#like i saw someone say they wanted grover to be the brains of the quest

[lynx-224]

ppls hot takes r getting a little too hot

[sabrinashrts]

seaweed brain

pairings : percy jackson x fem!daughter of athena!reader

warnings : none really ? recommend no one over 14 reads a this cause that’s kinda weird

summary : percy sacrifices himself for you

You and Percy were the ones who had to get the shield for Ares. He held Annabeth and Grover to himself so you both wouldn’t end up tricking him. You guys had to go to an amusement park. That’s where Ares left his shield last. You saw a tunnel that said thrill ride o’ love.

“It must be there.” Percy said as he looked at you. You nodded “Let’s go in..” you both walked and you had to get on a boat. Percy helped you by grabbing your hand and the boat just started to go on its own. You guys didn’t say anything it was just so awkward.

But as things were happening you guys ended up going down a waterfall you both screamed cause it was completely unexpected. When you made it to the end of the waterfall you both noticed ahead of you where other boats and they are getting destroyed.

“Jump!” Percy said. You jumped but it was really deep water and you couldn’t really some. You were underwater and took out your hand “Percy!” You said. He tried to grab your hand but all of a sudden you were on a dock. “Did you just pull me out with the powers??” You said confused but also trying to breathe.

“I’m still trying to figure that out” he said. You both stood up and there was Ares shield but the only way to get it is if someone sits on that chair but that chair turns you into gold. You spoke “I’ll sit on the chair…” you said but Percy grabbed your hand “Wait a minute!”

“Look seaweed brain I’m not letting you do this again you already did this to me back at the arch whoever goes isn’t coming out!” You said looking at him. “I know that’s why I said wait!” He yelled.

You sighed “I’m not letting you do this..” you said as you were gonna go to the seat. “Y/n stop.. and I’m not letting you do this! The others are gonna need you on this quest because you’re better at all of this! You just are.” For some reason you just wanted to cry.

“Believe me I wish there was another way but I just don’t see it..” you looked at Percy with your eyes watering. Percy reached from his pocket and gave you his pen/sword. “Here.. take it.” You sighed and took it from his hand. He walked to the seat and looked at you “Promise me something.”

You looked at him “I’m not leaving the underworld without your mom…” he had a soft smile but you also noticed his eyes were watering “That to but I was wondering maybe after all this you can come back and try and get me out?” You nodded “You didn’t even have to ask” you were right of course you were gonna save Percy I mean he’s about to sacrifice himself for you.

Percy sat m the chair and you noticed his legs were getting cover in gold. “This is a bad idea.. stand up!” You said. He couldn’t move. You yelled “Percy stand up I mean it!” Percy looked at you with tears “It’s okay… I’m okay” and just like that he turned into gold and Ares shield fell down.

You looked at the shield and was gonna pick it up but you just couldn’t leave Percy. Something is holding you back. You went to the back of the chair and saw gears you sat to see if you could do something nothing would move. Just then someone came through they sounded familiar.

It was Hephaestus he kept talking about our mother Athena how she acts and how other gods are and how they just want glory and power and with that shield many things could happen you could get the glory and power and he said if you leave everything can go back to how it should be but you got up and just got so mad.

“It shouldn’t be that way! All you gods care about is glory and power. I don’t care about that stuff everyone is like that.. ares is so is my mother! But Percy isn’t that way either! He’s better than that. We will never turn out to be like you guys.” You sighed and just then Hephaestus did something. The gears started moving.

You went to the other side to look at Percy and he started to be himself. Thank god you thought when he was free you grabbed his hand and he let you. You held onto his arm and you both looked up at Hephaestus. He sighed “Your a good kid y/n I’ll put in a good word with your mother.” He left and you looked at Percy “Are you okay??” He nodded.

You grabbed Ares shield and it was time to go back thank god you both made it out alive.

[lauptimist]

Your hair is really soft after you wash it - Percabeth

a/n- this is the first chapter of my fluff one-shots series on ao3. I hope you enjoy it! pls like, comment and reblog. It motivates me so much. Also make sure you send me requests. I've had a few so far but it may take me little while to get them out. I'm hoping chapter 3 of this series will be out soon. :)

Percy didn’t quite know how he got here, lying next to Annabeth on her bed in Cabin 6. You’d think it was romantic, at least, that's what all her brothers and sisters thought when she led him in here with a firm grip on his wrist. But in truth Percy was pretty sure that this was the most uncomfortable experience he had ever had. He was as stiff as a board, not even letting the tip of his finger come within 5 inches of Annabeth in fear that she would kick him out. 

Even still there was no way that he would want to be anywhere else, even just being in her presence made him feel good. 

Percy wasn't sure what it was about her exactly that pulled him in so much but it could have something to do with the fact that he knew that whatever happened, she would always be on his side. And with the subtle hints that she had dropped to him he was pretty sure she felt the same way. Percy had always been someone who wouldn't dream of hurting or betraying his friends, no matter the situation. He knew he had proved that on their quest, with the arch and the golden throne being just a couple of examples. He had also noticed that Annabeth had been distancing herself from other people at camp, at this point Percy was pretty much the only person she spent time with and he was almost certain that it had quite a lot to do with Luke.

Saying that Lukes betrayal had hit Annabeth hard would be an understatement, she had barely left her cabin for the first three days, only emerging for meals and mandatory meetings and she almost always showed up with red rims around her eyes. 

Percy was worried to say the least but he didn’t know how to help her when she was so desperate not to talk to anyone. He might not be the best when it came to emotions (that was more Grover’s forte) but one thing Percy did know was that the worst thing you can do is bottle it up. He knew Annabeth was struggling and he was ready to barge in and force her to talk to him until one day she just showed up at his cabin. He was slightly astounded for a moment and she seemed almost shy which was the last thing he ever expected her to be, but she just asked if she could come in and when Percy finally managed to stutter out a yes she just sat down on one of the empty bunks pulled a book out of her bag and started reading.

Percy was slightly confused for a while before he decided to just carry on with the drawing he’d been doing in his sketchbook. He wasn’t a particularly good artist but he had always enjoyed drawing as it helped him to make sense of the things happening around him. And so it became somewhat of a routine for them. Her reading a book (usually a different one everyday) and him sketching some mythical creature they had encountered (although a lot of his recent sketches had been of the owls he often saw in the woods). Until this lunchtime when Annabeth had come over to his table, ignoring the reprimanding glances she was receiving from Chiron, and asked if he could meet her in her cabin later. 

Being the seaweed brained idiot that she always knew him as, he had not thought to go and get his sketchbook before he went and so now he was just lying there awkwardly as unlike his cabin all of the bunks in the Athena cabin were full and so they had to share Annabeths. Working up the courage he asked her,

“Annabeth, why are we in your cabin instead of mine?”

She turned and looked at him,

“Did I not tell you?” She seemed surprised

“Um-no. Unless I forgot which is very possible and in which case I apologise as-” he was rambling now.

Annabeth simply let out a small laugh that for some reason made his cheeks feel hot,

“It's fine Seaweed Brain, I’m pretty sure I forgot to tell you anyway. I asked Chiron if he had a monster proof TV, which he doesn’t but he did give me this Laptop instead which apparently has something called Disney+ on it. Im not entirely sure what that is but i assumed you would know so…” She stopped talking, noticing the astounded look on his face. 

“O-oh i’m sorry if you don’t want to, it's just that you said we could watch a movie after the quest was over and i thought now would be  good time…”

“No no no, Its amazing Annabeth! I guess i was just surprised you remembered, i mean it was a while ago.” Percy hurried to reassure her.

“Are you kidding? I’ve been looking forward to this since you first mentioned it back in Waterland.” Percy was smiling softly at her, an emotion in his eyes that Annabeth couldn’t recognise.

“Well then Wise Girl, what film do you feel like watching?” Percy’s face lit up in anticipation.

“Oh wait, do you mind if i have a shower before we start? My hair is kinda greasy and I won't have time for one tomorrow.” Annabeth suddenly remembered.

“Of course, don’t be too long though. I might watch something without you.” Annabeth let out a small chuckle at his teasing tone.

“Sure Seaweed Brain, 10 minutes. Max” She tapped his nose on her way to the bathroom, an action that brought a dark flush to Percy’s cheeks that he hoped Annabeth hadn’t seen. 

Annabeth was true to her word and emerged from the bathroom exactly 8 minutes later with her hair half dried with a towel. She took a few seconds to tug a brush through it before joining Percy on the bed again. They were alone in the cabin now, her siblings had gone down to the campfire. Truthfully she hoped they would stay there until the movie they watched was finished, call her selfish but all she had wanted for a good week now was some alone time with Percy to watch a movie. Technically they were breaking the rule of a male and female camper being alone in a cabin together but she figured Chiron wouldn’t mind considering the highly dangerous quest to stop a war that they had just been on.

“I’ll ask you again, what movie do you feel like watching?” Percy brought her back to earth with a smile.

“I don’t know any so i guess we could just watch your favourite.” 

“Yessssss. Okay so my favourite movie is called Finding Nemo and it is the best film in the world. It's about this fish that gets lost and his dad and his friend have to go and find him.” Annabeth smiled as he typed it into the search box, of course such a stupid sounding movie would be his favourite.

1 hour and 40 minutes later Annabeth had officially watched her very first movie and she had thoroughly enjoyed it. Whilst she was right in saying that it was a bit stupid she found herself laughing more than she ever had before, although to be fair most of the things she was laughing at were Percy’s stupid comments. By the end they were both pretty tired and almost falling asleep. Still Annabeth didn’t want him to leave and she was almost certain that a similar thought was running through his mind. 

They stayed like that, in comfortable silence for another half an hour, curled up together, his arm around her shoulder, his hand playing with her hair. Annabeth was embarrassed as her hair was tangled from the way it had dried whilst she was lying down. However it was evident that Percy didn’t care as the next words from his lips were,

“Your hair is really soft after you wash it.”

Looking back Annabeth thought that might be the moment she realised that her little crush might not be so little after all.

[rosesradio]

fanfic ask game

i saw this ask game i wasn’t tagged in so let’s do it 🤠 & i’ll tag whoever wants to do it as well

1. how many works do you have on Ao3?

27 :-)

2. what's your total Ao3 word count?

