero’s life ends.

There was another tremor, the whole mountain shaking right beneath Luz’s feet. She stumbled, gripping the side of the cave as the walls shook around her. Eventually, they began to subside, and Luz grit her teeth pulling herself to her feet.

Nobody’s life was going to end. She didn’t come all this way to fail.

“I’m not leaving you here,” Luz retorted, “if the mountain falls, there’s nothing any of us can do to stop Belos.”

So Luz made up her mind. With a furious scream, she charged, sprinting across the room towards the cage and hacking down with her sword. The metal bars split like she was cutting through paper, and five of the thick steel bars fell. Luz cut a hole through, leaning in to crouch down next to Hestia, who was still chained to the floor.

“This is foolish, hero,” Hestia warned, as Luz lifted her hands to examine the chains, looking for the right way to cut through. “The mountain-”

There was another tremor, the metal bars of the cage rattling. This one was much stronger than the last and lasted almost a full thirty seconds. Luz had to cling to the slashed metal to avoid falling on her own sword.

“Nobody is getting left behind,” Luz panted as the shaking subsided, “we promised Demophon we would free you, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“Demophon?” Hestia breathed, and for the first time since Luz found her, Hestia’s eyes seemed to flicker with warmth. “You spoke to him?”

Luz opened her mouth to reply, but Hestia’s eyes suddenly widened.

“The Mist!”

Luz cocked her brow, confused before she looked down and her eyes widened in horror. All around her, black mist had slowly begun to fill the area around the mangled cage, and Luz had to scramble back to avoid it. She didn’t miss it all though, and some of it managed to creep up around her face near her nose. She choked, her nostrils filled with the horribly familiar smell of rotting meat.

Death Mist.

Luz wasn’t proud of how fast she ran to get away, especially with Hestia trapped in the cage unable to move, but she couldn’t stand it. Her eyes had already started to water, and by the time she pressed back against the wall next to the door she’d come through, she wanted to drown herself in water just to get it out of her lungs. She debated turning and running when she heard his voice.

“Up-pup-pup! Don’t go anywhere. I’d actually like to have a word with you, demigod.”

All at once, the mist vanished. When Luz took a few shaky breaths, she looked up and saw him.

Belos was standing between her and Hestia, one hand on his staff, the other watching her with what looked almost like interest in his neon eyes. The horns on his golden mask leered over her, casting a shadow in the haze of the torches hanging along the mountain wall.

Luz glowered at the sight of him, all the rage towards the way he’d been tormenting her dreams rising up in one furious bubble. Gripping her sword tightly, she felt her mouth twist into an angry scowl.

“Let Hestia go, or else!”

She yelled and swung her sword, feeling it collide hard with Belos’ staff as he raised it to block her. Luz strained against it, but he was completely unmoveable.

“Okay,” Belos said, and all at once, Luz felt him push, sending her skidding backward against the mountain floor. “I’ll play.”

He charged, his staff extending into a wicked four-foot sword, and Luz’s eyes widened. She did the only thing she could think to do; deflect.

Belos was stronger than her in every way imaginable. He had speed, strength, and strategy. If it wasn’t for Luz’s adrenaline keeping her dodging and deflecting, he would have already sliced her open.

She was gritting her teeth with every move, her chest heaving as she looked for an opening. She reared back, swinging at his shoulder when she thought he might be leaning too hard on the other side, but she nearly got her hair chopped off the top when he spun and swung right above where she was standing.

She was going to lose, and he knew it.

“What’s wrong, demigod? I thought you wanted a fight.”

With one brutal kick, he knocked Luz backward. She fell right onto her knees, Aletheia skidding away from her hand and back into a ring. Luz covered it with her left hand, breathing hard as Belos pointed his sword at her, tilting his head.

“Had enough?”

He was about two feet away. The perfect opening.

“Not even close,” Luz smirked, scooping up the ring and flinging it right towards his face. The ring shifted into a knife, striking him right in the left eye. Belos hissed, recoiling as there was a shattering sound, a piece of his mask falling at her feet. He clutched his face, and Luz scooped the knife into her hands, clutching it while she heaved on the ground, still recovering from his kick.

But she’d made a mark.

Belos chuckled, his back still turned from her, and Luz watched as his hand covered over his eye.

“I like your spirit,” he said, turning to look at Luz. His mask was chipped, two thick lines running above it. It made his neon eyes look more menacing like he’d been using nuclear eye drops.

“Try that again and things won’t end well for you.”

Belos turned, kicking Luz again and sending her spinning into the ground. She coughed, clutching her chest as she struggled to look up at him.

“I am just a man on a mission. In the grand scheme of things, the goddess’ life is inconsequential. But now, you’re here. And the mountain is falling, whether we like it or not.”

Luz was wincing as she looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowing as she listened to what he was saying.

“If you want to save the life of everybody here in the mountain, let me use the portal. I will bring my army through, and spare the life of your friends, and the hearth goddess.”

It was an impossible choice. One that put Luz right between a rock and a hard place. She couldn’t pick.

“But… Olympus…” she whispered, biting her lip.

The mountain shook again, and Luz cried out as the shock of it flattened her right against the ground. This time, the mountain was not left unscathed, and the earth began to shift, the back wall of the cavern splitting away from the earth. Chunks of rock collapsed, and Luz shouted in terror as the wall of the cavern fell back and into the open air, and light suddenly rushed into the room. The back of the mountain dropped like an avalanche, and thank the gods it didn't take Hestia's cage with it, just some of the huge metal crates Luz had hidden behind in her dreams when she was spying. As bright morning light hit her face, Luz winced, doing her best to blink it out and take stock. She was alive, and the tremors hadn't dropped her off the mountain yet.

But it was also just after dawn, which meant it had almost been forty-eight hours since they left the Blight manor.

They were almost out of time.

Belos chuckled menacingly as the tremor’s eventually subsided, and it looked like he hadn’t even been phased by the earthquake.

“You probably think I want to invade Olympus. But the will of my army is not so boorish. We want to purify this world, rid them of the gods and every awful thing they stand for. There will be order and peace, a chance for demigods and the will of man to decide the fate of the world.”

“You want to take this world all for yourself,” Luz spat, glaring up at him. He tilted his head curiously at her outburst, but let her talk. She wondered if he found it humorous. Probably.

“You think getting rid of the gods will solve our problems?” Luz exclaimed, getting slowly to her feet, clenching her knife tightly against her chest. “That it will fix everything wrong with this world? Look at what you’ve done! You’ve brought back heroes from beyond the grave and instead of making things better you’ve only made the lives of demigods worse!”

She pointed her knife at him accusingly, all the frustration she was feeling from the quest, and her life back at camp, and from the way this quest has treated her friends… treated Amity. All this chaos and pain was Belos’ fault.

“You’ve done nothing but hurt the people I care about since I realized I was a demigod. You’re no better than the gods you hate.”

There was a twitch in Belos’ face that Luz might not have seen had she not broken a part of his mask. For a moment, Luz thought he was going to charge. She would have been dead, with him holding a sword and her the knife. But then, he straightened, turning away from her and towards the portal that was swirling again. The mist was getting thicker and thicker, the flames next to it rising higher and higher… and Luz realized what was about to happen.

It was going to open again.

“I think it’s best you reconsider,” Belos said, watching it. “Tik-Tok, demigod, time is almost out. Attack me, and die. Leave this place, and your friends shall live.”

The portal began to glow a deep purple, and the mist changed. Now, it was translucent, and Luz could see with terrified eyes the horrors that were behind it. Armies upon armies of the undead, souls waiting to come back to this world. They were clawing at the door, waiting to be the next one out.

The flames around the portal began to rise, and Hestia groaned from behind her chains. The mountain started shaking, and Luz knew then it was too late. She was out of time.

Then, her eyes locked on the chains.

The chains.

How far away were they? Ten feet? Fifteen? Much farther than the strings at Orpheus’ manner. She’d probably just hit Hestia. But she had no choice. There was nothing else she had up her sleeve, no other tricks she could pull. It was her last chance.

So, she threw her knife.

It sailed through the air, slashing through one of the chains right as Belos realized what she’d done. He twisted, his eyes following the knife as it made its mark, cutting through the ones wrapped around Hestia’s right hand. For a moment, the portal weakened, the mist darkening, and Luz could no longer see the hundreds of souls of the other side.

But she’d only cut one chain. She hadn’t done it, Hestia was still locked against the ground, her knees wrapped, one hand free to desperately try and throw the knife back towards Luz. It clattered against the floor to the right of Belos, just past his shoulder.

She’d never get there. She knew it. She’d failed.

Roaring, Belos turned, rearing his sword up and swinging towards her. Luz squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the slice that would inevitably kill her. She’d never be able to dodge, not without a weapon, and certainly not without Belos catching her.

But when she closed her eyes, she wasn’t greeted by death.

“Luz!”

She felt a body slamming into her from the side, sending her reeling against the mountain floor. She gasped as she landed hard on her stomach, her eyes flying open to see what hit her.

Well, more like who.

Amity had blocked the strike, meeting Belos’ sword with her own. She’d shoved Luz out of the way, and she’d managed to keep Luz alive, if not for a few seconds.

“Bah!” Belos spat, glaring at her. “Aphrodite’s brat. I see Achilles was thwarted by you yet again.”

“He should have thought twice before taking on a Blight!” She hissed, pushing back and swinging again. Belos blocked it, his eyes narrowing. Amity had always been better with a sword than Luz. The sight of it began to fill Luz’s chest with hope. The tables were starting to turn.

Luz scooped up Aletheia, shifting it into a sword, and charged, rearing back to swing at Belos while he was occupied with Amity.

He saw her coming, sidestepping both of them. Now, Luz and Amity were side by side, guarding the portal with their swords raised. Their eyes were narrowed in determination, their bodies tensed in a silent agreement.

They wouldn't let him open that portal. Whatever it took, they were going to stop him.

Belos’ eyes shifted between them, before spinning his sword into a staff. The pole was double-edged, with a foot of wicked bronze on either end. Perfect for when you were outnumbered.

The mountain rumbled again, and Amity gasped, stumbling. Luz reached over and caught her, dropping both of them to their knees while the quakes wracked through the cavern. Even Belos shifted, needing to grip his staff with both hands to keep himself steady. When they subsided, Luz helped Amity to her feet.

“Are you okay?” She whispered, and the daughter of the love goddess whipped her head to look at her like she had three heads.

“Am I okay? I’m not the one who ran off to try and free Hestia on her own!” She hissed, and Luz winced, shrugging her shoulders.

“Lilith saw an opening and told me to run.”

Behind them, the portal's flames popped, rising up again despite Luz cutting one of the chains. In the cage, Hestia flinched, but she was now at least on her knees and pulling at the other chain trying to free herself. Belos was stepping closer to them, his eyes narrowed, obviously angry.

This was a bad situation. One that kept getting worse. But at least now she wasn’t alone.

Luz turned back to Belos, gripping her sword tightly. “You’re outnumbered. Surrender, and close the portal for good.”

Belos chuckled and shook his head, his staff pressing hard into the ground leaving white slashes along the rocky floor.

“Oh no, demigod. We are not done here,” he said, lifting his left hand. The mountain got colder, the temperature dropping as Belos flicked his hand, and Death Mist curled out from around his cloak.

“Before this mountain falls, I am going to kill you both. Then I will open that portal and run Olympus to the ground.”

[randomfandomnerd]

Sunshine and Shadows-Chapter 6

Will was playing cards with Mitchell and Jake, but his thoughts were with Nico. Sure, he’d seemed happy enough, but he wondered if he was rushing him, even though a meal outside was something that he’d promised him.

Mitchell made a little noise of glee as he won his sixth game in a row, and turned to the other two. He was wearing a long sleeved t-shirt under some black dungarees with a pair of black and white Vans, and his ear sported a small diamond stud.

“Another game?”

Will shook his head, grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair.

“Nah, it’s roundabout time for dinner. I’ve got some stuff to do in the infirmary beforehand.”

Shrugging his jacket on, he went down the stairs of Cabin 9,and out the door, waving at Harley and Shane, the latter of which was holding a sheet of celestial bronze steady as the former enthusiastically bashed it into shape.