466,409 (oh cool i’ll most likely hit 500k by the end of the year 💪)

3. what fandoms do you write for?

currently pjo & once in a blue moon hsmtmts, but i have written for like 10-12 different fandoms in my life

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

ceaseless eve 🌙 (a leo, nico, & piper quest + valdangelo)

camp triple pine 🌲 (a lawrusso summer camp au with fwb 👀)

talk to me, deep in the night (& i’d tell you something i never thought i’d admit) 🏕️ (a surprisingly non-smutty first caswen fic in which ricky talks with ej about how he works too hard, written in s3 era)

Cobra Kai/Karate Kid one shots 🥋 (fluff, humor, angst, smut…what it says on the tin 🤠)

he’s only here for one thing, but (so am i) 🔥 (valdangelo college au smut + camboy nico 👀)

(because i can’t tell a lie, i did skip over one or two stranger things fics on this list. i have complex feelings about them & keeping them up due to the controversy, but also abandoning them or deleting them…i’m sentimental, and i procrastinate lol. i’m glad a higher volume of people enjoyed them by nature of it being a more popular fandom, but i also feel like the kudos aren’t as genuine or earned as they are for my longfics in less popular fandoms for that reason. at least To Me. i hope that makes sense 🧍)

5. do you respond to comments?

i try to reply to every comment around the first week of posting something (because by then it’s an “old work” and it’s “weird” to comment on it, but that’s another post 😐). i still haven’t replied to the last of the ceaseless eve comments & i feel terrible, the sentimentality of it all overwhelms me but know i appreciate it 😭 i wish there was like a code word though that people could comment that lets you know if they want you to respond or not, because it’s hard to know if people want an author response or if it’ll scare them off yk

6. Which of your fics has the angstiest ending?

i don’t do a lot of angst, but when i do, i do (meaning i lay it on too melodramatically thick lmao) but i thought i’d give a list of some of my angstiest/darkest fics 🤠

the moonlace & the sunflower 🌻 (in which grover dies protecting a demigod, so the empathy link causes percy to pass away as well)

games long lost 🌳 (in which luke must drink annabeth’s blood for kronos’s reformation, it covers the dark lukabeth of it all & there’s some death)

the smallest casualty ♟️ (in which it’s slowly revealed over the course of a luke & annabeth chess game that the gods lost the war, and percy & friends have been subjected to dark magic experiments to make them compliant to luke’s fantasy)

rewired 🤖 (okay. i usually try to be humble or self deprecating or whatever but this 1400 word fic is an actual fucking masterpiece to me idc. it just came out of me and makes me physically nauseous to this day. showing this to my hypothetical therapist etc etc. oh wait what’s it about lmao—the concept of daniel rewiring his brain & morals to fit into silver’s desires. ft that sick sick silverusso dynamic)

7. Which of your fics has the happiest ending?

i have a variety of fluffy fics, but i’d have to say my happiest most sugar coated ending is—

who said anybody would? (a ej/gina/ricky road trip fic that literally ends with an ot3 picnic scene 😭 it’s just too much 🫶)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i’ve gotten unwarranted criticism (i like to ask for constructive crit comments at the end if it’s like a longfic) that’s been surprisingly rude…i won’t say which fic but someone got so mad at one of my chapters they left a lengthy mocking crit comment and then stopped reading 😭 but that’s their prerogative, i hope they found something they enjoyed afterwards. other than that, surprisingly considering some of the controversial dark fics i’ve written…no sign of flames, so thanks! 😅

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i have four different smut fics (hopefully a fifth if i can ever finish it up)…i fear they’re repetitive but also not really, they cover different fandoms and explore different kinks. i’m not really sure what to say about them, hopefully people find them hot ! or whatever !

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

i’m not a fan of crossovers currently, but my longest fic i wrote when i was 15 (it’s 97k i’m beating it someday 😭) was a crossover between sanders sides, voltron, miraculous ladybug, and gravity falls (doesn’t that feel like a kick in the gut lmao—did i mention i was 15? 😅)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of 👁️👁️

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not that i know of 👁️👁️

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i tried, myself and another author had a shared Google doc & everything…but we both just didn’t commit. i don’t think i’d work well with another writer…i don’t mind bouncing ideas around with a beta reader/editor (like @heavens-vault 🤠) but ultimately i’d prefer to write on my own

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

it changes—it’s currently valdangelo, but the ones I’ve written the most over the years are: prinxiety (😐), lawrusso, caswen, and valdangelo. i’m excited to explore a bunch of other ships as i continue writing as well

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

oh gosh, i mean i hope i don’t have any like longfics in question…i hope i can finish + deliver on Ivory Rain, but i’m sure I’ll manage even if it takes a while. i haven’t really mentioned this a whole lot to “the public” but i have what i call a “scrap fic” i’m working on, with a bunch of like 800 word chapters i just kinda bounce around when i have time. the concept is really exciting but the execution still needs work, so i’m kinda seeing how that’s gonna play out, it might not be posted. i hope it will though !

16. What are your writing strengths?

i think i’m pretty good at characterization, good romantic moments with good buildup, and humor :-)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

action scenes i hate you so much 😭 why do i insist on writing pjo fics when i can hardly write a fight scene

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i should do it more, i hate that i don’t, especially considering nico being Italian and leo’s native language being Spanish. but I’ve used & been disappointed by Google translate too many times…perhaps I’ll find another way to translate to include that for more character accuracy

19. First fandom you wrote for?

actually i think percy jackson, i’ve come full circle. the first fic i posted was sanders sides, but i remember when i was probably nine or so i wrote with pencil and paper and stapled a book together with a hand drawn cover 😭 it was about a son of Apollo, a satyr, and a daughter of Demeter on a quest…so really, richard took some creative liberties from my hand written fanfic i think 👀

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

like the ships, it changes—I love all my fics, it’s hard to explain how there’s little fractures of me at different points in my life at any given time in my works. no amount of over-explaining could make anyone understand how i express myself through my character’s emotions and desires and fears and journeys.

at the moment, my favorite fic is CE. it just got completed, myself and others are excited for the sequel. i think all my pjo works in particular are pretty good, and of course i tend to shy away from my older works because my writing…probably wasn’t as good. but that just means I’ve improved, so that’s good.

that’s all the questions, but this was fun ! :-)

[ath3nasc4f3]

The first time Percy comes home from camp, he’s still and quiet. Which is very unusual for a boy whose brain was hardwired to not stay still and silent. His face stuck in a way that concerned Sally. Her son had never really worn a look of sorrow like that. Not even when he got expelled. Though after a few times of that happening she assumed he just had gotten used to it.

Sally knew the boy had literally been to hell and back. She didn’t know how to comfort him. She felt like she had failed as a mother in a way. She sighed once she saw the state her son was in. Not only was he still healing from his wounds. He was still healing from luke.

Luke had been his friend.

And she didn't know what it was like to fight a literal god. Especially one that would technically be his cousin. And she hoped she’d never have the displeasure of having to do so.

Percy hadn’t told Sally the full story yet. Actually he hadn’t said a word about his quest at all. He was still processing the fact that Luke had betrayed them for kronos.

Someone who was worse than their parents combined.

—

The first day back Percy wouldn’t leave her side. As if she would morph back into those gold flakes. As if her coming back wasn't real. Like it would all go away in a blink.

Percy slept with his mom for the first few nights.

So when percy finally spoke, it was like a breath of fresh air. But, his voice sounded broken, it sounded like he’d inhaled gallons of sand. He hadn’t spoken besides a quiet mutter here and there ever since he got back.

“Mom? What happened when- when you were in the underworld?”

Percy’s face fell into an even worse state than before. His eyes glossy with the tears he was holding back. He was shaking. Sally had never seen him so upset before. She’d never seen her son so broken.

Percy’s face was one she’d never want to see again. It was almost scary how much pain he looked to be in. His cheeks were tear stained now. Percy had eyebags. He was only 13. He didn’t need to be going through this.

—

Sally couldn’t think of anything herself to say. Because there wasn’t really anything it was just like a long soothing but frightening nap. She hadn’t died. She was just held hostage.

And that's exactly what she said.

So instead she started asking questions.

“Percy what happened after the minotaur.” Sally pursed her lips before sitting down in front of the boy with two cups of hot cocoa. Of course, topped with blue marshmallows.

“Um, I sent it to the underworld. Basically. Since they kinda don't die. I ended up passing out. Um, I woke up to annabeth. You would love her mom. She’s really smart. Do NOT tell her I said that. She’ll never let me live it down.” Percy's voice grew the moment he started talking about the girl.

The quick turn around of his mood set off an alarm in her head. A good one, but an alarm nonetheless.

They ended up talking and sitting there for a couple hours.

Sally had remembered that Grover went with him on the quest, not a girl named annabeth. But the newfound information that her son had been hanging around a girl had sparked some sense of pride in her. She knew that it was probably some silly crush, but something inside of her knew that Percy liked the girl a lot more than he knew.

—

Annabeth and Percy wouldn’t stop talking via iris message. The bathroom had turned into a makeshift call center.

Typically she wouldn’t have minded much, but considering an iris message required a drachma each call, she grew a bit concerned. She didn’t know where the kids were getting them from. Did they have a bunch just lying around for things like this?

Annabeth typically called percy in the evening. Straight after dinner. Which meant Sally didn’t see Percy for about an hour. Of course Sally didn’t mind, but it sure put ideas in her head.

One time, she had walked into the bathroom to tell percy to go to remember to take out the trash. Interrupting their call, and making Percy embarrassed. His face flushed in embarrassment. He quite literally froze in shock of the words coming out of her mouth.

“Percy, once you’re done talking to your girlfriend, could you take out the trash mijo?” Sally smiled before kissing her son on the cheek and leaving the room before she could hear any complaints from the boy.

Soon enough he heard a high pitched “Mama!” Coming from the door. She could only imagine the scene behind the door.

–

Percy was busy in the bathroom. Well, not using it, but rather using it to talk to a girl. Personally, if it were any other girl, percy would have used it as bragging rights. But knowing that it was Annabeth, he didn’t dare to. If she ever found out, he’d never hear the end of it.

So when his mother walked in, she called the girl his girlfriend. He began to freak out. He froze up. His cheeks darkened in color from the comment from his mother.

Apparently Annabeth had been just as freaked out considering how red her face got. If anything, It was more noticeable because of her ‘pale, princess-like face.’ As percy would put it.

Not that she minded much. But she would dare tell Percy that. His ego would get too inflated. In her own words ‘He would’ve been worse then icarus.’

“Oh gods, Annabeth I’m so sorry, My mother thinks-” Percy broke out in sweat. Tongue tied with the situation at hand.