Outside, camp was busy with demigods lingering around, chatting on their way to dinner. As Will headed to the infirmary, he was waved over by a rather concerned-looking Malcolm.

The son of Athena was looking worriedly in the direction of the area behind his cabin as Will caught up with him.

“It’s not another spider, is it?”

Will asked. Last time Malcolm had looked so worried was when a spider had been found on his pillow, and he’d nervously asked Will to remove it. Unfortunately, Annabeth had gone to ask for help from Cabin 9, and so before Will could catch it in a glass and let it go outside, the spider (and Malcolm’s pillow) had been destroyed by Harley’s flamethrower. Will was eager for that to never happen again. Later on. The spider was found to have been snuck in by Travis Stoll, who was only caught because he was laughing so much.

When Malcolm shook his head to confirm that there was not a spider, Will curiously went round the back of the cabin. He immediately saw why Malcolm had been so concerned.

“Well, Clovis sure does have weird dreams.”

Lying on the grass behind the Athena Cabin, was a cat. Alright, it could have come from anywhere, except for the fact that it was blue. Will turned back to Malcolm, who had approached behind him and was regarding the cat apprehensively.

“Well, I think Percy will like it.”

He quipped. Will carefully leant down and scooped up the cat. It stared up at him with big curious eyes, but didn’t make a fuss. He decided to take it to the infirmary and put it in one of the back rooms while he was at dinner, then sort out something a bit more appropriate for it afterwards. He said goodbye to Malcolm, before going to get Nico and drop off the cat.

In the infirmary, most of the patients were either dozing or eating food on the trays provided for them.Cecil had been discharged, so the bed next to Nico was empty. Will drew back the curtains to reveal Nico, who had at some point changed into the shirt Will had gotten him. As predicted, it looked good on him.

Nico looked baffled by the purring bundle of blue fluff in Will’s arms.

“It’s one of Clovis’ dreams”

Will explained. Nico came over and gave the cat a little pat on the head. Will placed the blue feline in his arms as he prepared some blankets in an empty back room. They left the sleepy kitty there, closing the door on their way out to dinner. Kayla waved to them as they left.

✧✧✧

The dining pavilion was buzzing with noise when the two boys arrived. Almost immediately they were approached by a grinning Jason and Percy.

“Hey, Nico, come and sit with us The Big Three kids are allowed to all sit together because otherwise we’d be all sad and lonely. Except Thalia. She sits with the Hunters because she’s scary.”

Will looked at Percy, amused, although he had to admit that the Hunters were mildly terrifying. He looked anxiously over at Nico, remembering the fate of his sister, but the son of Hades wasn’t showing any outward signs of distress. Will just hoped he wasn’t inwardly distressed either.

He waved goodbye as the two excitable boys dragged Nico to the Poseidon table, the shorter boy between them as they chatted away. Will turned to head for the Apollo table and squeezed in next to Austin, who was looking on in disgust as Lillie tucked into a burger. For someone so small and innocent, she practically attacked her meat at every mealtime. Will had sometimes found himself wondering whether she was really a hyena in disguise.

He laughed,

“You know, she probably feels the same way about what you’re eating.”

Austin looked down, confused at his brown rice and kale. Unlike most people who would eat kale, Austin wasn’t really a health enthusiast; he just, for reasons Lillie could never seem to figure out, genuinely liked it.

Will suddenly remembered,

“Oh, by the way, don’t open the door to backroom 3. There’s one of Clovis’ dreams in it. It’s a blue cat.”

Austin seemed to find this less concerning than the piano, and just simply said,

“Percy will like it if it’s blue”

Will looked across the pavilion to see Percy eating bright blue spaghetti, as Nico looked mildly disgusted. Although, he couldn’t be too disgusted, considering the fact that he was laughing at a comment Jason had just made.

“You know, you’re the second person who’s told me that, and I have a feeling that you’re right; I think I’ll show him it later.”

He carefully broke off a bit of fish with his fork, before nibbling the edge of it. Austin snorted.

“You’re always so dainty when you’re eating.”

he said with a mouthful of rice. Will cringed at the sight. It was a natural reflex; his grandma was a stickler for manners, especially at the table. The first time Will had eaten pizza with a knife and fork at camp, Travis Stoll had laughed so hard, juice came out of his nose.

Will snuck another peek at the Poseidon table, where Percy and Jason were trying to recreate the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp. They were… interesting, but Will was happy that they clearly cared about being friends with Nico and treating him well.

@rainbow-sheepofthefamily

@emava04

@percabethfangirl

@nightmareghosts

@luna0713hunter

@seven-halfbloods

@my-apollo-gies

[kingburu]

[FIC] Birb Funeral

Someone asked me a long time ago what would happen if in the Dearly Departed universe (where Jason is a Son of Hades and Nico is a Son of Jupiter, and everyone is conveniently where I wanted to place them) what would happen if Bianca ended up in Camp Jupiter and Nico ended up in Camp Halfblood. I wrote this a while back for funsies and probably won’t expand, but take an au of an au!

tl;dr: Godswap AU where Jason is a Son of Hades, Nico is a Son of Zeus, and they grew up as childhood friends!

A storm hits first. In twelve-year-old Jason’s ten years at Camp Halfblood, he’s never seen anything as abrasive and harsh as the dark clouds that consumes all winter sunlight, dimming the heavens as though he’s staring at his father’s domain itself. Thunder and lightning boom like a commandeering force, and the rain rattles against the magical barrier around Camp Halfblood, like pelting against hollow tin, but falls on campgrounds like a soft shower.

It rains for three days straight, weakening Hestia’s hearth, cancelling Capture the Flag, and irritating all of the Apollo Cabin, who grow antsy without the sun. Jason is nonplussed by the storm, comforted by the additional shadows that linger—but he’s never quite liked the silence it forced in Cabin Eleven. The silence that used to be comforting, but now hurts as he has to look at the empty bed—the one that reminds him his own chest feels empty, too.

 On the third day, the eagles appear.

 Jason’s already awake, inspecting the other demigods without cabins of their own as he hears the righteous call of three bald eagles flying through the forest. Other campers wake to their squawk, if not the thunderous storm as it seems to boom louder and demand their attention.

 Then, a little boy appears through the forest, sopping wet and looking meager and small as he wobbles through the trees, with a nest of dark hair and bright blue eyes that reminds Jason of the days before the storm. He’s dressed in a ratty pair of jeans, caked in monster blood and—other blood, that immediately worries Jason—and a bright shirt with a lotus symbol on it. The eagles cry out again, encircling the little boy, and flank to either side of him like royal guards.

 Jason jumps as those blue eyes scan their small crowd—widening as they make contact with Chiron—but then turns to him.

 One of the eagles nudges the little boy, who stumbles forward.

 “This,” the little boy says curiously, “is Camp Halfbird, right?”

Halfbird, Jason thinks, puzzled, and he swears he sees both eagles puff their chests out with pride. He doesn’t get to contemplate long—of all the people that are surrounding this little boy, those blue eyes are fixated on him, waiting for an answer. “It’s actually Camp Halfblood—but, yeah, welcome.”

 “Oh,” the little boy says, and his shoulders heave. “Finally.”

 And he collapses forward. There’s a cry in surprise—and out of reflex, Jason steps forward and catches him. His eyes trail over to the may stains on this boy’s shirt—the monster blood, the human blood—and he hears Lee Fletcher crying out for someone to get ambrosia, nectar, and all the works.

 “Wait,” Jason hears himself saying, and the older son of Apollo stares at him in disbelief.

 “Why would we wait, Grace?” Lee demands.

 Jason props the boy up on his arm, the nest of dark hair bobbing as they move. “Because he’s snoring.”

 *

 Upon carrying the little boy to the infirmary, they all discover their newest camper has a vice grip and refuses to let go of Jason. Beckendorf, a much older camper, tries once while Jason takes this boy who can’t be older than nine or ten, and Jason’s head almost comes off with it. They stop trying when they hear a little sob. Jason thinks he hears a name—Bianca?—and confines himself to carry the boy to one of the cots.

 Jason has to rock on his feet and stand to the tips of his toes—and practically falls over as he sets the boy down, arms still bound around him, but eventually manages to wriggle out of the grip. He stares at the boy, puzzled, as this new demigod just rolls into a ball, expression unseen.

 The eagles caw outside—and from the window, Jason sees them soar past the window, evidently deciding to remain close.

 “Jace,” Lee says, which startles him, “why don’t you get him some new clothes?”

 Lee’s already washed his hands, rubber gloves on, and is picking up an arm to inspect this boy. He wrinkles his nose as his hand stains with mud.

 “Oh—okay,” Jason says—and he stays just long enough for Lee’s apprentice and little brother, Will, pull a twig out of dark hair.

 Jason sprints to the Big House. On his way back to the infirmary, he watches as both eagles spread their wings and shriek, glowering at him. Jason cringes, staring at them with hesitation.

 The door opens, and Will pokes his head out curiously. He stares up at the rooftop and mimics Jason’s expression. “You think they’re going to stay long?”

 “Hard to say,” Jason mumbles uncomfortably. He takes a thoughtful step towards the infirmary and the eagles make another sound of displeasure. A loud moan comes from the infirmary—childish and feeble, and the eagles suddenly cock their heads to that instead. Jason takes the distraction to climb the porch steps and sighs with relief. “Guess it depends on how long this kid wants to stay.”

 Will pats his shoulder sympathetically. “We’ll find an animal that likes you eventually.”

 *

 New campers, of course, fall under the jurisdiction of Cabin Eleven, and Connor and Travis insist that this new kid already imprinted on Jason, despite not being the head counselor. Jason knows that this kid is recovering from whatever journey brought him to Long Island and the last thing he needs is to be at the mercy of the Stoll Brothers’ pranks, so he halfheartedly agrees.

 The storm subsides pretty quickly after the kid arrives, and business seems to resume as usual. People are already placing bets on what cabin this kid belongs to—if he belongs to any cabin, and Jason tries very hard not to hope that this kid belongs in the cabin that the eagles and the obnoxious storm suggest.

 He spends most of the time in the infirmary, passing on his sword-training classes to Clarisse—and the boy wakes up just long enough to be spoonfed ambrosia and change into a clean shirt and pants. Every day, they find at least one twig in his hair while they’re not looking. He doesn’t speak very much at first—eventually Will and Lee decide to just let Jason handle this kid on his own to tend to other campers who are at the mercy of Clarisse’s sword training.

 On the third day of this kid’s arrival, Jason walks up the porch of the med bay and the eagles squawk angrily, per usual. Jason opens the door and notices the kid perk at his arrival, in contrast to the screaming eagles.

 “You feeling any better?” Jason asks.

 The blue eyes stare at him carefully, then nod. He squints thoughtfully at Jason, then speaks for the first time since arriving during the storm the other day. “They keep screaming death when you walk by.”

 Jason blinks. “They?”

 The boy gestures to the roof. “Lark and Sparrow.”

 Blond eyebrows furrow together. “Who?”

 “Lark and Sparrow,” the boy repeats.

 It takes a moment, but Jason’s eyebrows raise, puzzled. “You mean the eagles?”

 “Yeah.” The boy nods, then pauses. “They had an older sister—Cloud, but—well, she…” The boy’s eyes moisten and his gaze falls to his hands sadly. “She didn’t make it.”

 Oh. Jason doesn’t quite consider it a superpower, but he can pick up on the tone of a mourning soul, even if it’s for an eagle. Lark and Sparrow, the eagles (Jason doesn’t think he’ll ever get his mind wrapped around that) clearly love this little boy very much. Unfortunately, no one at camp speaks bird, and they’ve gone almost a week now not knowing this boy’s story—even if he wants to tell it.

 Jason retrieves a stool, setting aside the ambrosia sundae. “Do you…want to tell me about Cloud?”

 The boy raises his head curiously, evidently surprised to be encouraged, and then nods. “Cloud was their leader. She’s the one that found me first in—in the accident. And then she promised me that the four of them would get to camp. She—” His voice cracks. “—she couldn’t keep that promise.”

 Jason flashes a look of concern. After a few meals of ambrosia and clean clothes, the boy looks better, but feeling better is another story entirely.