“N-no it’s fine! Don’t worry about it!” She smiled nervously. She began figeting. Had percy not wanted annabeth to be called his girlfriend?

“Y’know, I should go take out the trash. Before she comes back in and uh, you know…” percy stammered, before saying his goodbyes and disconnecting the call.

“Mamá! Why would you do that! ¡Ella nunca me va a dejar olvidarlo!”

(“She’ll never let me live it down!”)

Sally giggled. She knew Percy was flustered, not really upset per say. She thought it was sweet though.

Sally rolled her eyes. “Percy, why don’t you invite her to stay with us for a few days? You said she likes architecture right? You can take her to some museums and, you can show her around New York some more!” She smiled.

“Actually, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea, I’ll tell her about it tomorrow or in an email…” he smiled before taking out the trash. He hadn’t seen the girl in person for a while, so it’d be nice to see her for real this time instead of through an iris message.

—

That's how Sally ended up with two teens in her living room. Of course not that she minded, she was the one who suggested it in the first place. She actually enjoyed having someone keep Percy company, especially someone who seemed to be as special to him as Annabeth was.

She quite liked Annabeth. She was smart, and kept Percy from doing anything stupid. So in Sallys eyes, the girl was a gift sent from the gods themselves. And she technically was. So she would be sure to burn up a little bit of dinner for the goddess of wisdom later that night.

Dinner was pleasant.

Sally had decided to enlighten Annabeth with the gift of Mexican food.

Annabeth had never really eaten Mexican food before, at the most she had eaten tacos, but she knew those were just pretty common at that point.

As a surprise for both Percy and Annabeth, she’d made pozole. The process was so tedious that she only made it for special Occasions. And she supposed meeting Annabeth was a special occasion.

Percy’s reaction In itself was enough to make it worth it. Annabeth ended up really liking it. She ate three bowls worth that night.

During dinner, the three of them discussed what they would be doing the next day.

“We could take you to the national history museum if that sounds interesting to you. The planetarium has a special showing we could take you to!” Sally smiled, knowing the girl would be more interested in the architecture of the building than the exhibits themselves.

“That sounds great Ms jackson! I would love to go!” Annabeth smiled as she finished up her second helping of pozole. “Can I have some more? This is really good!” Annabeth smiled widely. While she didn’t mind her stepmother's cooking, Sally jacksons food was infinitely better.

“Of course dear! Percy would you like anymore?” Sally took the girls bowl before also taking Percys, already knowing the answer to her question.

“You know it!“ Percy laughed before turning back to face Annabeth.

“Do you know when you have to go back home?” Percy tilted his head curiously.

“Um, I’m not sure actually, I think they’ll just let me go back whenever I please, though, with your mom’s cooking, I'm not sure I want to go” Annabeth chuckled before Percy rolled his eyes. “She's my mom and not yours, I'm pretty sure she likes you more than she likes me!”

“Well what can i say, i'm just a natural charmer!” She flashed a smile.

“Yeah yeah don’t get too proud!” He laughed.

—

The next day, the three of them entered the museum early in the afternoon. The first thing they saw was the planetarium. Annabeth was entranced by the seemingly “floating” spherical theatre. She knew that wasn’t the case but it was a sight to behold nonetheless.

Percy snapped a picture using his mothers camera.

They entered the sphere twice, once to watch the free viewing, the explanation of the big bang, and the other to the more exclusive viewing on the top floor of the sphere, exploring through the galaxy.

Annabeth was paying so much attention you’d think she was frozen in place.

Percy thought she looked cute like that. Not that he’d ever say that to her face though.

He wished he could take a picture of her at that moment. But he couldn’t since pictures weren’t allowed in the theatre.

They got to see the gems and crystal exhibit next. This time both Sally and Annabeth were enthralled by it.

Percy rolled his eyes as he looked at the two girls, both enticed by the “pretty rocks” as he put it. Sea glass was just better in his opinion.

When percy wasn't paying attention he felt someone pull him, fully ready to pull out riptide, before he noticed it was just his mom.

His mom brung Percy to the crystal part of the exhibit, stopping just in front of the diamonds.

“Once both of you are older you should get one of these for Annabeth” Sally whispered in his ear. He flushed.

“Mom! She’s right there!” He whispered back before looking at the girl. “Plus I don't like her like that.” He turned away, his arms crossed in ‘disgust’. Sally laughed. She knew that wasn’t true.

“Sure you don’t.”

Percy’s face was frozen for a solid 2 minutes.

Sally took a picture of Percy's shocked face with her camera. A picture lasts forever of course, a memory might not.

In the meantime, Annabeth was busy ogling some rose quartzes. Sally made a mental note to buy the kids some matching rose quartz necklaces at the gift shop.

Once they had finished looking at the exhibit they headed to the exhibits gift shop. Percy and Annabeth followed behind Sally as she guided them.

“Can we go see the big whale next? That's my favorite part!” Percy pointed towards the sign that led to the marine animal exhibit.

“Ooh yeah, i wanna see how they hold up the thing, its gotta weigh a ton or so”

Once Sally had taken them into the gift shop, she let the kids roam around, while she began to look for some rose quartz necklaces.

She had gotten them two matching necklaces.

Percy and Annabeth ended up buying two stuffed animals. Both the same. They said it was a way they would be connected no matter how far from each other they were. While Sally thought it was sweet, the comment raised an eyebrow. Percy really did like the girl. He just didn’t want to admit it yet.

After the gift shop they headed to the marine life exhibit, with Annabeth staring at the huge whale hanging from the ceiling.

Percy had to forcefully pull her along so he could see the exhibit.

It took them 2 hours to see the whole thing. Once they got tired the three of them decided to lay under the whale. All of them were exhausted from running around the museum. Especially Sally, who’d been corralling the kids around all day. So she decided to take a power nap of sorts. Once she had fallen asleep, Percy and Annabeth began to giggle about the sleeping mother.

By the time Sally had woken up it was almost closing time at the museum. Thankfully they had gone to the gift shop before entering their last exhibit.

When they had left the museum, they decided to take a walk in central park, seeing as it was basically across the street, it seemed logical to annabeth. Plus, she missed the smell of trees that she grew accustomed to at camp.

The only issue here was that it wasn’t like camp, pretty much the complete opposite if she was honest. It was hot and humid, mosquitos and fruit flies running rampant. Not to mention the lack of protection. It was pretty pleasant, but she knew Grover would be horrified if he saw the state that the park was in. While the more hidden areas of the park were clean, the areas where everyone walked through seemed nightmarish for a conservationist like Grover.

After a while the three of them decided to rent a canoe, with percy rowing of course.

Sally made sure to take plenty of pictures. She made a mental note of printing three copies of each. One for Percy, one for Annabeth, and one of course, for herself. She was sure Annabeth's trip would make for at least a couple of pages in Sally's scrapbook.

She’d been making them since Percy was born. Sure to document any moment she had with her son. She knew one day, he’d be sent off. And he wouldn’t come back. That was a given with Percy's parentage.

Sally smiled at the sight of the two kids bickering, she took a picture.

“Well who's the son of the sea god huh? Yeah that's right, me!” He smirked before sticking his tongue out at the girl. Annabeth had asked Percy if she could row for a bit. That's what started their little back and forth.

“Are you saying I can’t row because I’m a girl?” Annabeth raised her eyebrow jokingly.

“What? No! I love girls! I mean- Ugh fine whatever!” Percy groaned as he moved next to his mom and handed the oars to annabeth.

“That’s what I thought, seaweed brain.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Did you see that mom! Do you see how she treats me?” Percy fell back onto the bench in mock pain, holding his chest as if his heart hurt. “And you like her more than me! Can you believe this! My mother likes my friend more than me!” Annabeth and Sally laughed.

“Maybe if you cleaned your room more often,” Sally laughed before looking away in mock disgust.

Annabeth quietly prayed to Poseidon that she didn’t flip them over or crash into another boat. She was sure her mother would be red in anger if she found out, which she probably did. Especially with gods seeing all and all that mess.

But with the nasty murky green water, she couldn’t risk falling in.

As she muttered a silent prayer to the sea god, Percy was laughing at her attempts to turn the boat”

“Cmon Annabeth just let me row at this point!”

“No! I got this! I just need to figure out how to turn, um…” Annabeth looked around trying to see if anyone else was doing it. Her nose scrunched up in frustration. She sighed.

“Or, you could just ask for help y'know?” Percy rolled his eyes before getting up.

“No! I’ve got th-'' Annabeth half shouted before the boy went over and grabbed her hands. Annabeth's face went red. Percy hadn’t even noticed, he was too busy demonstrating.

Click.

Sally snapped a picture of the scene. She giggled before just looking at the kids.

“Basically you just use the oar on the opposite side of where you want to turn alright? Annabeth, are you paying attention?”

“Y-yeah…”

Percy raised an eyebrow before looking up at the girl.

He looked up and saw Annabeth staring him down with her cheeks a color he’d never seen on her before. The moment he realized he released her hands and backed away before sitting. “Whoops! Sorry about that Annabeth!” He chuckled nervously before looking back to the water.

With the new information, she’d successfully gotten them back to the boat rental dock. Safe and dry.

She would be sure to give Poseidon an offering later at dinner.

By the time they had left the boat area, it was beginning to get dark, so they decided to walk to Columbus Circle through the park and call it a day, maybe even picking up a couple snacks from the Whole Foods, which conveniently was next to the train station.

On their way back they’d seen a couple horse carriages. Percy made sure to smile and wave at them before they kept walking. Annabeth and percy were playfully shoving each other, both laughing loudly enough that the other side of the park could probably hear them.

By the time they’d gotten home, it was dark out. Sally had begun working on dinner, while the kids moved to the living room to watch a movie. Both wrapped in blankets and sipping on hot cocoa.

Sally could hear the pair bickering. She rolled her eyes as she chuckled. She didn’t need to be the oracle of Delphi to know where those two would end up.

After a couple minutes though, the bickering stopped, actually all talking and noise had ceased. The only sound coming from the living room came from the tv.

Sally quickly turned down the heat on the stove before grabbing her camera. She walked into the living room, attempting and succeeded in holding in her giggles.

Click.

She smiled before she left the kids' nap, surely their ‘action packed’ day had tired them. Though she knew they’ve gone through longer periods of walking and exercise.

—

By the time the pair had woken up, dinner was ready.

Percy and Annabeth helped set up the table, both yawning from time to time, one a result of the others yawning.