 “Lark’s a good listener though, I think she makes Sparrow feel better,” the boy continues.

 The edge of Jason’s lip curls.

 “What?” the boy asks, and he blinks.

 “Nothing—I’m glad they got you here safe. I’m sure Cloud is proud,” Jason reassures. He reaches for the ambrosia sundae and at this point, the boy knows it’s for him. “I’ve never met birds that were named after other birds.”

 The boy shrugs nonchalantly. “Names are names. Did you know that Hades named his dog Spot?”

 Jason makes a face, watching as this boy pluck a cherry off the sundae and plop it in his mouth. Of all the deities the boy could have chosen (before they checked to see if he actually understands what’s going on—the death of Cloud the Eagle seems to suggest he does.) “I’ve—actually never thought about it that way.”

 “It just sounds cooler because it’s Greek,” the boy says. “Like your name. Otherwise, people would be walking around calling you Healer.”

 “I’m. Sorry, what?”

 “Your name,” the boy repeats, and it’s impossible not to stare at the bits of whipped cream at the corner of his lip. “Jason.”

 “You know my name,” Jason says slowly, on eyebrow arched in the air. This boy has been silent for the last two days, taking in his environment with wide, curious eyes. Jason had seen the boy’s mouth drop when Grover had come to check on him.

 The boy’s cheeks flush, and he quickly nods. “I heard the other two say it.”

 The other two, the boy said. Not Lee and Will. Jason blinks once again. “You know my name and you know the meaning behind my name.”

 “It was in the Argonaut Expansion pack,” the boy continues. “The trivia in the wrapper.”

 Much like Lark and Sparrow, Jason tries to connect the dots in his head. “You mean Mythomagic?”

 The sundae falls from the boy’s hands, and to Jason’s surprise, those blue eyes suddenly glitter with excitement. “You know Mythomagic? Do you play? Do you have a favorite character?”

 He’s vibrating in his seat, and Jason actually leans back to keep ice cream from falling on him. Jason reaches over and dabs the melted ice cream with a tissue. “I’ve dabbled. You’ll see some of the other kids playing Mythomagic here. It helps them understand our world better. Our—hey. So. Do you…understand how you got here? What’s going on?”

 The boy stares at him, puzzled, evidently confused.

 “So you and I—this entire camp,” Jason says slowly, “we’re halfbloods.”

 “Halfbirds?”

 “Halfbloods,” Jason corrects. “Demigods. It means that we’re half human, half—”

 “Half god,” the boy finishes with an excited whisper. His eyes glitter again. “Like Mythomagic.”

 “Yeah, exactly like Mythomagic—”

 “Oh my god,” the boy says again—and the way he vibrates in the bed would make Jason think he was never healing in the first place. “My dad was a god? Oh my dad!”

 Jason stares at the boy in surprise. For a kid that had emerged from the forest covered in blood and spoils, this is the quickest he’s ever seen a demigod recover from learning about their parentage. This kid is acting just like he sounds—a kid—and is now grinning from ear-to-ear.

 “Who’s your parent? Apollo? Aphrodite?” The boy claps his hand on the mattress, then leans close to Jason with a gasp. “It’s Thanatos, isn’t it? That’s why Lark and Sparrow keep screaming death!”

 “Um, Hades, actually—” Jason peels the ice cream sundae away from the bed before it can spill, unable to hide his surprise. Most people didn’t list gods outside the main twelve, let alone mention his dad’s lieutenant of all people. He expects the boy to gulp and shirk away at first—like other kids did when they realized they were suddenly standing with the child of the King of the Dead, but the boy’s hand fall and he stares at Jason with even more fascination.

 “He has 4000 attack power,” the boy whispers in amazement. “5000 if someone else attacks first.”

 Jason blinks, yet again confounded by this boy’s enthusiasm. “Yeah—I think I heard that. You’re not…scared?”

 The boy doesn’t hear him. Instead, he’s mumbling again, evidently still stuck on Jason’s parentage with utter amazement. He falls silent, then looks back up to Jason with hopeful eyes. “Can we hold a funeral for Cloud?”

 This time, Jason’s lips fold into the familiar shape, aching almost, into the first smile that he’s had in a long time. “Is that what you want?”

 The boy nods up and down. “A funeral for Lark and Sparrow’s sister, and maybe a funeral for my—” The boy cuts himself off, the excitement suddenly waning. Jason can see it in the boy’s expression, something hitting him like a freight train, and it looks more solemn and more mournful than it did for Cloud.

 Oh. This boy has seen death recently—and not just for the sister of someone else.

 Jason reaches out and places a hand on the boy’s shoulder. Blue eyes look back up to him, sadder than the bouncing boy from before.

 “We’ll give Cloud a Grecian funeral, just like in Mythomagic,” Jason says quietly. At the M word, the boy cocks his head back up, eyebrows furrowed. “And another for whoever else needs one. Whenever you’re ready.”

 The boy sniffles, his eyes swelling with tears once more.

 “Whenever you’re ready,” Jason repeats.

 “Okay.” To his surprise, the boy throws his arms around Jason like the first day, vice grip and all.

 Jason hesitates—but then folds his arms around the other boy, patting sympathetically as he hears the sniffles grow louder.

 *

 After Will and Lee give the okay, Jason plans a funeral in the woods for Cloud the Eagle—which quickly goes awry from the Grecian traditions that he had planned when Nico explains Lark and Sparrow’s constructive notes. Two of the notes include burying part of their sister “like humans do”—with things that she held dear. Nico whips a feather out of his hair, insistent that it came from the late bird, and explains that Cloud’s favorite items included bird seed and bottle caps.

 Thus, Jason instructs Nico to fill a lunch box with bird seed and bottle caps (there’s a small intermission where Jason watches Nico lecture Lark and Sparrow about eating their sister’s afterlife food) before placing the eagle feather gingerly on top, then listens to Nico and the birds deliver a eulogy for their fallen comrade.

 Grover plays the reedpipes as they lower the lunch box into the ground, and daffodils sprout over the mound. He’s touched, of course, that someone would care enough to want to hold a funeral for an animal of nature.

 “Will Charon accept bird seeds?” Nico asks worriedly.

 Jason doesn’t miss the way Grover suddenly squawks on the reed pipes, evidently amused by the question. He places a hand on Nico’s shoulder, not missing the way that Nico inches closer into his bubble. “Um, animals are out of Charon’s jurisdiction.”

 Nico frowns, clearly upset.

 “They usually get reincarnated. Sometimes as plants, or as new animals,” Grover explains. Jason has to hold back a sigh of relief—he doesn’t know how much more he can talk about death, but Grover is charmed enough. He gestures to the eagles. “Maybe a lark. Or a sparrow. Or—”

 “Or a raven?” Nico asks.

 Grover nods sagely, flashing a look that Jason has always received growing up. Then he ruffles Nico’s hair. “You sure know your birds, Nico.”

 Nico shrugs, the worry about Cloud not reaching the Underworld dissipating. Then, he notices what Jason has been wary of since the young demigod’s arrival. Nico gestures to Lark and Sparrow, who’d given Jason the stink eye since arriving at camp. “Why don’t they like you? They keep calling you the Deathbringer.”

 Jason cringes, and he notices Grover do it too. “Yeah—well, animals aren’t fond of me. They sense death.”

 Another frown curls against Nico’s lips, and the next look that the flashes his birds causes them to behave and stand erect. “But you just helped them bury their sister.”

 “Yeah, tell them that,” Grover mutters, and he nudges Jason affectionately.

 “I am,” Nico assures, and he climbs to his feet. The eagles squawk nervously—and then Nico turns around, his blue eyes fully on Jason. “And you’re so cool.”

 Grover spills into a grin, and Jason’s eyebrows raise in confusion. He can hardly call spending the afternoon filling a lunch box with bird seed and fending off grouchy birds cool. “You think I’m cool?���

 Unabashed, this boy stares at Jason with the same intrigue as he did when Jason started comparing Mythomagic to their lives. “The coolest.”

 Red flourishes in Jason’s cheeks, and Grover is elbowing him again. Before he can open his mouth, Nico turns to his pet eagles, hands on his hips like a doting mother.

 “If you two can’t respect Jason for holding a funeral for Cloud,” Nico says in his best parenting tone, “then scram.”

 Both birds make a sound, evidently shocked, but Nico places a hand in front of him, halting their speech.

 “No,” Nico says, “I’ll be okay here. Please go home.”

 Jason watches in utter disbelief as both birds pick themselves up, glaring at him, before flying away.

 Grover pats him on the shoulder. “You don’t want to know what they said.”

 Nico falls to his knees again and pets the daffodils over Cloud’s makeshift grave. His eyebrows furrow together, evidently troubled at the departure of their friends, but seems set on his decision.

 When he gets over his stupor, Jason clears his throat and walks up behind Nico, finally able to get close to this little grave that he helped make without prying eagle eyes. He kneels to the ground and pats a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Let’s get you settled in at Cabin Eleven.”

[faeryseiko]

Heya! How are you? I hope you're doing well. I recently stumbled upon your account and I love the way you do your matchups. So I hope I could request one. I checked, but I may be wrong so if they're closed I apologize, and please just ignore this. I'd like a BNHA matchup.

I go by any pronouns and the person you match me up with can be of any gender. I'm a Gemini sun, Virgo moon and rising, Aries mars, Cancer venus, and mercury. I'm an INFJ, my enneagram is 6w5 and tritype 629. My Hogwarts house is Ravenclaw, my Greek god parents are Athena and Hades.

As for my physical description, I'm 162cm tall (5'2 or 5'3) and average built. I have curly long hair, that is dyed black on top and grey underneath, it was naturally brown, brown eyes, big lips, pale complexion. I wear glasses and have a nose piercing.

I can't choose an aesthetic so pretty much every time you see me I'll be in a different one, if I had to pick favorites it would be dark academia and grunge. I don't often wear that much makeup, mostly because I'm not very good at it and I lose my patience easily. I have both of my ears pierced in three places and love wearing lots of earrings. I also love rings and bracelets.

I speak 6 languages (Serbian, English, French, Russian, Japanese, and German) and hope to learn more. Languages are one of the things that I am very interested in and hope to pursue during my life, others being psychology and acting. Though pretty much everything is interesting to me and if it was up to me I would be everything at once. I love learning and exploring, new experiences are a constant must. Whether it's new people, new places, new food, new words, anything.

I'm not currently doing any sports but I am still physically active and keep myself in shape. I loved reading ever since I was a little kid and the passion never stopped. I love classics, horror, adventure, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery... I also love reading mangas and watching anime, any genre, I just prefer them to be shorter rather than have over 300 episodes. Pretty much all of the time I am listening to music, my music taste varies from my mood so I just have a bunch of Spotify playlists. I also love watching movies and shows but lately, my time has been occupied with other things so I haven't been catching up.

I am the eldest of three children, and I am not at all in a good relationship with my family. I am at the same time a very insecure yet confident person. I have ADHD, anxiety, and depression, but I am trying to be better. I do great in school and have always been under pressure to perform perfectly.

I don't have a lot of friends and I don't make them easily but I am extremely loyal to those I have and would do anything for them. People have said that I am a very comforting person, and that they always feel like they can trust me and talk to me about anything (which makes me extremely happy) and that I give good advice (would be nice if I ever listened to any of those). Kinda forgot to put it up there but I love writing, I wrote two books and a couple of stories that I will probably never do anything with, and lots of songs.

Once I relax I am a very talkative person, like once I start I just don't stop, which many people described as extremely annoying (totally not one of my biggest insecurities), I know a lot of things in most topics and I love sharing it with other people.

I know how to ride a car and a motorcycle tho I don't have a driver's license for either. I love cooking and baking and I consider myself quite good at it. I have a lot of fictional crushes, so if you'd be with me you'd have to deal with that lol.

I need people that share at least some of my interest and that are capable of keeping long conversations. I love having discussions and playful arguments. Also, a person that is fine with us being in silence, each doing their own thing but still together without it being boring or awkward, just enjoying the other's presence without there being much done. I'd like them to be curious and optimistic, ready to explore the world. Someone I could trust.