“Alright sleepy heads, I made us some rice with pollo empanizado!”

(Breaded and fried chicken!)

Percy smiled. His appetite growing exponentially.

“How come you never make this anymore?” He wondered before trying to sneak a piece, earning himself a playful smack at his hand by his mother.

“Ay percy, cooking carne empanizado and pozole is a lot of work! Only reason I'm making it now is because we have a very important guest in our house.” That earned a chuckle from annabeth. Being deemed a ‘very important guest’ felt good, much different from whenever she was at home with her father and stepmother.

“Now go finish setting up the table.” She smiled.

“I can’t believe this! My own mother! Betraying me for a girl!” Percy feigned pain in his voice. He was practically smiling at this point.

—

Annabeth was going “home”.

It was a strange thought. Annabeth thought Percy’s home more her own then her actual house. She didn’t want to go back, and she was sure neither Percy nor Sally did either.

In about a day, she’d be back to being a ‘guest’. Not in Percy's house, where she technically was just a guest, or as Sally put it “very important guest”. But she’d be going back to a house that didn’t feel like home. Her home was camp half blood.

She knew she had to go back to her dads eventually. She was glad she stayed this long though, giving her a home away from home of sorts. She’d miss her constant bickering with percy. And her late night conversations with Ms Jackson, who felt way more like a mother then Athena and her stepmother combined. Not that she would ever say that to their faces.

On Annabeth's last full day in New York, the mother son duo took her out to montauk. A family tradition between the two. And now one that included her.

She remembered Percy telling her about the significance of the Montauk cabin. And the fact that she had been invited, something the two had never done before with anyone, had made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

The day before Montauk, Sally let Annabeth know that “Percy was the one to suggest it,” she smiled before winking. “I think it's a great idea annabeth, you’ll love it over there.”

So three of them were in the car. Silence besides the music from the radio. A comfort of sorts.

Percy was sleeping peacefully next to her. Sally was sipping on coffee, humming in between sips.

The coffee was strong enough that Annabeth could smell it from the back seat. The smell would’ve usually made the girl want to puke but, coming from Sally, it was more of a smell she’d forever associate with the woman, right along with the smell of her freshly baked cookies.

Just like how she associated the smell of salt water, the sea reminded her of Percy.

She dozed off unknowingly.

–

When they got to the cabin, the sun had just begun to rise. To the dismay of Percy and Annabeth, Sally insisted they leave early in the morning, so they could enjoy the beach and cabin all day.

“Wake up sleepy heads, we’re almost here!” Sally chuckled as she pulled into the gated community.

“Mama, dame cinco minutos, estoy bien cansado.” Percy muttered.

(Mom, give me five more minutes, I'm really sleepy.)

“Ay mijo, ya se va a levantar la annabeth, vas a querer que te escuche diciendo su nombre en lo que duermes?” Sally chuckled. The girl was most definitely half awake by now. But she couldn’t speak much Spanish, so teasing the boy like this was okay in her book.

(Oh son, annabeth's gonna wake up, are you gonna want her to hear you saying her name while you sleep talk?)

“Ay, Okay okay. I’ll get up.” Percy muttered as he stretched.

He knew his mom had a point. He was sure Annabeth had already heard him sleep talking, but it would still be embarrassing.

Percy nudged Annabeth awake. She groaned before opening her eyes.

Sleepy percy was a sight to behold. His hair was all messy, and his eyes were barely open. He looked cute that way she thought.

Annabeth prayed to Aphrodite that her face wasn’t visibly flushed.

Annabeth yawned, Percy's yawn soon followed “Good morning Percy.” She smiled. She rubbed her eyes.

“We’re gonna drop off our stuff, then we’re gonna go get breakfast. Does that sound good to you guys? What about dennys?” Sally smiled. She pulled into the driveway of the cabin/rental home.

–

At the Dennys, Percy and Annabeth sat next to each other, while Sally sat on the other in front of the two kids.

The pair had decided to color in the kids menu they’d received. Being as these kids have literally been to hell and back, they deserved to act like kids once in a while, actually they should’ve been acting like kids all the time. It was unfair that they had to grow up so fast.

Sally wished Percy could have stayed small and young forever. But she knew he would only get older and bigger. And the danger he would be in, would only increase tenfold.

“Percy, that's my side! You can color outside of the lines all you want on YOUR side, just not on mine.” Annabeth rolled her eyes. She was working very hard trying to keep her work neat.

“Well too bad, because we’re sharing.” Percy stuck his tongue out at the girl.

—

The rest of the day sped by. Annabeth had taken her bags with her to the cabin because they were dropping her off at the airport in the morning.

Annabeth and percy both laid in the living room. As much as they “Annoyed” each other. They were very adamant about hanging out the most they could before the girl left.

“Percy?” Annabeth turned over to the boy. The room was pretty dark aside from the light from the kitchen.

“Mm, yeah?” Percy spoke groggily.

“Are you happy I'm leaving?” She felt her breath hitch.

“What?” Percy's voice sounded more alert. He actually jolted up, afraid he’d done something wrong.

“Annabeth I’m not happy, actually I’m kinda upset. We probably won't be able to see each other till summer, plus the fact we might not see each other ever again if-” Percy’s breath hitched. Annabeth got the point.

“Oh okay.” Annabeth sighed.

“Good night Percy.”

“Good night Annabeth.

—

They got to the airport at around 12 noon. Sally was helping Annabeth check in her bags. Percy was still pretty tired, but he was awake enough not to knock into things thankfully.

Once they had her luggage checked in they went to drop her off at tsa.

It started hitting Percy that this could be the last time for a while (maybe even forever) he would see her.

Percy felt like he would cry. He didn’t get why though. Annabeth was only leaving for the moment. For all he knew, she could come back and visit any time she pleased.

But he still felt like crying. Was it because he knew that at any moment, her life could be ripped from her? If anything he knew she wouldn’t go down without a fight, but he still worried.

He hoped his mom wasn’t right about his feelings.

“Goodbye wise girl.” He smiled before hugging her.

“Don’t say goodbye, say see you later.” Annabeth chuckled. She hoped her cheeks weren’t too red.

“See you later, seaweed brain.”

—

Sally said her goodbyes and sent Annabeth off.

Percy hoped he wouldn’t have to say goodbye for a while.

He was pretty sure he wouldn’t know what to do, if this was his last goodbye to her. And even if he didn't know it himself, neither would Annabeth.

Afterall, what's a seaweed brain without his wise girl.

[seattlesea]

Why Percabeth Isn’t a Good Ship (Sorry 2x)

I’m definitely getting cancelled- 

1. Annabeth is physically abusive. The fandom makes this point seem controversial and debatable, but it’s really not. The definition of abuse is hitting someone. Annabeth hit Percy. Therefore, Annabeth abused Percy. Is that really that hard to understand? Annabeth hit Percy for the first time in The Titan’s Curse when she, Percy, and Thalia were looking for the di Angelo siblings. She punched him in the gut when he asked her who he should ask to dance with him. Annabeth knows that Percy can be oblivious at times...but punishes him when it benefits her? The second time was in The Mark of Athena, when she judo-flipped him because she missed him. That’s...what?? Usually when people are worried about someone else, they hug or kiss them, not flip them over their shoulder. And yes Annabeth kissed him first, but the judo-flip was completely unnecessary. Annabeth punished Percy for ‘leaving’ her despite him being kidnapped and his memory wiped. And everyone’s like ‘But Percy didn’t feel any pain!!11!!1!’ The chapter wasn’t in his point of view, so that claim is a guess. Just cause he didn’t say ‘Ow’ doesn’t mean he wasn’t in pain. Also- Annabeth slammed him on a stone pavement on his back. That definitely hurts, even if Percy is a demigod, physically strong, and has gotten hurt a lot. There’s a difference between ‘playful hitting’ and actually hurting someone. Yes they trained a lot, but this isn’t training. This is Annabeth punishing Percy for being traumatized with yet another life-threatening quest and being kidnapped. I don’t remember Percy judo-flipping Annabeth after he saw her again when she got kidnapped in TTC. Besides, the Romans were about to take out their weapons when they saw Annabeth attack Percy, so if all of them thought it was an attack...it was most likely an attack. Even Annabeth said herself “I only attack my boyfriend like that”. The thing is, if it was Percy who flipped Annabeth over his shoulder and slammed her on her back or punched her in the gut, all the fans immediately would’ve freaked out and cancelled him, calling him a horrible and abusive boyfriend, but because it’s the girl hitting the guy, it’s fine apparently. Nothing wrong with it, right? And then Riordan (and the fandom) had the audacity to romanticize that abuse. Abuse isn’t a sweet, romantic gesture. Stop making it seem like it is. That’s disgusting. 

2. Annabeth is also verbally abusive and toxic. Annabeth canonically lowered Percy’s self-esteem, constantly insulted him and his intelligence despite knowing he was insecure about it and always getting kicked out of schools and getting bad grades (even with her so-called ‘endearing’ name for him ‘Seaweed Brain’), and the overall idea of Percabeth is a super smart, pretty girl making a guy with below average intelligence feel insecure about himself. Percy’s self-esteem has plummeted since he met Annabeth and her behavior is never called out or even noticed, which implies some manipulation going on. Annabeth is shown to be extremely capable of manipulating her enemies and anyone else she pleases, and there are quite a few signs she’s using it against Percy (his feelings of obligation, fear, and guilt of and over her, questioning himself, having strings attached, always only thinking of her and no one else in his life, etc.), especially since Percy begins to gradually stop noticing Annabeth’s wrong and toxic behavior as the story progresses. 

3. Annabeth only likes Percy cause he’s the chosen one. Annabeth only hung around Percy since The Lightning Thief cause she thought he was ‘the one’ and so she could finally go on a quest. She literally used Percy to go out to the mortal world and ‘prove herself’ cause really, all she cares about is glory, which is shown multiple times throughout the series with all her pride and ambitions. Plus the fact that Chiron made Annabeth swear on the River Styx that she would keep Percy from danger is a pretty clear sign she didn’t stick around him just cause she wanted to, but because she felt obligated to and cause it would benefit her. Take all of this and it’s kind of obvious Annabeth only hung around Percy cause he was the chosen one of the prophecy, a son of one of the Big Three, and was destined to go on multiple quests and play a big part in the mythological world, which is what she always wanted since book one.

4. It was forced. Since the beginning of book one, it was so obvious that Percy and Annabeth were going to get together that their relationship ended up being boring, dull, and flat. Riordan made it so obvious they were going to be a couple that nothing that happened to their relationship really mattered, cause everyone knew it would work out in the end (which is probably why everyone *wrongly* hated on Rachel) so what happened in between didn’t matter. Their relationship was the typical ‘male lead and female lead’, ‘bad boy trouble-maker skater and nerdy good girl’ power couple that was way too clear. And Riordan made it worse by pushing their relationship and shoving it into the readers’ faces way too much. In MoA Annabeth states that she’s always had a crush on Percy (since they were twelve) which immediately rips all the development their relationship (which was supposedly ‘friends to lovers’, but not anymore) had away. Riordan made up a bunch of honestly dumb scenarios that were legit cringe to make Percabeth seem like ‘OTP’ that really didn’t make sense.

5. It ruined their characters. Percy and Annabeth would’ve been way better off as just friends. After they got together in HoO, all their personality and everything else that made them independent was destroyed to make room for more ‘Percabeth’. All of Annabeth’s skills, bravery, intelligence, pride, ferocity, judgmentalism, and all the other traits and flaws that made her a well-written character were never utilized or even mentioned. All she thought about was Percy, and the same goes for him. His loyalty, sarcasm, humor, obliviousness, etc. disappeared to make room for arrogant Annabeth fanboy. In PJO, they were amazingly well-written and great role models for younger readers (especially Annabeth), but in HoO their characters were exclusively ‘Annabeth’s boyfriend’ and ‘Percy’s girlfriend’. Their characters were completely dependent on each other, and they were way better off as just friends. 

6. Annabeth is way too possessive. And creepy. It’s fine and honestly normal for people to get jealous when another person likes someone they do, but Annabeth’s jealousy was downright creepy. Not only did she not know if her feelings for Percy were reciprocated or not, but she also didn’t know if Percy and Rachel liked each other, either. The very first time she met Rachel she immediately hated her. That’s not ‘I’m jealous cause this girl likes the guy I do’, that’s ‘I’m jealous cause the guy I like has another female friend’. She had no reason to believe that Rachel and Percy liked each other and has no say in who they can like, either. She thought that she and Percy absolutely had to be in a relationship and that he couldn’t even have friends with different genitals than him. And remember when Annabeth literally stalked Percy in The Sea of Monsters? Like when she creeped by his window, constantly watched him, and kept tabs on him just cause she ‘couldn’t find the right time’ to tell him something cause he was ‘never alone’ despite him being alone multiple times and despite the fact that she literally could’ve just knocked on his door like a normal person instead of creeping around his cabin and staring at him through the windows? Again- switch the roles. If it was Percy who was stalking Annabeth, everyone would’ve immediately called him a creep. If- according to Tumblr and almost everyone who read Twilight- Edward is a creep for stalking Bella, then Annabeth is a creep for stalking Percy. 

7. It’s mostly fan love. Honestly, the fandom is the only thing that fuels Percabeth. Riordan just destroys it. He shoved it down the readers’ throats, forced it way too much with really dumb and honestly unrealistic scenarios, and made it abusive and toxic. On its own, Percabeth freaking sucks. The fandom’s version of Percabeth is 1000x better than whatever the hell Riordan was doing, but even that version is toxic. Like, I’ve seen way too many jokes about Annabeth hitting Percy (as if abuse is hilarious and amazing meme fuel and not an extremely sensitive topic that triggers multiple people who actually went through it). Half the time, the fandom fixes Percabeth and the other half of the time they over-glorify and ruin it. The fandom over exaggerates and over glorifies it way too much. It’s not that great of a relationship, to be honest. Most of y’all only like it in the first place cause Riordan made it canon.

8. It was cringey. Like I said above, Riordan wrote some really dumb scenes for Percabeth. I mean- the matching gray streaks in their hair despite Atlas and Artemis not getting any? Percy’s tie to the mortal world while bathing in the River Styx being Annabeth and not his mom, Grover, etc.? Percy only remembering Annabeth, the girl he’s only known for four years and not his mom, the only woman who actually cared for and took care of him or Grover, his best friend who protected and continuously cared about him? Percy turning down immortality only for Annabeth and not even bothering to mention the pain of leaving behind his life, friends, family, memories, etc. behind if he accepted it? The romanticized judo-flip? The whole ‘dark-haired rebellious bad boy/nerdy blonde good girl who can be bad’ trope? Even the boring predictability of Percabeth is cringe. 

9. It’s a bad influence on younger readers. Basically the lesson of Percabeth is ‘Once you get a love interest nothing else in your life matters’. Besides that one single scene that took like three lines in The Son of Neptune, Percy never even thought of his own mom, nor did he think about any of his friends or passed allies like his dad, Rachel, Grover, Paul, Silena, Luke, Ethan, Bob/Iapetus, Tyson, Calypso, Charles, Michael (whose death he accidentally caused), Bianca, Zoë, etc. Even when in Tartarus with the curse of the Arai being forced to remember all the people he forgot and feeling guilty about abandoning Bob and Calypso, all he thought about was Annabeth. Even when faced with the man who broke the heart of the girl who sacrificed herself for him, Percy didn’t even think of her, only his jealousy of Jason. Same thing with Annabeth. She never thought about her mom, Luke, Thalia, her step-mom or step-brothers, etc. It was all about Percy. Cause yes, Riordan, that’s exactly the lesson you should teach your younger readers- forget everyone you ever knew the moment you get a partner. Besides that, it also teaches readers that being rude to people who like the same person as you is completely okay cause no one will care and once you start being rude, bitter, and possessive you’ll get exactly what you want (that’s literally what happened, with Annabeth and with Calypso, too). He also teaches that after you get a partner, everything that makes you you will disappear and you’ll be completely dependent on them and nothing in your life will matter, even your own independent life and personality. 

10. The fandom tries to excuse and explain Annabeth’s behavior??? What??? Since when does explaining and excusing hitting people put you in the right again? And the excuses aren’t even good, too! Percabeth fans use-  Annabeth was full of emotions/mad and doesn’t know how to deal with emotions. Annabeth really loved Percy. It was only one time. Annabeth was worried about Percy and mad that she left him. Annabeth didn’t mean to hurt him. Annabeth didn’t know what she was doing cause she was full of emotions. ??? Annabeth was full of emotions/mad and doesn’t know how to deal with emotions- Annabeth was seventeen years old, the daughter of the wisdom goddess, and is supposedly the smartest character in the series who is shown to be extremely good at reading people and their emotions. And y’all are really trying to say she doesn’t know how to deal with her emotions?  Annabeth really loved Percy- SO? A mother might really love her child, does that excuse her for hitting them for dumb reasons? It was only one time- actually, it was twice, and so what? If someone was slapped across the face ‘only one time’, does that mean they weren’t abused? ‘Abuse’ doesn’t mean ‘hit constantly’, it means ‘hit’. If someone was hit, they were abused. Is that really not a known fact in this fandom? Annabeth was worried about Percy and mad that she left him- last time I checked, people didn’t hit others when they were worried about them. If I was worried that my friend was going to get hurt, I wouldn’t hurt them myself. That literally makes no sense. And again- Percy didn’t leave Annabeth. He was kidnapped. Do y’all not know the definition of that, either? Annabeth didn’t mean to hurt him- yes, cause that’s why she decided to flip him over her shoulder, slam him on a stone pavement on his back, and punish him for ‘leaving her’.  Annabeth didn’t know what she was doing cause she was full of emotions- Annabeth??? the daughter of the wisdom goddess??? not knowing what she’s doing??? huh??? I mean, would any of you really, legitimately try to use any of these dumb excuses to excuse a man from hitting his wife? Hopefully not. And if you did, you would immediately get hated on and legit cancelled. So what makes this any different? Also- I see the excuse ‘Annabeth didn’t know Percy lost his Achilles Heel and thought he was still invincible’. Under different circumstances I’d accept that, but Annabeth knew that Percy’s Achilles Heel was on the small of his back...BUT SHE SLAMMED HIM ON HIS BACK. If Percy hadn’t lost the Achilles Heel, Annabeth literally would’ve killed him. Abusive enough for y’all? Or is attempted murder excusable and still ‘OTP’? 

11. They had no chemistry whatsoever. Was I the only one who felt...absolutely no chemistry between Percy and Annabeth? Like some of their moments were cute, their friendship was really good, and they had a lot of potential, but they didn’t feel right for each other. Remember- opposites don’t attract (they just argue, and no one has ‘another half’ that needs to ‘complete them’, everyone is their own person), they cancel each other out. I mean, Reyna and Annabeth had more chemistry in that one chapter of the New Rome tour in MoA than Percy and Annabeth had in 12+ books. They’re just...not right for each other, I guess. 

I’m definitely getting cancelled-

Edit 2: Sorry if I offended anyone with that last note. Just wanted to let y’all know that I am not here to start any drama, hurt anyone, or disrespect any Percabeth shippers. I respect your opinions 100% and only ask you do the same for me. Like I literally only wrote this at 12 am when I was bored and had nothing else to do and couldn’t sleep (same goes for pretty much everything else I write about PJ). Besides, why argue and start drama over dumb stuff like that when we can just find something we agree on? Don’t like Piper McLean? Let’s talk about that. Think Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano is a queen? Let’s talk about that. Think Nico di Angelo is freaking amazing? Let’s talk about that. Think Theyna would be adorable? Let’s talk about that. Want someone to vent to about writer’s block? Why the hell not? Want random writing advice and tips for writer’s block? Sure, I got plenty. Instead of arguing and starting beef over trivial fictional ships. 

[percabethfeelsfandom]

Writing Prompt: Home

Percy stood by the bulletin board in the Big House, fingers tracing the edge of a photo of him, Annabeth and Grover. His sixteen-year-old face smiling widely at him with his arms thrown around Annabeth and Grover’s shoulders.

Seven years later, Percy still remembered taking the photo. The day before he was set to go back to Goode, his first time going to the same school two years in a row. The happiness that was in their features hadn’t lasted long. But it was nice that this moment was immortalised.

“Feeling nostalgic?”

Percy found a smile rising to his face as he saw Chiron duck his head to avoid hitting the doorframe, joining Percy to look at the other photos of campers that had accumulated over the years. Faces that Percy had grown up with, and new ones.

“Can’t help it. Every time I come here...it’s like travelling back in time.”