I hope that this is enough, but I just know that once I send I'll remember something else I could have said. But anyway, thank you!

// Hello ! Honestly, even though we never met, I felt so flattered to hear you like my writing, because you seem like a very talented person, anyways,,, here’s your matchup ! I hope you like this!//

WARNING SPOILER SEASON 4 (I didn’t know which season you were at so I did two characters !)

Shoto Todoroki

Shoto will seem dull and cold like his at first, like his quirk. But like his quirk, he will show his comfy, approachable self when he trust you enough.

You both started talking to each other after being in teamwork together. Shoto was so surprised when you told him you knew more than two languages. He knows Japanese and English, but would actually love to learn others too.

He has good grades, yes because his father pressures him to have them, but also because he likes to learn.

Oh, trust me he understand family issues. He will try his best to tell his advices to you, but he’s not as good as you are. He will comfort you, though. Give you hugs when you need or simple taps on the shoulder. He will NEVER judge you and will try his best to help you.

New experiences are a must to him too. He grew up in a very strict environment, so he never could enjoy what normal children had. Or what normal people do. He will follow you everywhere and find it fun, no matter what you guys do.

He loves your writing and even asks you some advice on his, because he actually really enjoys reading and writing but never could exploit it because of, you know, Endeavour.

Shoto can be very talkative too. He loves when you’re talking for hours to him, he loves hearing your stories and will always smile when he sees you in that state, because you seem so passionate about it it gives him butterflies.

He will try to keep to convo going, yeah because he loves when you talk, but because you’re really interesting to him.

He never watched any movies, so you can have your fun showing your favorites with him.

He loves every aesthetic you’re in. For him, it’s a way to show how talented and creative you can be. Himself has different aesthetic and one of his favorites would be Dark Academia, you both match !

Shoto also needs silent moments, alone moments to charge his social battery. Though his arms will always be open to talk and if it’s been too long for him, he will maybe knock on your door of your room and ask to at least be with you in silence.

But he will always respect your boundaries and will never judge you.

Mirio Togata

Even though you both probably ‘seem’ different, you both actually have a lot in common !

Mirio always liked to approach others, so he definitely was the first that tried to approach you with his shiny personality, though, he didn’t want to be annoying with you.

After talking for a while, that’s when you learn you have a lot in common ! Such as the love to learn. He was so invested in when you told him that you knew more than 2 languages, so he started to learn one himself !

Mirio joined Night Eye’s agency for that, to learn. He will find everything you’re talking about and share his interests too while doing so.

He loves new experiences too ! He’s not a difficult person, you could literally tell him that you will visit another country and his stuff would already be prepared for that.

You both have different clothing styles, he’s more into the bright colors while you’re (maybe) more into darker ones, but differences make a good match too ! He loves every clothing style you’re into everyday, he will even accept changing his style from time to time too just to match with you.

He doesn’t really have a genre for movies and shows neither. Whatever you’re watching, he’ll watch it with you. He is pretty occupied too but the only thing he has to do is just get his head through the wall and watch it with you, hoping to make you laugh or at least snort in the process.

Mirio gets that. He’s friend with the most insecure guy in almost the entire school after all. Though, when you feel insecure, that’s when he’ll ask you if you need help, a little boost or just simply talk about something else. He will do whatever you need.

And when you feel confident, he’ll cheer you on as much as he can because he knows these little moments of confidence is important, he wants them to be more present. He also thinks you’re really strong mentally for your family problems and that’s what he admires so much about you.

You are a very comforting person. Togata doesn’t mind talking about his problems, such as when he lost his power, he knew it wouldn’t stop him but he felt so guilty and so bad about it. When you started to comfort him, that’s when his smile got back, because you’re really good at it.

Do you really think you can talk too much with Mirio ? He will listen to you and always have cute/happy reactions to what you say. ‘It’s so cool ! Woah ! Good job ! Haha really ?!’ while his mind is blown.

You can’t talk too much with him, because himself talk way too damn much in the first place and will NEVER shut you down for talking for hours. He’ll be so happy to see you like this, because he will knoe you trust him enough for that.

He’ll live with the hours spent on talking about your fictional crushes. He loves when you talk about them and Togata is not the type to get jealous about these things, he trusts you and knows that you love him. And he loves you too !

You know damn well it’s okay with Mirio to talk with him for hours and keep long convos. But he knows to leave you alone when you need to.

His best friend is an introvert and he knows that people need to charge their battery too. He won’t be annoying and will wait for you to talk to him again. Okay, maybe sometimes he will say a few jokes because he miss you, but that’s it, promise. He won’t keep the convos long when you don’t need them.

Mirio loves learning, loves new experiences, will always try to cheer you up and will also leave you alone whenever you need it !

[solangelover]

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

Solangelo Week 2020 - god swap / body swap @solangeloweek 

Read on AO3 or FF.Net

A/N: (Ignore how late this fic is) I recently realized that I love the tag “crack treated seriously” and then I was like, wait is that what I write?? Oh well XD

“Ugh, I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Oh gods, what are we going to do??”

Will and Nico were behind the Hades cabin, but not for the reasons they’d like to be.

Currently, Will was looking at Nico and Nico was looking at Will, but they were also staring at themselves. Because they were in each other’s bodies. Because why not.

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose (Will’s nose?), sighing, “This is ridiculous.”

Will was a little more panicky than his boyfriend. “Oh my gods, how and why is this happening? We can’t be stuck like this! Can we be stuck like this? Oh my gods, what if we’re stuck like this???”

The boys had woken up from a nap together (a literal time of sleeping together) in the early afternoon, only to find that they weren’t quite themselves. They also found a note on the nightstand that said, “Don’t tell, or it’ll take longer to wear off!” signed with a simple red heart. The situation was pretty straight forward, but that didn’t make it any easier to handle.

“Solace, calm down. We’ll be fine. This is either a prank from the Aphrodite kids or Aphrodite herself. I don’t think any children of Aphrodite have ever had precise enough control of their power to extend the time of their curses, though I’ve also never heard of any body or mind swaps from them either…” Nico tapped his chin in thought.

“So you think this is directly from a goddess??” Will flailed his arms for emphasis. He had not been still since they woke up switched.

Nico held up his hands placatingly. “Will, I said to calm—”

“When has that ever made anyone calm??”

Nico’s eyes flicked to the ground behind Will, noticing some movement. He immediately recognized the shadows reacting to Will’s panic, swirling around his feet and slowly pulling upward like a barrier. Huh, so that’s what that looks like, Nico thought, finally seeing what other people saw. He could admit that it was slightly terrifying.

“Okay! Okay, Will, just, breathe with me. Remember, like you taught me?” Nico drew in a deep breath, emphasizing the movement with his hands. He exhaled loudly. “In 4, hold 3, out, like, 5. Right?”

“What, no, do you even listen to me? It’s in 4, hold 7, out 8. Like this,” and Will proceeded to do several slow breaths. Nico was grinning even as he copied Will. He also realized how different he looks when he’s not frowning while doing the exercise. He should probably pay attention to his facial expressions more.

After a few more breaths, Nico ventured, “Better?”

Will blinked a few times before letting out a chuckle. “Oh, I see what you did there. Sneaky Death Boy.” He smiled at Nico, which, again, was a very different sight to Nico. Not that he didn’t smile often, but for some reason, Will made his smile look brighter.

Instead of saying this, Nico replied with, “Well, actually I think you’re the Death Boy now, Sunshine.”

Will face palmed while Nico laughed. It was weird to hear Will’s laugh ringing in his own ears, knowing that Nico himself was the one laughing. Switching bodies was a real out-of-body experience.

Nico jolted and then groaned to himself. “Will, please tell me you don’t think in puns.”

Will immediately straightened up and asked desperately, “What was the pun? Please tell me, I haven’t thought of a single one this whole time.”

Nico sighed. “Just how this is a real out-of-body experience.”

Will burst into laughter immediately. “Oh, that’s a good one!” He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. “Yeah, puns just pop into my head. I don’t know if it’s a gift from Apollo or what, but I love it and already miss it.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “I hate you. Or me. I hate this body and brain. It’s stupid.”

Will hummed. “That’s not what you said last night.”

“Will, I swear to the gods, stop taking flirting tips from Cecil and Lou Ellen. They make no sense coming from you. I didn’t even see you yesterday!” Nico wrinkled his nose in disgust as he watched his boyfriend waggle his eyebrows suggestively with his body. “Also, don’t make me say or do dumb things. It’s wrong.”

Will’s face lit up, which really made Nico look his age instead of like the 80-something year old he truly was, and he proceeded spin around and flail his arms. Nico knew this to be Will’s version of dancing.

Will abruptly stopped and pouted at Nico. “No fair. I can literally feel your body being graceful even when I’m controlling the movements. I can’t make you dance badly if I tried!”

“Don’t test that theory,” Nico chuckled despite himself, glad to see that Will had calmed down and was actually having fun in this scenario. He’d hate to ruin the good mood, but, “How long do you think this will last?”

Will sobered up quickly, folding his arms in thought. “Hard to say. Like you said, we’ve never heard of this kind of prank being pulled before. So, if it really is from the goddess of love… then we just have to not make her mad so she lifts the curse, or at least, doesn’t extend it.” His eyebrows furrowed quizzically. “Why did she curse us in the first place?”

“I bet she was just bored,” Nico shrugged. “Anyway, her note also said that we can’t tell anyone, otherwise we’ll be stuck like this for longer. So…” he trailed off, unsure of where that left them.

“Basically, we have to be each other for however long, without telling anyone directly what’s happening.” Will swallowed.

The boys let that sink in. And then simultaneously groaned.

“I was supposed to teach a sword lesson in a few hours,” Nico grumbled, imagining just how much could go wrong with Will handling a sword. Granted, he’d be in Nico’s body, but still.

“And I have a shift at the infirmary through dinnertime,” Will ran a hand through his hair, distracted momentarily by the silky black locks he combed through instead of his normal wiry dirty blonde hair. At least Nico had helped in the infirmary enough to know what Will did and where things were. But he did not have the medical training and experience Will had. What might happen if a camper got seriously hurt?

They sat in silence for a bit as they thought this over. Could they pull it off?

“…”

“…”

“This is bad.”

“This is doable,” they said at the same time. Nico looked up in concern, thinking his boyfriend was overestimating his sword skills, while Will looked mildly offended as he thought Nico was doubting his own knowledge of the infirmary.

“Neeks! You can totally take a shift at the infirmary. My siblings will be there for anything major,” Will stated with his hands on his hips. He had to look up slightly since Nico was a few inches shorter than Will, which was definitely a new experience for Will.

“Okay,” Nico looked doubtful, but continued. “But I don’t think you can run a sword lesson. No offense,” he tacked on with an apologetic smile.

Will hummed in agreement. “Yeah, that’s probably true. We can cancel it, though, right? Or ask someone to take it over?”

“Ugh, I don’t know. I don’t want to cause suspicion or upset the love goddess for any reason,” Nico frowned. “… I think we might just have to… do this.”

They stared at each other for a moment more.

“Oh gods,” Will buried his face in his hands.

“Merda,” Nico glared at the sky, the bright blue like Aphrodite herself was mocking him. She probably was.

---

*At the arena*

“Okay, guys! Um, today we’re going to shake things up and have some fuuuuun!” Nico was absolutely going to kill Will for making him sound like an idiot, but he didn’t know what else to do. Six kids between eight to ten years old gazed up at him with varying levels of excitement and confusion. Will distractedly realized how much he’s sweating (though more from nerves than physical exhaustion) and understood why Nico did his usual training shirtless. But Will was highly unsure about being so close to his shirtless boyfriend’s body, regardless of who’s brain was controlling his movements. So, the shirt stayed.

“What are we doing that’s so great, Mr. Nico?” An eight-year-old Ares girl looked a little too excited about sword-fighting class for Will’s comfort.

“Um,” Will rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he spoke. He was reaching for any way to circumvent dangerously pointy weapons when an idea struck him. “Oh!” He smiled at the kids, who looked quite off-put by the expression. “Today, we’re going to discuss basic medical knowledge to know when you’re on the battlefield!”

The groans he received put a damper on what he thought was a very practical lesson that he’s immensely proud he came up with.

“But that’s what infirmary class is for! Mr. Will taught us!”

“Yeah, I wanna fight with swords!”

“Ah ah ah!” Will interrupted their grumblings before it got out of hand. “Mr. Will teaches what the medics do once you can leave a fight and be treated properly. This will be quick fixes while you’re still fighting. It’s important that you can quickly assess wounds and determine your next course of ac—”

“Ugh, you sound like Mr. Will!”

“Yeah, you never talk this much, Mr. Nico.”

“Maybe he’s not the real Mr. Nico.”

These kids were getting dangerously close to the truth, and Will almost wanted to tell them so they’d stop complaining. But no, couldn’t do that. Hm, how do I make them interested while sounding like Nico…

Will lit up when he finally realized what to do. Really, he should be better at this, he has so many little siblings. But he and Nico didn’t exactly behave in the same way. Nico didn’t like coddling kids in any way, especially not in his class. That’s probably why they loved him so much.

“Okay, okay,” Will said loudly, cutting off the students’ whispering as he sat down in front of them. “How about I tell you a story?”

Immediately, all the kids cheered and sat down as close to him as they could, stars shining in their eyes.

“Haven’t you fought werewolves?”

“Do you see ghosts?”

“You fought with Percy Jackson! Tell us about him!”

“What kind of powers do you have?”

“Oh, tell us about defeating the Titans!”

“Are zombies, like, super gross?”

Will laughed at how excited they all were. He almost forgot that Nico was a famous war hero instead of his dorky boyfriend. “Okay, listen closely. You may learn a thing or two from my heroic tales!” He puffed out his chest dramatically, drawing adorable giggles from everyone. He then launched into a story about one of Nico’s many battles, throwing in how he used his medical knowledge to patch himself up and continue fighting. Needless to say, everyone paid attention when Will brought out some bandage rolls for them to practice with.

---

*At the infirmary*

“Will, what in Hades are you doing?”

Nico jumped at Kayla’s voice sounding behind him. His head knocked into a shelf, spilling supplies on the floor. He was not hiding in the supply closet.

“Um,” he began eloquently. “Inventorying?”

Kayla rolled her eyes. “Bro, you did that yesterday. And we don’t have that many people coming in here, so I highly doubt we’re low on anything.” So maybe she was just exasperated with her brother and didn’t suspect anything weird was going on.

“Well, you know me,” was a phrase that Will never said and yet it’s all Nico could think of. He shrugged apologetically at Will’s sister.

“Whatever, come on, Cecil just came in with some burns on his arms. I’d say it was from the lava wall, but he probably exploded something in his face.” She led the way out of the supply closet and toward the front of the infirmary. Where Cecil, Will’s best friend, was waiting and would surely notice something off about Will.

“What are you going to do?” he asked Kayla.

She eyed him with some suspicion. “… What do you want me to do?”

“Oh, uh,” Nico was confused. “Um, nothing? Whatever you normally do?”

“… Huh.” (Will had definitely given her a task to do that morning.)

She was about to respond when Nico blurted out, “You can end early, if you want.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. That was not a common thing for the head medic to say, for sure.

“I mean,” Nico floundered for any sort of reasoning. “You’ve been working hard recently, and I just thought you might like a little extra free time.” He paused for a moment before adding, “And you’re taking the cabin to dinner tonight since I’m working, which is hard enough.”

At that, Kayla laughed and seemed to relax. “Yeah, no kidding. You want me gone? I’m gone, no problem.” Nico sighed with relief. Then he realized that if anyone came in majorly injured, he’d have no help. He thought about taking it back, but she was already out the door.

With another sigh, Nico headed toward the bed Cecil was currently lounging on, not concerned in the slightest about the mild burns on his forearms. He picked up his head as Nico approached.

“‘Sup, Will!”

Nico shook his head, feeling Will’s blond wisps tickle his face as he did so, and gave his friend an exasperated smile like he’d seen Will do a million times over. “Here again, Markowitz?”

Cecil threw his head back and laughed. “Markowitz? I thought Mr. Doom-and-Gloom was the only one who used last names like the old-timer he is?”

“Uh,” Nico fumbled. “Yeah, I was just… testing it out?”

“Okay, Doctor Solace,” Cecil rolled his eyes. “I just need the magic bandages and I’ll be on my way.”

Right, healing magic. Something Will should be able to do. But Nico doesn’t know if he can make his powers work properly. “Right, I’ll just… get some bandages.”

Cecil didn’t seem to notice or care about the healer’s apparent hesitation, simply leaning back on his bed. “Sure thing. So, how’s life, my friend?”

Nico scoffed, “Don’t we see each other every day? Multiple times?”

“That doesn’t mean I know how you’re doing. Is it so wrong I want to hear from my best friend, my buddy, my pal?” Cecil was so dramatic sometimes.

Nico just hummed in response as he came back with some bandages and burn ointment. Thank the gods he had helped out in the infirmary many times in the past. Will taught him the basics at least, and he’d taken care of minor injuries like this before. Hopefully, that was enough, and Cecil didn’t ask for any actual hymns.

“Soooo,” Cecil drawled. “How’s the boyfriend?”

Nico choked on air.

“Oh, come on, Will,” Cecil rolled his eyes. “You should be used to me asking by now. You know I’m nosy!”

“I, um,” Nico didn’t know what to say.

Luckily, Cecil continued. “Remember when you used to talk my ear off about Nico? I can’t say I miss those days, but it’s so much harder when I have to pry for information.”

Nico was suddenly much more interested in this conversation. “I didn’t used to talk that much… did I?”

“Oh,” Cecil sat up straight, jostling his arm that Nico was trying to wrap. “Don’t even give me that. You know you did. All I heard was Nico’s so cute and he’s so strong and did you know he used to play Mythomagic? That’s adorable!” He mocked Will’s voice and practically swooned at the end. Even while blushing furiously, Nico had to hold in his laughter. He’s not surprised that Will said those things, but hearing Cecil complain about it made it even funnier.

“I did not,” Nico said indignantly like he’d heard Will do so many times. He wasn’t a good liar.

“Yes, you totally did! Must I recount the many laments of Nico’s beauty and grace?”

Nico really hoped his smile didn’t come off as mischievously as he felt. “Oh, please do.”

---

Will came by the infirmary with a plate of food toward the end of Nico’s shift. The place was empty except for Nico sweeping the floor. Will had to pause in the doorway for a second, his mind still confused when he saw himself doing the sweeping. Is that what I usually look like? But, no, probably not. Because Nico was scowling hard at the floor as he worked, which was an odd look to see on the son of Apollo’s face.

“Knock knock!” Will called out, getting his boyfriend’s attention. Nico blinked a few times at Will, probably jarred in the same way Will was upon seeing himself.

Then he scowled again. “Don’t say that in my body—I look dumb.”

Will gasped in mock offense, then twirled around with his plate of food. “I think I make you look good, Sunshine.” He winked at Nico for good measure, who in turn groaned and dropped the broom where he was.

The boys settled down at Will’s desk, Nico taking Will’s usual seat in case anyone came in. They didn’t want any questions, no matter how innocent.

“So, do you think this body swap business is almost done?” Will asked as they started eating.

Nico could only shrug. “Hopefully. A day is the average length of a curse around here, but who knows?”

Will hummed in agreement. After a few more moments of silence, he asked, “How was the infirmary today? Everything went okay?”

Nico nodded. “Yeah, only Cecil came in with some burns.” He then smirked at his boyfriend. “He also told me some stories.”

“Oh no,” Will muttered as he buried his face in his hands. “About what?” He was afraid to know the answer.

“You know, just about you… and how you used to gush over me all the time.” Nico was fully grinning now. Will didn’t know he could look so evil.

“Ugh, whyyyyy,” he groaned loudly.

“I have so much blackmail material now.”

“I hate you.”

“Yeah.”

They lapsed into another brief silence before Nico piped up again. “So, did you kill anyone in my class?”

“Psh, I’ll have you know, I am an excellent teacher,” Will puffed up.

Nico raised an eyebrow at him. “Yes, but your sword skills aren’t exactly up to par.”

“Well then it’s a good thing we didn’t use swords today.” Nico’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but before he could say anything, Will leapt out of his chair and struck what he probably thought was a heroic pose. “I regaled your students with tales of your bravery,” he trumpeted in a deep, dramatic voice. “While also interjecting some medical advice and emphasizing the importance of field medical knowledge.”

A beat of silence, and then, “Please don’t tell me you said it like that.”

“Just like that,” Will replied, a cheeky grin on his face.

Now it was Nico’s turn to groan, cheeks flooding red with embarrassment. “Will! I have a reputation!”

“Which I have elevated, you’re welcome.” He bowed as he returned to his seat.

“I hate you.”

“I know.”

[writtenfan]

Ah, The Joys of Parenthood, They’re your Whole Underworld ya know?

DisneyHades x Reader

Taking care of the little fire-crackers can be a lot, Hades sure feels that way...

Oh geez, s-settle down, kiddos… No, no. No! No!! I take a call for two seconds! -” he holds up two fingers and waves them in the air looking down at his kids, fussing and running around the room. 

“TWO. Itty bitty SECONDS!, and all of you go Lord of the Flies on me.”

You watch Hades breathing heavily, trying his very very best to keep himself calm tempered but his flames give away how angry he is by their frantic bursts of red between the blue. His internal de-fuming was interrupted by a loud-

 BAM! 

As one of the three kids, tripped over their father’s smoke and onto the rug which made him snap his head to them, grab them by their shoulders with the same smoke they tripped over and pulled them towards him.

They look up at him will a giddy smile and he scrunches up his nose and gives them a closed smile back, which looked absolutely phony.

“Cool it, you little pest, or DADDY’S going to, lose it. Capiche? You don’t like it when daddy goes Koo-Koo! Koo-Koo! Right?!” he hisses through his teeth and your child shakes their head with a worried frown and slowly walks off towards a bunch of books laying on the floor.

“Oy Vey, KIDS! Alright, ok, Calm down Hades. In and out, remember what Hera told you? Oh ho ho, ho…feeling dumb now aren’t ya? How you shoulda thought twice before-” he stops himself and closes his eyes, taking a deep breath in an exhaling hot smoke as he opens his eyes lazily.

His voice turning eerily sweeter, “Ahem. Daddy can only handle sooo MUCH~! Before he decides to take the late abortion, option...

... AND THROWS YOU IN THE STYX!!!”

Well. He Failed at Being Calm.

His fire sparks a dazzling red which causes all of your kids to halt and say their apologies to their father, significantly slowing down in the process, all except one kid. Who seemed to be completely running on adrenaline and just wouldn’t sit still.

“Thank you. You little brats… Geez, and watch your sibling eh? Oy, I shouldn’t have given them those cookies…but they kept bugging me and bugging me. Works for the dog, I give them a treat and badabing! They’re off my back for an hour or two. But this little smutch right here?! Sheesh!” He mocks a buzzer sound. “Wrong answer. Never again, you hear me?!” he points to your child who gives their father a sharp toothed grin.

You lean against the stone door frame and some of the stone crumbles off the wall and his attention shifts to you and the smirk on your face. He sizzles down automatically. 

The blue flames flicker once again on the top of his head. His face turns to this sentimental big-eyed and blushing grin. 

“y/n! sweetheart, the exquisite object of my affection…” he glides his way towards you, and you meet him in the middle of the room. 

Your kids turn their head and smile at you, with a few hi (mommy/daddy’s) but once again become preoccupied with the one child that just wouldn’t stop putting pieces of books into the fire. You tell them to stay away from the breakables with a laugh as you watch the youngest drop the books and run towards a statue while the middle child is just trying to pull the younger one way from it. 

This den had turned into the colosseum pits of Rome more than once and It didn’t help that it was filled with old irreplaceable books and rickety bookshelves crawling with Underworld bugs. (Which Hades uses as a light reading snack ugh). Along with a cluster of breakable glass containers and cylinders holding whatever the hell they held, littering the floor.