Percy removed his hand from the photo and let it drop to his side. Chiron gave him a small smile and looked fondly at the collage of photos. In the corner there was even a faded photograph of Chiron smiling smugly while Mr D held a goblet disapprovingly.

“Does it feel different coming back?” Chiron asked. Percy stepped away from the photos and went to stand in front of the window glancing out to look at the fields outside.

“Yeah. In a good way, but…” Percy sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to flatten it, “I feel bad I guess. That I left. This was home for so long.” His fingers itched to move so he brought them to the necklace that still hung around his neck. All the years later he still tried to wear it every day, even sometimes underneath his work clothes. The beads had a permanent place around his place and sat perfectly in the hollow of his throat, a constant familiar presence.

“You didn’t leave, Percy,” he reassured. Percy thumbed his first camp bead, staring at the glowing trident.

“Didn’t I?”

“No. You deserve a life outside of here. It’s because of you that you have a world to go to, you deserve a chance to live in it. It’d be foolish of you not to.”

“You make it sound like I did it alone,” he gestured to the photo collage, “Each of those people played a part. Every person that steps foot into camp played a part in that. They deserve to be out there too.”

“When they know what they’re up against then they can. Until then I will train them.”

“Don’t you ever wish we could do more?”

“Every day.”

“I feel like I ran away from the fight.”

“Every hero yields in the end. And yielding is not always a bad thing.”

“So why does it feel like it?”

“Why are you so full of doubt? You seemed so sure, so happy with your decision before.” Percy thought back to when he had finally managed to graduate high school, and made the final decision to go to college and move away from New York. The sharp pain that had settled in his chest when he had watched Camp grow smaller and smaller the further they went. The pain hadn’t eased till Annabeth had gripped his hand, reassuring him that they’d be back. That this wasn’t forever.

Percy sighed deeply and reached into his pocket to press his fingers against Riptide for comfort.

“Things have changed. And I guess- I’m scared,” Percy let out a choked laugh. Things had definitely changed if he was able to admit he was scared.

“Is everything okay?”

“Annabeth’s pregnant.”

Chiron’s eyes widened before his face broke out into a smile.

“Congratulations!” He reached down and patted Percy on the shoulder. But Percy didn’t mirror his smile. Slowly Chiron retracted his hand and gave him a questioning look.

“Are you not happy?”

Percy rushed to correct him, shaking his head wildly.

“Oh gods, I’m ecstatic, don’t get me wrong. But...Annabeth and I always said we wouldn’t have kids unless we were positive we’d be bringing them into a safe world...and now that we are- I don’t know if it’ll ever be safe. Like we’re demigods for Hades’ sake.”

“Is that why you came back?” Percy nodded.

“I don’t know anywhere safer than here. It’s like I never want to let her out of my sight.” Almost to prove his point Percy looked out to the fields again, trying to get a glimpse of Annabeth who was at her cabin, catching up with family members and any of the campers they had once trained with. Though he knew exactly where she was, Percy could feel the edge of anxiety heightening his senses, hyper-aware of any possible dangers.

“And I guess, I wanted advice. I know you don’t have kids of your own, but, you have this camp. When I wasn’t with my Mom and Dad, I had you. I already asked my Mom how she did it; how she lived with the fear of having a child in our world.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she loved me too much to ever feel scared.”

“That’s all a parent can do Percy.”

“That’s not very helpful,” he huffed. Chiron laughed and gestured to the doorway, leading the two of them out of the Big House and to the centre of camp where the cabins were.

“You asked me if I wished we could do more, to help them,” he nodded in the direction of campers in their orange shirts, playing volleyball, their laughter drifting in the wind. “Each day, for the years I have been alive, I give them my knowledge about protecting themselves, I teach them our history so that they may one day learn from our mistakes. I love them and watch them grow. Sometimes they leave and sometimes they use the knowledge I’ve passed on and they create a life of their own, and save the world along the way. Sometimes they come back. Sometimes what I’ve taught them isn’t enough...and they don’t. It’s an endless cycle when you think of it, this role I chose. But what more can I do when I have dedicated my life to this. The world still needs heroes, and as long as those heroes need guidance I will give it to them. What more can I do when I’ve given them a chance?”

“You were raised by a brilliant woman, Perseus, she gave you the best chance she could by loving you. The best you can do for your own child is the exact same. And with Annabeth by your side, I have no doubt you’ll achieve that.”

~

“Did you have a good talk with Chiron?” Annabeth asked as she pulled the blanket over her legs. Percy helped her adjust the sheets, tucking her in and sitting next to her. They’d been given the Poseidon cabin to stay at for the meantime; Percy’s two half-siblings on a quest together.

Though they visited every summer, being back in his old cabin, even in his old bed, was giving Percy an odd sense of deja vu.

Percy nodded, but his attention was elsewhere, noting all the new scratches and the weapons hung on the wall that didn’t belong to him. His heart went out to his siblings, the call for a quest, taunting him after so many years of him wishing it would be someone else when he was younger.

“Seaweed Brain?” Annabeth said softly. Percy turned to her fully and shook his head, trying to clear it with thoughts. Annabeth’s face was etched with concern, and Percy placed his hands over hers, which laid over her stomach that was starting to show.

“I’m okay.”

“It’s weird, isn’t it? Coming back after all this time,” she said looking around the cabin as well. Percy nodded again, readjusting himself in the bed so he could hold her closer.

“We visit every summer though,” he pointed out, but Annabeth shook her head and then leaned against his shoulder.

“It’s different, we’ll be here for a while, we don’t need to leave at the end. We don’t need to always look behind our shoulders, at least not for now. It’s nice.”

“Chiron said something today...I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”

“Hmm?” Idly, Percy traced circles on her shoulder as he brought his arms around her.

“Something about giving heroes a chance, that’s what it all comes down to. Doesn’t it? No matter how good you are, powers, training, knowledge, all of that goes out the door, because it’s up to the Fates isn’t it?” Annabeth sat up straighter turning to him.

“I like to think we play a part in it as well, just because the Fates have a say, doesn’t mean all choices are taken away from us. We chose to leave camp. And I don’t regret that.” She said firmly.

“How’d you know I was thinking about that?”

“Because I know you, Perseus Jackson.”

“No matter what the Fates have in store for us, Percy, I’m willing to go through it. If it means I’m by your side. I know we didn’t want to come back to Camp, but is it so bad when it ensures our safety? This was our home growing up. It’ll be a great place for our child to grow up, then we can leave when it’s safe again.”

“We left because we thought we’d be safe. Now I’m wondering if we should’ve stayed so that we could’ve avoided coming back...does that make sense?”

“Perce.”

“Yeah yeah. I know. I’m not upset about being here exactly. But after everything, I just thought we’d done enough for the Fates to believe we could get a break from this world. Let us live in ignorance for a bit. It’s selfish but maybe we deserve to be a bit selfish?”

“I know.” She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Percy’s, closing her eyes.

She pulled back and pressed a kiss to his cheek before laying down, signalling that she was finished with this conversation. The pregnancy was constantly leaving her tired, and even now, Percy could see the purple beneath her eyes despite the excessive amount of hours she was sleeping. Carrying a demigod child was taking a toll on her, and it was slowly killing Percy. He made sure he tucked her in tightly before leaving his cabin and making the familiar trek to the water where his thoughts finally began to calm.

He looked out into the deep blue of the night, and the seemingly bottomless ocean.

“I know you’re listening, Father...I don’t think I want to talk. But if you could listen? I think I just need that,” Percy paused, waiting for a reaction. When he didn’t get one, he eased himself onto the sand and rolled up his pants so that he could dip his feet into the low tide.

“After the war, it was so hard for me to leave camp. Especially after Gaea took me. I felt that every time I left I’d come back and see my home in ruins. Everything I’ve done since I found out I was your child has been to preserve this Camp. It means more to me than a location probably should, but it was always there for me to come back to. But after Jason, I needed to leave. I was so tired of coming back to a camp and seeing one less face. I know it wasn’t my fault, but it felt like I was being taunted, that I couldn’t save him...because I was somewhere else. Leaving after college was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And now coming back, I’m scared that once I leave something bad is going to happen again. It’s not just Annabeth on the line anymore, I could risk it with her because she can protect herself but if our child is at risk? What do I do then?” The words were rushing out of Percy like a dam breaking, and he was stumbling and gasping over his words as tears welled up inside his chest, demanding to be released.

“Coming back means leaving. And I don’t think my heart can take it.”

There was a soft breeze and Percy felt the water at his feet grow colder. He looked up from where he had buried his face in his arms.

“You cannot let fear rule your life. Or you will forget to live.”

Percy scoffed at his Father and shook his head, not bothering to stand up. Other gods would have been offended, but Poseidon looked down sympathetically at Percy and sat down, lowering himself to Percy’s level.

“Let me rephrase that. Fear will always be a part of your life, it will always be there because you are my son and Annabeth is Athena’s daughter, you are Heroes of Olympus, and with that title, someone or something will always be hateful-”

“Is this meant to make me feel better?” Poseidon let out a chuckle and Percy rolled his eyes.

“Let me finish. Fear will always exist. But there are things that are more powerful than that. Think of your mother, her fear of Gabe, and her fear of monsters finding you when you were young...neither ever stopped her loving you, it made her fight harder to protect you. Your own fear of your prophecy didn’t stop you from fulfilling it, because you cared too much for your city and your friends. My own fear of my brother when you were accused of stealing the bolt didn’t stop me from claiming you. The same applies here. Your fear of coming back and leaving Camp Half Blood doesn’t make it any less your home. It will always protect you.”

[chironshorseass]

part 1 read on ao3

“So you’re telling me that you haven’t Iris Messaged Annabeth in a month?”

“She was with her cousin, Ma.”

His mother stopped the car right next to Goode—the high school he would (hopefully) be attending in August.

She turned to look at him, that motherly stern look that always came up when she knew he wasn’t telling her everything.

“What?”

She shrugged. “Whatever you say. But physically, you haven’t seen her since last January! I’m just worried that—”

“We emailed each other, though—”

“Yes, but it’s not the same.” At Percy’s roll of the eyes, she held her hands up in surrender. “All I’m saying is to…see if there’s anything wrong. I have a feeling she didn’t want to IM you for some other reason. And I know you, Perce. You have the same feeling as I do.”

He did, but that wasn’t the point. So he kissed his mom on the cheek and stepped out of the car.

“Good luck on your date! And with, um, school!”

He threw her a thumbs up and shouldered his backpack.

Too bad that luck wasn’t on his side that day.