This place was a disaster zone. The few screaming statues that stood around the room sure didn’t make it peaceful either and right on cue you watched your oldest accidentally fall into one after tugging with the youngest and you leaped forward as you saw the statue jolt but were greeted with, “Aye aye, I got it, it got iiiit…” As a burst of smoke pushed against the other side of the statue stopping it from falling while picking back up the oldest on their feet and grabbing your youngest by the back of their collar and hovering them over the fireplace, (which had absolutely nothing to prevent a child from falling inside) plopping them down on the huge intricately woven rug made by The Fates. 

Unexpectedly Hades pulls you into him by the waist and spins you around in a circle. “Angel face, Baby. heh, do you think you could? Uh, handle them, for me? For a little bit, of course.”

  You give him a look.

“ Ay heheh...I just have to go to another business meeting, haha yeah. He rests his hands on your waist and isn’t afraid to hold them firmly, oh he knew how to make you soft.  

“You know Echidna right?! Right. Husband Typhon… the mountain guy… you know. 6 weeks ago at the pool party, best Feta Me Meli you ever had? Well. They’ve been impatient recently and I rather not get on her bad side…or have them on mine. So, watch little Cerberus Jr. for me until my meet up is over, cool? Cool.” He gestures to your three kids who have now restrained the youngest who was flickering little bursts of red around their hair. (He collectively calls them Cerberus Jr. Quite often.) Sweat is rolling down Hades’s forehead and sizzling off in steam just as it formed, his face still in complete pleading mode, lips pouted, eyes all big...

“Please?!” he clears his throat.

 “I mean, ha-ha-heh please dearest? I mean, I deserve it! I bet your liking this top-notch parenting your witnessing eh?” He blows hot air on his knuckles and rubs them on his chest as if shining it. “Well, I hope this turns you on… But I’m kinda running a bit low on steam, or should I say, smoke.” he grumbles. 

Your eldest yells from across the room as they're putting all the books on high shelves to stop the youngest from continuing to shred them into the fire. They then say something about how “Dad” gave the youngest some oatmeal cookies that had him bouncing off the walls. 

“You little snitch,” Hades mumbled under his mouth giving his child the eye which made them shudder and look away. You turn to Hades with an eyebrow raised, and he places a hand on your back and turns you around from the kids gilding you towards the door.

“But even though I’m ha top, repeating what you said last night, DILF. Of the Underworld and all-” He chuckled proudly and you laugh and turn your head to the kids, and you catch one rolling their eyes and you give them an ashamed little chortle “-I got to get some work done, that isn’t…this work.”

He grins sheepishly and you roll your eyes and smile. But remind him that you’re not going to be the typical stay at home (mom/dad) that he may want you to be. As you caught him slipping earlier with such an expectation from you. Which made you make him spend time with the kids in the first place.

“Oh YES! GODS. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!” 

He clasps both his hands around yours and shakes them frantically and you start laughing which makes him grin. “I promise boss, I won’t let you down. Overtime even and ill clock in early (ma’am/sir) I'll even stay in late…and help you, liquidate the debt …if you know what I mean…” he wiggles his eyebrows and you are bombarded with little kisses all over your face as he says “Muah” for each one, you try pushing him off you but he turns you around as you do so that his back is now towards the door. He pulls away from you laugh as he gives you a salute, but before slipping through the door he points to the kids.

“If you make your (mother/father) mad or sad or anything but glad! I’ll give you all a worthy punishment for your demi-dis“ass”ter’s got it?” He points to himself and then back at them and they reply in obvious dread and you wave him off but he just gives you few air kisses, “I’ll take ya on a little trip to doom-and-gloomingdales and get you something swanky, we’ll have Pain and Panic watch the kids.” He gives you a wink and clicks his tongue as he leaves and you walk over to your kids. 

Scooping up the youngest who was on a sugar high and watch their little flames of anger die down as you held them from their middle with ease and you smiled as they started laughing as you hoisted them up on your shoulders.

“How’re (mommas/daddy’s) favorite kids doing huh. Driving him mad eh?” you chuckle as you walk over to your other two scamps.

“We’re you only kids…”

“I’m the favorite!!”

“BOW DOWN TINY MORTALS FOR I AM HADES!!”

You smirk up at the one on your shoulders.

“Oh, please don’t copy your father there’s enough of him already.”

[delicatelyherdreams]

Pragma(tic) 8: He Gets Found Out (and a Phone Call)

Pairing: Persephone!Bucky Barnes x Hades!Reader

Summary: In a world where the old gods never truly died, you must learn to navigate your way through the ups and downs of immortality. And if living forever wasn’t hard enough, an ancient evil is now threatening to break free after centuries of silence. And as if that still wasn’t hard enough for you, now a pesky and infuriatingly handsome god is trying to wedge his way into your life. Gods, work, love, and conflict—what more could a goddess need? [Hades & Persephone AU]

Word Count: 2343

Warnings: Language

Pragma(tic) Masterlist

Previous 7: Her Thoughts Conflict

Bucky was rudely awoken by something grainy and bulky hitting his nose and an angry voice demanding, “What the fuck are these?”

He reached up and wrapped his fingers around the object, his skin coming in contact with smooth, familiar leather. His stomach dropped and he opened his eyes to see the pouch of seeds (y/n) had given him and Sam and Steve glowering down at him, rage emitting off both their bodies. He didn’t even know what to say.

Steve’s glare was the most intense. “Those seeds, they’re not of the Mortal World, and they’re not from Olympus. There are six seeds in here. You’ve been going down to the Underworld, haven’t you?” 

Bucky stared at the seeds, his heart gripped with terror. He didn’t know if they knew how many seeds had been in the pouch before or if they’d known that he’d been down there six times over the last three months since he’d gotten them but at this point, it didn’t matter. They knew he had them. Bucky opened his mouth but his words would not obey him.

“Haven’t you?” Steve demanded.

Shit.

“Alright,” Bucky cried. “Yes, I’ve been going down there. But you don’t understand, I—”

Sam laughed bitterly. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. After all we’ve been through, man? We were sworn to protect you and to obey your mother’s one rule: never ever deal with the Underworld. And what do you do? You do it anyways! Do you realize how that makes Steve and me look? What if your mother came back while you were on one of your little excursions and we had no idea where you were? We’re supposed to know your location at all times; she’d kill us if we lost you. And if we lost you to the Underworld? Buck, this is serious!”

Bucky hung his head. He knew it was serious and he felt incredibly guilty for putting his best friends in the position they were in now, but he couldn’t make himself regret it one bit.

Steve’s eyes cut daggers coated with disappointment through Bucky’s skull. “Your mother has one absolute rule, Buck, and that is the only rule you decide to break. And then you don’t even tell us.” His voice broke and he huffed a sigh. “We probably would have supported you, man; you just had to tell us what was going on. We can’t help you if we don’t know what’s happening.”

“I’m sorry,” Bucky whispered. “I know I shouldn’t have kept it from you guys, but I just…” He shook his head. “When I went down there the first time, there was just… It was amazing. It felt more like a home than any field has ever been. You guys are going to think that I’m insane, but there’s just something about the place that makes me feel good. I don’t know what it is, I don’t know if I’ll ever know, but it’s amazing.” Bucky looked up at his friends, apologies unspoken filling his eyes but accompanied by a resolute firmness that was unshakable. “And I’m going to keep on going down there.”

“Bucky, I—”

“No, Steve. I’m sorry, but I refuse to stop going down there. You guys can try to keep me here all you want, but I’m going to find ways around you. I refuse to leave (y/n) and there’s nothing you can do about that.”

Sam frowned in confusion, his brows furrowing and his head moving backward as he looked down at his friend. “(y/n)? Who the hell is (y/n)?”

Bucky felt his ears redden and he bowed his head. “She’s… um…”

“Never mind her right now,” Steve said, waving them off. “Bucky, look at us.”

Bucky obeyed.

Steve smiled at him sympathetically, his eyes turning kind. “Look, Sam and I have already talked about this. We’ve known you’ve been going down there for a while, now—you reek of death every time you come back. We aren’t mad that you go down there and we aren’t going to stop you. We’re mad because you didn’t trust us enough to tell us so.”

Bucky looked at his friend, awe encompassing his face. “You’re serious? You’re not going to stop me?”

“Hades no. You’re a grown man, you can make your own decisions. We just need to know when you’re going so that way, if your mother comes looking for you, we can make you an alibi and she won’t get suspicious. But we need you to tell us because she might actually smite us if we lost you.”

Sam cleared his throat, the idea of an angry Winnifred leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. “Seriously, so long as you take a shower after you get back so you don’t reek and you don’t bring us back any souvenirs, we don’t care if you go down there. We care if it starts to get us in trouble and when we’re left in the dark.”

Bucky stared up at his best friends, completely astonished. “R-Really?”

“Yes. Keep going all you want, just give us a heads up.”

He couldn’t believe that they were okay with this. He’d been so afraid of being found out by them, but he’d never really had anything to fear. His face split into the widest grin ever. Clutching the bag of Asphodel seeds close to his chest, he smiled at his friends. “Thank you.”

“No problem, Buck,” Steve said sitting next to his friend. “Remember, we’re with you ‘til the end of the line and we’ll always be here to support you, no matter what stupid things you decide to do.”

Bucky laughed, but wrapped his arm around his friend’s shoulder pulling him in for a half-hug. “You’re the best; the both of you.”

Sam sat down next to him as well and smirked. “Oh, we know. Now, who’s (y/n)? Is she some spirit you found down there and fell in love with?”

Bucky’s ears reddened. “Well, not exactly.”

“Some spirit you befriended?”

“N-No, she’s—”

“And, what about Harriet?” Steve asked, his eyebrows shooting up as he scooted closer, eager to hear the story. “I thought she was the one you were sneaking off to see?”

“Will you two let me explain? Gods, you’d swear I was mute.” Bucky rolled his eyes and huffed like a child. 

Steve and Sam snapped their jaws shut and looked at him expectantly.

Bucky took a deep breath before starting. “Harriet does not exist. I made her up.”

“But I thought you just couldn’t get her out of your mind,” Steve said, his voice jumping an octave in a poor imitation of Bucky.

“There’s a different girl I can’t get out of my mind.”

“This ‘(y/n)?’”

Bucky nodded. 

Sam nodded. “So, who is she?”

This is where Bucky started to get nervous. How was he going to tell them that the girl who he thought about was the Queen of the Underworld? “Well… Um… You guys have actually met her before.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Bucky rubbed the back of his neck, trying so hard to figure out how to tell them who (y/n) was without them flipping their shit. “She’s… Er… She’s got unusual eyes, and you met her once… When she threw me out.”

“When she—” Sam’s eyes blew wide. “You’ve gotta be shitting me! (y/n) is Hades?”

Steve shared the same flabbergasted expression as his friend but he said nothing.

Bucky, however, was quick to her defense. “Guys, she’s not as bad as you think. She’s kind, she’s smart, she’s human. She’s probably the most amazing person I’ve ever met, immortal or otherwise. Sure, she’s cold and strict when you first meet her, but over these past few months I’ve learned a lot about her. She’s funny, she’s sarcastic, she’s complicated. There’s a lot that makes her her. And I think she gets a bad reputation because of where she lives and what she rules over. But she does her job well and is fair, kind, and just. (y/n) is amazing, and I don’t want you to think otherwise. I refuse to stop seeing her.”

Both his friends went silent for a bit, letting it sink in that their friend was mixed in with way more powerful beings than either of them had expected.

Bucky awaited their response anxiously, his confidence from defending her slowly crumbling away. He was scared. Although they were okay with letting him go down to the Underworld, they might have been less okay with him fraternizing with a goddess like her.

Time passed. It felt like hours, but it was only seconds.

Steve was the first to break the silence with a heavy sigh. Raising his head, he eyed his friend anxiously and asked, “So you’re fonduing with the goddess of the dead?”

Bucky choked. That was not the response he’d been expecting. “I’m what?”

“Fonduing. You know,” he gestured vaguely. “Is she your girlfriend? Are you guys doing the ‘do?’”

Sam barked with laughter. “Oh, my gods, Steve! Of course they aren’t!” Then, as if to confirm his allegations, he leaned towards Bucky and whispered, “You aren’t, right?”

“No! Oh my gods, (y/n) and I are just friends. We literally just got to friends. She kicked me out like five times before I even got to the friend status. I’m not going to screw that up.” Bucky smiled then when he thought about (y/n)—her reluctant smiles and her teasing nature. He was glad that he had befriended her.

Steve chuckled. “She sounds like she can carry her weight,” he mused. “Look, Buck, I’m still not crazy about you hanging around Hades, but I know I can’t stop you. So, just promise me you’ll be safe?”

“Always.” Bucky smiled and pocketed the leather bag of seeds. He was happy to have his friends’ support, and it was comforting to know that they wouldn’t stop him.

———

That night, Bucky lay in his meadow under the stars, staring up at the stars. Sam and Steve were already asleep, leaving Bucky alone with his thoughts.

Naturally those thoughts traveled to (y/n).

He wondered how she was doing right now. Was it nighttime in the Underworld? Was she asleep, or was she awake too? What could she be thinking about? Could she be thinking of him?

Bucky sighed heavily and turned onto his side. Why couldn’t he get her out of his head? Why did she occupy almost all of his waking hours? 

Because you care for her, and you just don’t know it.

Bucky wondered if that was even possible—to care so deeply about someone he knew so little about. Hell, he’d only known her for a short amount of time, but he knew that there was little he wouldn’t do for her. The Queen of the Underworld had him wrapped around her little finger and he was fine with it.

He wanted her to be happy, he wanted her to be safe, he wanted her to love and be loved.

He wondered if there was a special someone in her life, someone who could treat her like the queen she was. He hoped there was. He wanted her to experience that kind of happiness in life.

...Even if it meant it wasn’t with him.

For some reason, his heart ached at the thought of her with another. It felt like a knife was being driven through his chest and salt was being poured on the wound. It hurt him more than he expected, and so he decided to turn his thoughts away from the negative and focus on the positive.

He could see her whenever he wanted now with the seeds. And she was warming up to him! She’d told him he could go down the last time, maybe she’d invite him down the next time.

And then… Maybe he could invite her up here. He got the feeling that (y/n) rarely ever left her realm; maybe he could change that. She deserved a night on the town and Bucky would’ve been more than happy to show her around his favorite spots in the world.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he turned onto his side. The grass tickled his face and he closed his eyes as he sank into the peace. Maybe he could just go to sleep and call it all good.

But the silence surrounding him was broken by the sound of his phone ringing loudly in his pocket. It demanded his attention, screaming for him, calling him, begging to be seen. 

Bucky groaned loudly as he dug into the pockets of his pajama pants. Fishing his phone from there, he peered at the ridiculously bright screen. 

(y/n)’s caller ID was flashing on the screen, signaling that she was calling him. 

Bucky frowned, but answered the call anyway. “Hello?” he asked, his voice heavy with the sleep that never was.

The line was silent for a few seconds.

“Hello?” he called again, trying to get a response. His heart filled with worry. Why wasn’t she answering him?

“B-Bucky?”

He sat up straighter, suddenly wide awake.

She was scared; he could hear it in her voice. His protective instincts started to kick in and he clutched the phone tighter. “(y/n)? What’s wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Her voice trembled as she struggled to say, “I-I…” She couldn’t seem to even form a sentence as she stuttered.

“It’s alright, Doll. I’m here now. Use your words. What’s wrong? What do you need?”

“I… I need you.”

Her voice was broken, but Bucky was up on his feet and moving towards a vacant corner of the meadow. Jeans and a button-up shirt that matched his eyes materialized over his pajamas and he pulled her bag of seeds out of his pocket. “I’m on my way,” he said, hanging up the phone, fishing out a seed and throwing it on the ground. A hole immediately opened up and he jumped in, falling down down down to the Underworld.

Next 9: The Past Comes Back to Haunt Her

[antihero-writings]

Before it Kills You Too (Ch2 Snippets)

Fandom: Lore Olympus

Chapter Summary: When Hera gets into a car accident after a fight, Zeus has a moment to ruminate on their relationship.

Written using the song “Wait” by Maroon 5 as a prompt.

Character Focus: Zeus

Please note!!

This is the previous Ch2 snippet I posed + a new snippet (the new snippet starts with “I understand you want to see her”)

I’ve been having trouble with this chapter for a very long time, so, even though I’ve never done this before, I’m thinking continuing to post snippet-by-snippet is perhaps the only way I’ll successfully finish this fic. 

Thanks again SO much to those who support this fic and want to read more!! The fact that you want to read more really does mean the world to me!!

While this should be as close to the final version as it can be, anything in this snippet is subject to change when the full chapter comes out. (And, hey, to that end, if there’s anything you think needs to be edited here, you may kindly let me know! I’d appreciate if you said things you liked too though.)

I’d really appreciate it if you could leave a comment and/or reblog!!! I’m not kidding when I say that makes my week!!

Tagging some folks who said they were interested! @jayyy007 @autumnmoon21 @sunsetsofanemoia, @lynnie51

And please do let me know if you’d like me to add you to a taglist for this fic, or message you when new snippets/the next chapter come/s out!!

Chapter 2 Snippets 1 & 2:

Hera was standing in the crowded meadow, surrounded by her friends, laughing that girly little giggle full of sunshine that just about made Zeus’ heart ooze in a puddle out of his chest.

Her blue dress made her eyes look like two shimmering sapphires.

“Have I seen her in a dress that color?” Zeus inquired excitedly from behind the bushes.

“How can we know what you’ve seen?” Aidoneus muttered. “With you creeping around, you might have seen her naked for all we know.”

Zeus punched him in the arm, (lightly).

“I don’t think she’s worn a dress that color!” Posiedon bubbled.

“Thank you, Posiedon. At least someone can answer a question.”

“I think she looks like the sea on summer day.” He put his hands on his face, them sliding slowly.

Zeus eyed him. “Alright, keep it in your toga, Little Green Man.”

“Should we really be here?” Aidoneus muttered. “We weren’t invited.”

“Oh come on,” Zeus stood up, putting his hands on his hips. “Who wouldn’t want to see the King of the gods here?”

Poseidon grinned and stood up behind his brother. “No one!”

“Hestia, Demeter… assorted sane people.” Hades muttered as he stood to follow.

“If that’s sanity I’m glad I’m insane.” Zeus trilled as he strutted up to the entrance.

A cute pink nymph—(rather well endowed in the chestal region—not that he noticed!)—greeted them at the archway.

“Oh! Zeus!” She flushed and bowed. “It’s an honor. Welcome!”

“Why it’s an honor to meet you, my lady.” He kissed her hand, and she giggled. “See?” he turned to his brothers. “They’re delighted to have us.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling.” Hades muttered.

Hera was closer now; she smelled like summer, and she looked like it too. Poseidon was right about the ocean thing; she practically shimmered as she spoke with her friends.

“I’m gonna go talk to her.”

“Wait—!” Hades was soon swallowed by the crowd.

Zeus scooched behind her at lightning speed. One by one her friends began to take notice, their eyes widening.

Hera took a step back and would have tripped in surprise if he hadn’t caught her.

“Careful there, you might fall, Birthday Girl.”

“Oh, Zeus!” She looked up at him, the back of her head hitting his chest, “hi!”

That golden smile.

“I made you something!” As she spun to face him, he produced a little carving of a bird from his pocket. (And, no, he didn’t make it).

“Oh!” She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, gently taking it from him, “It’s beautiful!”

All his responsibilities and stresses melted away with the sight of that smile, and he forgot there was anyone else at the party…in the world.

(…He wished he saw that smile anymore.)

Zeus’ chair was spinning empty at his desk before his assistant could say another word—

And Olympus wept, distant peals of thunder rending the sky into pieces.

Lightning crackled and cackled through his hair, creating violet tracks through the air, as Zeus sped through the sky.

It was freezing, and people were staring, but he didn’t care.

All that mattered was getting to his wife.

“My you look stunning.” Zeus sidled up behind his wife, running his fingers gently along her arm. “Is that a new dress?”

“New as that girlfriend of yours.” Hera grunted.

His eyes widened with shock, his voice with an indignant undertone to it. “Is something wrong?”

She paused a moment. He could see words fluttering behind her lips—(like they did so often, too often)—the words Yes you did something wrong, how can you not know?

He knew she wouldn’t believe him when he said he didn’t mean to hurt her.

“You weren’t invited,” she said softly.

“Not invited? Me?” He put his hand to his chest, like the thought of him ever not being welcome to somewhere was absurd. “To what?”

“The party, you nitwit!” She whirled around, her hair nearly whipping him in the face. “You just came barging in like you owned the place!”

“Well…to be fair—”

He stopped short at the look in her eyes, like two blue-hot flames.

He knew it was taking her a great amount of effort not to slap him.

“Do you know how long I’d been preparing for that?! How long it took me to get everything just right? I told you, but you never even listened, did you? And then you just barged right in!”

“Why are you so upset? What’s so important about a party?!”

“They were my friends.” Her gaze softened, and her tone became more serious. “They were—” Until she cut herself off, and her expression hardened as she whirled around, her hair billowing behind her.

“Bunny, wait!” His tone was softer too.

He wished she’d just turn around. That he could say sorry.

Was it really so hard? He should have started there.

Had he ever apologized for that?

He was always doing that; barging in where he wasn’t welcome. The world was his, yes but…he had to concede there were some parts of it he ought not just barge in on.

When he burst into the hospital, however, they wouldn’t dare tell him he wasn’t invited, wouldn’t dare tell him he couldn’t see her.

“Where. is my. wife?” Lightning slammed into a lamppost just outside the front door, shattering its glass box, and making the light spark, the rain pounding at the window like rabid dogs.

The desk clerk looked like she was about to pee out of sheer fear.

“Sh-sh-she’s not out of surgery yet, your majesty...I understand you want to see her, but I can’t let you…until-until they’re finished.” She was practically vibrating. “I assure you the moment she gets out, we’ll notify you.”

Surgery? He wanted to demand. She’s the queen of the gods, how could she be in surgery?

Electricity sparked in his eyes, trailing throughout his hair. He could say I demand you let me see her. He could say I don’t care! She’s my wife, and I’m not waiting! She’s fine! She’s the queen—she’s my queen—she won’t be hurt from a little car accident!

But there were some places he ought not just barge in on… and the surgeons room was probably one of them.

The lightning let out a sighing crackle, before he closed his eyes, his hair falling back upon his shoulders. It was then that he noticed he was dripping wet from head to toe. He sighed himself before muttering something like a garbled “I understand, thank you.” And turning to sit in the lobby. Behind him the desk clerk’s coworker held her to keep her from fainting.

He snapped his fingers, drying off, so as not to get their nice, barf-colored carpet all wet. Once he sat down in a chair—(the cushions didn’t have any cush to them)—a kid in the chair across from him scooched away.

He could have that kid for breakfast if he wanted.

Instead he settled for a nice glare, and reached over to pick up last month’s—(or maybe it was a few months ago)—issue of  “Goddess weekly” listening to the rain die down to a drum.

The same old gossip. Usually if he picked one of these up he’d check for any news he ought to be aware of. You know, as the king. Not to mention the ladies weren’t unappealing. Now he flicked through without seeing any of it.

Speaking of ladies, there was a nymph sitting across the room from him, her skin blue, her ears down, and a cute little half smile. She surely wasn’t in here for anything serious. She kept glancing from her own magazine to him—but not in a nervous way. If he wasn’t mistaken, she wouldn’t be opposed to a session of hide-the-German-sausage.

If he wanted he could take her there in a darkened closet in the hallway. It wouldn’t take long—(if it didn’t need to…or it could take all night). That would be a nice way to relieve the stress bubbling in his body.

—Someone was laying next to him, her skin smooth, practically glowing. There was rather a lot of it exposed.

She turned over, her eyes fluttering open, a small smile creasing her features as she rolled onto his chest, tickling his chin with her fingers.

“I had a wonderful time,” she twittered, and he practically purred, staring into those big blue eyes, glittering like river stones.

He pushed her green hair behind her ear.

“Is that all? I’d like to think a night with the King of the gods would be more than merely ‘wonderful.’”

She giggled. “No no, it was much more than wonderful! It was spectacular! Mind-blowing!” She threw her arms in the air.