She saw him before he saw her.

He’s grown, was the first thing that came to Annabeth’s mind.

His clothing peppered in burn holes, the smoke wafting further back, and the pretty girl chasing him was registered later.

She saw him before he saw her, and so Percy bumped into her in the alleyway. Her hands went to his shoulders, steadying him.

“Whoah!” she said, laughing. “Watch where you’re going, Seaweed Brain!”

Maybe he thought he’d be late for our date. That’s why he’s in such a hurry.

It didn’t matter. Because he was here, and he was just a bit taller than her—his hair was longer than she remembered, but his green eyes were the same, beautiful color, and...

Then she caught his panicked look. Then she caught the girl behind him and the smoke and his burnt clothing.

“What happened?”

Before he could reply, the redhead called out, “Percy! Wait up!”

Her flip-flops echoed across the relatively quiet street, interrupting Annabeth’s thought process.

“And who‘s she?”

Percy turned to the other girl and waited until she arrived next to them. He glanced at Annabeth, wincing. “It’s uh…it’s a long story.”

“You promised to explain,” the girl insisted, breathless. “About the monsters and the gods and everything.”

“Wait,” Annabeth said. “She’s a demigod?”

“No.”

At the same time, the girl tilted her head and said, “So you’re one of them, too, huh?”

Annabeth felt her mouth fall open in disbelief. She met Percy’s eyes. “You told some mortal about us?”

“My name’s Rachel.”

And my name’s I-don’t-give-a-fuck.

“She can see through the mist,” is all he said.

She shook her head. Out of everything that could happen today…and this was what Fate had decided on.

“Come on.” She tugged on Percy’s arm. “We’re leaving before whatever attacked you comes back.”

He followed her, but not without gazing back at Rachel as though he wanted to stay with her. As though it were easier than being with Annabeth. There was something bubbling in her stomach at that, something that boiled her insides.

“Wait!” Rachel shouted. “You promised to explain!”

She sprinted toward them and took out a sharpie marker she’d sprung out from thin air. Annabeth rolled her eyes. Rachel grasped Percy’s arm and began writing something that looked like numbers.

She wasn’t rolling her eyes anymore.

“My phone number,” Rachel explained. Then she winked at him. “Whenever you can, call me.”

.

“What was all that about?” Annabeth said. She’d already stormed ahead, taking the lead.

He tried to explain. He’d gone to Goode’s orientation tour, just like she knew he would. There, he’d been attacked by empousa cheerleaders, and thanks to Rachel’s Sight, he’d survived.

“I’d be dead if it weren’t for her,” he said, eyeing his marked arm. “I have to repay her in some way.”

“So now you have her phone number,” she said lightly.

“Uh…yeah.”

“She’s really cute.”

Percy stopped in his tracks. She stopped as well and looked back, realizing that he was staring at her exasperatedly.

“Aw, come on, Annabeth. You and I are literally dating, and I just saw her today—well, except for last year—”

“You’ve met her before?”

He scratched his head, shifting from one foot to the other. “I, uh…yeah. Last year at Hoover Dam.”

Right. When he was looking for me.

She kept walking again.

“Are you seriously upset because of her?” He tried to grab her hand, but she pulled away. “‘Beth, I never—”

“Anyway, I don’t think we can go on our date anymore.” Her tone was scathing, like sharp, twisted knives. But she didn’t care. The gods hated her, apparently, because she and Percy could never be a normal teenage couple.

“Oh, so now you can get all angry with me when we couldn’t even call properly because of your cousin? Not even a single call?”

“That empousai said that the camp would go up in flames, we need to—”

“Don’t change the subject.” He ran up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, making her halt. The few baby fat he’d still preserved back in winter was gone, replaced with the hints of someone older; with a harshness akin to his father, the Sea God. “How much time did you actually spend with your cousin? Honestly. He couldn’t have been with you all the time, and I tried to be nice and understanding, but did you really—”

“If what that empousa warned you about is true, then we need to head to camp. Right now.”

She left before he could talk about anything else involving her pathetic lies. Left before he could see her blinking back tears. She ran directly into Argus’ van, and once Percy had closed the door, she told the bodyguard to drive directly to camp. No detours.

They didn’t talk on the way there. She stared out the window, watching the passing farms and the cotton sky.

Her first meeting with Percy after months apart and it couldn’t have gone better.

.

The thing is: Annabeth had changed her mind about camp. In her plans, she’d stay in San Francisco for longer than usual, just to be as far away from Camp Half-Blood as possible. Then, she’d go to New York City, and her and Percy would be taken to camp by Argus.

But plans changed.

Her mother had come, weeks before Annabeth would leave as initially intended. For some strange reason, she’d knocked on her door like Luke all those months ago.

A spluttering Frederick had answered this time. Annabeth trailed behind him, cautious for anything.

Cautious for anything didn’t mean she’d thought Athena would ever consider stopping by.

“Mom?” she’d said, eyes wide.

After greetings were made, Athena had insisted she go to camp immediately. “They are counting on you to be there, Annabeth. You must go. Before it’s too late.”

Annabeth recalled what she’d told Luke:

“People are counting on you—on me”

But hearing it from her mother, seeing her so insistent—enough so that she’d come, personally, to her porch steps—made Annabeth reconsider.

Anyway, this was Athena. Her mother. Who was she to displease her?

So she buried all her worries about Luke and Percy and followed her; in the blink of an eye, she’d arrived at camp, Athena nowhere to be seen. Annabeth hadn’t even had the chance to ask her about why she’d decided to help, out of the blue.

But Athena was right; camp needed her. Apparently, Clarisse’s top-secret quest from last winter had to do with venturing into the Labyrinth. She and Chiron had rescued Chris Rodriguez, an ex-camper who was scouting it in the hopes of finding an entrance to camp for Luke’s army. He’d fallen victim to madness in those dark, underground walls. No one knew why—only that he needed help.

Not only that, but throughout those few weeks, she’d felt as if her mother’s face was implanted in her mind like a brand; she swore she saw those grey eyes everywhere. While she got familiar with Quintus and Mrs. O’Leary. While planning with Clarisse and Chiron. While hanging out with Silena. While scouring the forest with Grover and his new girlfriend, Juniper—searching for an entrance to the Labyrinth.

It got to the point where she lit a match and watched as dozens of olives burst into flames, in the hopes that Athena would respond.

“What do you want from me?”

“Please answer.”

“What do you know that we don’t?”

Everything.

That’s what she’d say, probably. But Annabeth would never know, because Athena never answered. She nearly burned down cabin seven because of this. In her frustration, she scooped up the remaining olives, stomped across camp, and threw them into the sea.

“Thanks for everything,” she muttered, watching the waves greedily drag the olives away.

She didn’t feel eyes burning into her neck after that, but coming back with Percy restarted the process all over again.

An owl was perched on Thalia’s tree. She ignored it, only for it to come back while her and Percy both sat to hear what the Council of Cloven Elders had to say about Grover’s search for Pan.

.

“Mom. What do you want?”

“Lovely way of greeting your visiting mother, I see.”

Annabeth sighed.

After reasurances to Grover that, ‘Everything will be alright. Don’t worry. I know you’ll find Pan before the Council’s deadline,’ she’d taken to the trees. To where that grey owl was perched.

The owl disappeared, however. Replaced by the goddess of wisdom. So now both mother and daughter stood, a few feet apart, while everyone else gathered on the other side. No one noticed the secret meeting.

“You prayed to me,” Athena said. “Of course I would answer. Even if you did throw the offerings away.”

To where Annabeth threw them away was left unsaid; Athena knew. She knew, and she’d likely come because of it.

Annabeth shrugged.

“You’re angry with me,” Athena observed. “Anger must be controlled, or else unwise decisions happen. Like throwing a prized possession into the sea.”

“Well, Mother,” Annabeth said, jaw tense. “You haven’t exactly been clear about why you’re following me around. Or about why you wanted me to go to camp early in the first place.”

Athena was rarely quick to anger. She calculated everything, patient and firm, just like now.

“Knowing the intentions of the divine can either be a blessing or a curse.”

“But you’re about to tell me something. About to answer me. Am I cursed, then?”

Athena cocked her head, considering.

“No,” she finally said.

There was a glint in her eyes, something that told Annabeth that she was holding back.

“Well, then...I am asking again: why are you here?”

“Because I foresee that you shall lead a quest.”

A pause. Her comment was precise, abrupt as a frigid wind. Annabeth felt herself gaping like a fish. Quickly, she clamped her mouth shut. That was all she wanted, wasn’t it? To lead a quest? But then why did she feel such a profound sense of dread?

“I came to warn you. It won’t be easy.”

She restrained the urge to roll her eyes. “Quests aren’t meant to be easy.”

“Never stray from the plan,” Athena said, ignoring her comment. Her eyes were grey as granite, face hard as marble. “I know that you can…manage your hubris, but this time, it’ll be the ultimate trial for what you can or can’t do. If you can yield or not. You and Perseus both. Hubris can be controlled, but if control itself is the problem...that is very dire, indeed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I may have made a mistake in assuming Perseus’ fatal flaw. Maybe not. In any case...you must be careful.”

“You assumed what his fatal flaw is?”

Athena regarded her carefully, like one does when studying an ancient scroll. “You can ask him about it. Since you two are...close.”

She said close as if it was a foregin word on her tongue, something she wanted to get rid of.

Of course she knew.

“About that, I don’t care what you—”

“I give you the benefit of the doubt,” Athena said, an eyebrow raised. “My children are known to make wise, rational decisions. I can only hope that you won’t become an exception to that rule. I do not approve, but it is your life. Your choice.”

Annabeth’s mouth felt like sand. Choices. She’d begun to hate them, now.

“What’s Percy’s fatal flaw?”

“Even to me, it’s uncertain.”

“But you have some idea.”

“As do you, my daughter.”

“I thought knowledge is power.”

“Yes. Knowledge is power. But how do you know that the knowledge you possess is true? How do you know if it’s not? Fate, however, is already decided; all we can do is prepare for the worst.”

“What’s going to happen, then?” Annabeth felt like she was barely able to grasp for something to hold on to, waiting— begging —for the ground to steady itself. “What will happen to Luke? What’s my role in all of this?”

Athena only shook her head. “Knowing something and having the wits to use it are two separate things.” Then she turned around, her time at camp over as well as her vague and unreliable warnings. “I must go. Good luck, Annabeth, on your quest.”

“A quest no one has even mentioned —”

“And watch for Percy Jackson.”