“That’s more like it.” He grinned—

When was that again? Two years ago, or two days ago?

It could have been either.

Had he apologized for that?

Would it have mattered if he had? Would she have forgiven him? Would he have stopped?—

Bile rose in his throat, and he dove his nose so hard into the magazine he almost smacked himself with it.

His wife was bruised and bleeding, and potentially worse in a nearby room, at the mercy of some quack holding a scalpel and a few comforting words…and here he was thinking of betraying her for the…

How many times had it been now?

He threw the magazine back on the table and sank in the chair till his head was nearly on the bottom cushion, his lip flapping his he blew out a breath, making his hair fly up a little.

The kid and his mom got called, and seemed glad of a reason to leave.

After a healthy dose of moping he pulled out his phone. After checking fatesbook and playing a few games he decided it was time to open his messages.

He didn’t want to be alone. He wanted some sensible and non-conjugal company.

He scrolled through and clicked on a name.

A number of old conversations sprinkled the page, often detailing Zeus asking about getting together and the correspondent saying they were busy.

He thought a moment about what to say—(a rare occurrence for him)—before deciding any vague requests would probably get ignored, so he simply decided the boldfaced truth:

Hera’s been in a car accident. She’s in surgery.

“WHAT?!” The word was spoken aloud—and very loudly at that.

Hades was standing in front of him. If the king being here wasn’t enough reason for weird looks, this outburst had sent more than a few eyes their way.

Zeus did a finger wave at the nymph, before he grabbed his brother’s arm, whisking him off to a less crowded hallway.

The only thing here was a vending machine, and a few overly picturesque pictures of trees.

“How did this happen?!”  Hades shout-whispered.

*

Notes: The part I’m most stuck on is the conversation between Zeus and Hades. We rarely see Zeus being real and emotional with people...so I’m really struggling where to go with that with little to nothing to base it on. If you have any ideas for that, or think you can help, feel free to DM me!!

[thebigqueer]

Solangelo - "I Will Follow You into the Dark" - One-Shot

Summary: Will and Nico discuss their upcoming trip to Tartarus and argue about it.

Word Count: 2166

TW: Implied Homophobia (super small, though) SPOILERS: The Burning Maze, Tower of Nero

Read on AO3

It’s been a shaky morning, to say the least.

Will and Nico had to get up early to go find a gift for the Trogs, and it really was no easy hassle for either of them to get up. So much had happened the day before that it was almost impossible to find the will to rise early.

But somehow they managed it. With sleep still heavy in their eyes and a pale sheen over both their skins, the boys ventured out of Camp Half-Blood to accomplish the first step before the looming chaos: getting a lizard.

It’s about eleven in the morning by the time they find themselves on the subway train. The vehicle creaks and groans as the boys are submerged into darkness.

Will and Nico were lucky enough to get a seat right next to each other. The subway train is packed with people just as tired they are, all zooming forward to complete their mundane, uneventful lives.

Will wonders if they even know how much their life is in danger today. It’s always been a little funny how demigods and gods work behind the scenes to keep the world away from devastation, all just to see that mortals are so painfully oblivious to things happening around them. But Will supposes they have an excuse - many of them can’t see through the Mist, and besides, they all have their own smaller worries to care about.

If only his own worries were as small as theirs.

Will leans into Nico a little, pressing his arm against the son of Hades. Even though it’s barely a show of affection, a burst of pink blooms over Nico’s nose and cheeks. Will decides to lean away a little at the sight. He knows that Nico is not comfortable with too much public affection, especially in public places like NYC, which Will can understand. He’d rather die by the hands of a monster instead of a mere mortal who can’t accept who he is.

Nonetheless, Nico touches Will’s finger with his, just a little, and that’s enough to make Will smile. No one can see their hands touching, but maybe that’s what makes the touch so exciting to Will - they’re doing this in secret, living in their own tiny world.

Will eases into Nico again, just a little bit - not enough to make their relationship painfully obvious, but enough to tell Nico he’s here. A ghost of a smile haunts Nico’s lips.

“Thank you for agreeing to come today,” Nico says, his voice sweet and gentle as honey as it sweeps through Will’s ears. He turns his head to look at Will, and just as he does, the train opens up into the bright sunny light. It flashes against the right side of his face, seeps into his skin, illuminates his dark eyes. He can do anything and make it look like a Renaissance painting.

Will smiles. “Well, I’m not going to let you go alone.”

Nico raises an eyebrow. “I don’t know, Will. You didn’t seem very excited to come with me. You know, what with the whole ‘the Trogs are bad for you, Nico,’ ‘don’t risk your mental health, Nico,’ ‘no, Nico.’”

Will sighs. “And yet you still decided to go.”

“I would be dooming everyone if I didn’t.”

“But do you realize that sometimes you don’t need to take the weight of the world on your shoulders all the time?”

“Well, isn’t that why you’re coming with me today? To help take some of the weight?”

Will lowers his gaze as a trickle of fear slithers down his back. “I’m not really talking about the Trogs anymore.”

“I figured you weren’t.” An icier tone stabs Nico’s words, and Will winces. “I don’t want to talk about Tartarus right now.” His eyes waver around the train. “Not here, at least.”

Will wants to keep talking about it, though. But he sees the shadows behind Nico’s eyes, the underlying fear that plagues him at night.

“Fine,” he whispers boldly. “We’ll talk about it when we get off.”

~

About fifteen minutes later, the subway train screeches to a halt at the station. Darkness has once again infiltrated their space, and the scent of trash and dirt swims around the boys. Will sticks close to Nico, just to make sure neither of them get lost in the chaos of New York City.

As soon as they’re out into fresh air, Will tugs his boyfriend’s hand, stopping the both of them in their tracks. People mill around, pushing past the two, but the boys are stuck in time. Nico looks at Will, a darkness roiling behind his irises, and Will knows that they have to talk about it now. He wants them to.

Nico sighs and steps closer, slipping his hand out of Will’s. He crosses his arms across his chest. “We have a mission, Will. This is important. Why are we talking about this now?”

“We need to.” Quickly, Will rushes the two of them to an empty alleyway, where shadows envelop them in a cold embrace and silence segregates them from the rest of the world. While the day outside is sunny and warm, a cold breeze brushes against their faces in the shade.

Nico scrubs his face in annoyance. “I don’t understand why we have to talk about this now.”

“We haven’t talked about it at all,” Will says. “Every time I try to, you always switch the topic or we get whisked away to something new.”

“Then what do you want to talk about?” Nico grumbles. “We already know that it’s likely I have to go back in. What else is there to discuss?”

“What we have to discuss is who’s going with you. You’re not going down there alone again.”

Nico laughs curtly. “Will, I’m not taking you with me. You already offered and I’m turning you down. I’m going on my own.”

Will shakes his head. “Nico, you can’t. You just started getting voices from someone in Tartarus - who, by the way, we aren’t even sure is real - and you’re thinking that you have to go.” Will steps closer, his curls bouncing mere inches from Nico’s face. “If you have to go, I’m going with you. You went in and almost lost your sanity. It’s a miracle you even made it out alive and with your mind intact. Going back in will be like a shredder to your brain, and not to mention you’re going to be even more mentally unstable than the first time.”

Nico raises a brow. “I beg to differ. I’ll be going in stronger than last time.” He pulls away from the blond. “I’m stronger than I was then, Will. I’m emotionally, mentally, and physically better. You don’t need to think I’m fragile.”

“I don’t think you’re fragile, Nico.” Will’s mouth curls into a frown, and concern laces in his eyes. “I never think that.”

“Then why are you insisting to come with me? If anything, you’re going to be worse off than I am.”

At his words, Will’s heart skips a beat. Red hot rage simmers over his blood, invades his system, folds over his mind. “Why would I be worse off?” Will asks, a scowl flashing over his features. Before Nico can answer, he blurts, “Is it because I’m weak? Because I’m just a kid of Apollo? Because I’m better at healing and that I’m some kind of sweet, innocent child of nature?” Without meaning to, all of Will’s repressed anger spills into his words, puddles out into the open. The ache of tears builds up in his throat, choking him with his rage. Will drowns in his insecurities, suffocates under his sadness.

“Because I’m not a child of the Big Three?” he suggests further, his voice like shards of glass that sink into Nico’s skin. “Is that why I’m going to be worse?”

Nico blinks in surprise. He steps back a little, fear sparkling in his eyes. As much as Will hates to make him feel that way, there’s still that inkling of pride at the back of his mind. He’s making someone afraid. He’s never able to do that.

Nico shakes his head vigorously. “No, Will, I would never think that. It’s not because you’re weak. You’re not weak.”

“Then what is it? Am I useless to you? Nothing more than your pretty, innocent boyfriend?”

“Where is this coming from? Why are you acting like this?”

Nico’s words echo in Will’s brain, prodding through his mind. Will blinks, surprised by his question. Where is this coming from? Will wonders.

A wave of emotions overflows in his chest, surges in his throat, rises to his head. His vision turns red and yellow and he holds his head in his hands, trying to stop the rage in his body. He feels like he’s going to explode, to combust, to burn up. He’s going to destroy everything in this alleyway.

Tears prick his eyes, and one slips out of the corner, creating a crack against the side of his face. He’s breaking. “I can’t let you go alone, Nico,” Will whispers, voice pleading, begging, urging. He grabs for Nico’s hands, yearning for his warmth. “I can’t let you risk your life. I can’t let another person die.”

Nico’s chest heaves with each breath, his own eyes swimming with tears. His mouth is pulled at the corners, stretched with anger and exhaustion and annoyance. For a second, he lets Will take his hands, to hold him. But then he snatches them back angrily, a scowl prominent across his features.

“How do you think I feel letting you come with me?” Nico hisses, his hands shivering at his sides. “I can’t let you die because of me, Will. You’re one of the few people I have left in this world. Jason died. My mother died. Bianca left me. I’m not letting you leave me, too. Not if I can fucking help it.” A teardrop rolls down the side of his face and he wipes it away, but two more slip over his face. “You’re not coming and that’s final.”

Will runs his hands through his curls in frustration. “Why aren’t you understanding this, Nico?” he hisses. “Why can’t you see that I feel the same way? You know how guilty I feel each and every time someone dies. If I don’t offer to come with you, then that’s like saying I’m letting you die. Your blood will be on my hands if I don’t come, because I could stop you but I wouldn’t be able to if you go on your own.” A sob stabs his chest. “I don’t want you to die.”

“That’s how I feel!” Nico cries, his anger ringing in the alleyway. The darkness around them pulses. “I don’t want you to die. Taking you with me is promising that I’m going to be responsible for your death! And I don’t want that! I don’t want… I don’t want to be responsible for your death. I don’t want you risking your life for me. It’s not worth it.”

“But you’re not forcing me to go with you!” Will protests, his fingers twitching. “I’m doing it on my own.” He pulls closer to Nico again, grasping for his hands, grasping for his realness. He needs Nico to understand how willing he is to follow Nico into the dark, the danger, the devastation. “My death will not be in your hands because I’m choosing to go with you. If one of us falls, then we both fall. I’m not letting you go down on your own.”

Nico’s breath hitches as another broken sob echoes around them. Pain chokes his words as he says, “If I go, it’s my choice to go on my own. That isn’t your fault. Why won’t you understand that?”

“For the same reason that you can’t understand my point,” Will says, groping for Nico’s warmth again. “Because we care about each other too much. But, Nico, please. I need to go. I can’t… I don’t… You can’t do this on your own. You don’t need to be the hero on your own all the time. Let someone else be there with you.” Will leans in once more, pressing his forehead against Nico’s. The son of Hades melts into the touch, raising his head just a little. “You’ve been alone too long. You don’t need to be anymore.”

Silence encompasses them again. They’re swirling in a tornado of emotions, lifting off from the ground, joining together in confusion.

Then Nico steps away. He wipes his face against his sleeve, trying to get rid of all the emotion that took over him just moments ago. Behind his dark eyes, Will sees the stubbornness crashing down, the walls crumbling.

But they’re not falling enough. The ruins still stand high.

Nico lets go of the blond’s hand. “We’ll see,” is all he says.

And he steps out of the alleyway, entering the universe once more, leaving Will in the darkness.