She vanished into the canopy, morphing into that same, grey owl. A single feather fell from the sky and settled quietly into the ground next to Annabeth’s sneakers. It mocked her, that feather. She kicked it away, then thought better of it and rubbed it into the dirt with her heel, destroying every single trace.

Your choice.

.

Neither her nor Percy mentioned their earlier fight. It became a discarded page, ripped off and torn into pieces like an old math textbook. It gave her space to breathe, to start over. A part of her knew that it wasn’t right, and that eventually, they’d have to talk about it—but that was eventually. This was now.

During the “now,” she filled Percy in on the Labyrinth.

(The Labyrinth will be the quest your mom mentioned. It can’t be about anything else)

He listened to everything she had to say and stayed even while Clarisse was there, too.

(Probably because they’re friends. They just hate to admit it.)

They ignored the catcalls and the teasing. She expected it, anyway.

(“So the rumors are true,” Malcolm said, wiggling his eyebrows and making her roll her eyes. “You and Percy are a thing, now.”

“Uh…yeah.”

“And you never thought to tell me? Like, I’m not surprised or anything, but—hey! Don’t hit me! Okay, fine, everyone knew since you two held hands and made gooey eyes at each other and stuff last January—stop hitting me!”)

Later, her and Percy sat together by the warmth of the campfire, roasting s’mores. She enjoyed laying her head on his shoulder and kissing his cheek. She laughed at his horrible singing and held his hand later that night, swinging their arms up and down as they walked toward cabin three.

Joking around and taking comfort in the sound of the crickets, Annabeth understood what it was like to love someone. It was a different kind of love than that of Luke. She watched him smile wide, watched the way his eyes crinkled as she rolled her eyes about Clarisse and Silena. That’s when it crossed her mind: their friendship hadn’t changed. Not really.

Even though they hadn’t seen each other for six months or so, and even though their newest step to their relationship had started weeks before that, their esense stayed the same. He was still Percy and she was still Annabeth. And that would never change.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Percy said, squeezing her hand.

“Oh, um. Just...thinking.”

“Well duh.”

“Shut up.”

He grinned at her, even as she shoved him off.

“No but seriously,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

She sighed. Her meeting with Athena had slipped into her mind like passing sticky notes and secret messages. “I want to talk about fatal flaws.”

She felt his hand tense. “What about them?”

“Just, I dunno, like...do you know yours?”

He was looking straight ahead when he said, “Your, uh, mom told me. Is personal loyalty even considered a flaw?”

“That’s what she said? That your fatal flaw is personal loyalty?”

He shrugged. “Guess so.”

So it’s true. She thinks she’s wrong.

“I mean, personal loyalty is considered a flaw, but...do you think it could be something else? Maybe?”

They locked eyes. The faraway hearth lit up his face, sharpening his features.

“Do you think it’s something else?”

“I don’t know.”

Another lie. Or was it? Could personal loyalty be his fatal flaw or could it be something else? Was Athena right? Was she wrong?

Percy raised his eyebrows. “You know something. You have that planning face look.”

“I don’t have a—”

“Uh, yeah you do. But whatever. It’s not like you know what my fatal flaw is.”

“I’m...yeah. I was just wondering since, well, I know about mine. And we’re so close to the Great Prophecy, and if you don’t know by now what your fatal flaw is, well—”

“It’s good that I know, then,” he cut in. “Good that I know my fatal flaw by now.” His eyes flicked to her. “Right?”

“Yeah. Right. Good.”

Nothing else was said after that. He stopped by the porch steps of cabin three and kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes, comforted like she had throughout the singalong. Comforted by Percy.

Until he closed his door and left her in the dark.

.

The next day, Quintus’ strange game involving scorpions and ribbons began with her being paired up with Percy. It was just their luck that they’d stumbled into the Labyrinth, of all places .

“So we’re stuck here.”

“Yep,” Percy confirmed.

“You’re not helping.”

“I’m only here for moral support. You’re the brains of the relationship.”

“Am not,” she grumbled. “You’re smart; stop pretending you aren’t.”

It was no use, anyway. She couldn’t find the mark of Daedalus in the darkness. They took a break from searching and calling for help to sit down, bunching up against a wall and leaning against the other.

“I never apologized.”

Percy’s voice in the hollow chambers nearly made her jump. She lifted her chin and tucked it into his collarbone.

“For what?” she said.

“The Rachel thing.”

“To be fair, I’d nearly forgotten.”

“Exactly. So I just…want to clear the air before it comes up again. And to say sorry for doubting you about your cousin.”

She shut her eyes tight. The truth was coming like undigested food; she was ready to spill it all out. But she swallowed the words instead—hating herself and loving this beautiful, selfless boy all at the same time. Round and round. Round and round it went.

“I’m sorry, too.”

“What are you sorry for? You were right to be angry with me. Like, all this time apart and suddenly a girl writes down her phone number on my arm , and then we can’t even have a normal date because I seem to mess that up, too.”

You’re perfect, she wanted to say. You’re perfect and I’m the one who messed everything up. Not you.

“We both reacted in stupid ways,” she said instead. “And anyway, I should’ve found the time to IM with you.”

He kissed the top of her head and mumbled into her hair, “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“Yeah. I know.”

He pulled away from her. She could feel his gaze but couldn’t see him clearly. “Something’s bothering you, Annabeth. What’s wrong? What’s actually wrong?”

She pursed her lips.

“What if…what if we don’t make it?”

Her voice came out barely above a whisper, but in the drifting silence, it sounded like ringing bells, there for everyone to hear.

( “What if you don’t make it?” She could never dare to say that out loud, however. )

She felt Percy lace his fingers through hers. “We’ll be together. That’s something I know for sure.”

They chose silence after that. Annabeth rested her head against his shoulder once more, listening to the constant creaking and shifting of the Labyrinth.

“Hey,” Percy murmured.

She glanced at him. “Hmm?”

Suddenly, she was aware of his hand resting on her arm, of his breath warm against her cheek. She froze, just for a second.

“Can I kiss you?”

Now that she thought about it, they’d never kissed properly—just a quick peck here and there. She nearly laughed at how nervous Percy sounded, at how this was just like last winter as they asked permission for a simple kiss like the awkward teenagers that they were.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He tucked a stray curl behind her ear and leaned in. He didn’t need to look far, not even in the darkness; she was already inches apart, closing her eyes and feeling their breaths slip by.

When their lips met, she decided that surrender tasted sweet and pure, something she’d willingly do over and over again. He kissed her and nothing else mattered, not Time or the dark or choices.

He was the first to pull away.

“We’ve, um, we’ve been in here for too long,” he said. “Let’s keep trying to find a way out.”

It wasn’t long until they did.

.

By the time they’d managed to slip out of the Labyrinth, hours had passed. Night had fallen like autumn leaves, though she swore that they’d been in the maze for thirty minutes  at most.

By the time the campers and Chiron found them, she already knew that a quest would have to be made.

Just like her mother had promised, she was chosen to lead.

From what the oracle told her, she wished she could hide in her cabin and never come out. She wished that all of this was a dream and that absolutely nothing would happen—to anyone.

“The child of Athena’s final stand,” she’d said, repeating nearly all of her prophecy once Chiron asked her about it.

She paused and didn’t say the last line. The worst line. That line had cut to her bones. A rusted knife against her throat.

“And lose a love worse than death.”

She gazed at Percy. Innocent green eyes gazed right back at her, unwavering. What a terrible person she was, that she’d lead him to this fate because she couldn’t leave without him. How weak.

“Will you come?” she breathed.

He agreed without a second thought.

.

He found her in her cabin. They were alone, for once. And when he asked her what was wrong, when he looked at her like that, she couldn’t take it anymore. She surged to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly and secure, so he could never go away.

She breathed in his scent, feeling tears already trickling into his shirt.

“Hey, it’s—it’s okay. We’ll survive.”

“But what if we don’t?”

His hands drifted up to her back, steadying her.

She lifted her eyes, pulling away slightly, if only to see him clearly. A varying amount of emotions crossed his face. Concern, fear, love. Until he settled on concern and flicked away her stray tears with the pad of his thumb ever so gently. His eyebrows were pinched together.

“I just…” she said, looking away. “I just don’t want anything happening to yo—to any of you.”

“I’ll be here,” he said softly, cupping her cheek and moving it in his direction so that she could understand. “We’ll be okay.”

She wished she could believe that. Wished she could believe it with the same amount of heart that she poured into the kiss that followed. Her hands tugged at his hair, lips moving along with his like they never had before. They were warm and sure, his lips. But they could easily turn blue and cold, as easily as a flame could cease to exist. So she kissed him with everything she had so that his lips would stay warm like this, forever—passed her oxygen to him until there was nothing left to give.

.

Annabeth also chose Grover and Tyson to join her quest. With two more people, the quest team turned up as four instead of three; a feeling told her that she needed them all.

But three is a sacred number. Not four. This is why Zoë and Bianca passed on.

Three, not four.

And lose a love to worse than—

She strolled past the moving walls, the footfalls of the rest echoing behind her. Until she stopped. They were in a lavish room with a muraled painting of the gods, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the two doorways, the two paths.

“So?” Grover asked. “Which one do we uh…which one do we pick?”

Before she could answer, a man formed—or rather, a man with two faces. They stood in between the pathways, leering at her.

“Yes, Annabeth,” said one face.

“Which one do you pick?” said the other.

.

She kept mulling it over, what Hera had said. They’d encountered Janus, the god of doorways and beginnings and endings. And choices.

“Choose,” they’d said.

Instantly, images had painted themselves in her mind. In one, she was looking for Daedalus alongside Percy and Grover and Tyson. In the other, she was looking for Luke. “He can be saved,” her imaginary self muttered as she trudged through the Labyrinth alone, on the brink of madness. “If I save him, there will be no more death.”

But then more flashed through her mind. Choose one pathway, and she’d lose Percy, and soon after that, she’d lose Grover and Tyson. Choose the other, and she’d lose Luke instead.

“Choose.”

Everything had come to a pause when Hera arrived. She wanted to help them, apparently—only that that wasn’t true. Gods didn’t help. They only left you confused and disoriented, spinning around with no control.

She hadn’t helped, not that it surprised her.

None of them had any clue how to navigate the Labyrinth, only that supposedly Percy knew the answer. And also that they had to search for Hephaestus if they wanted to find Daedalus.

As a parting gift, she’d said, “I delayed Janus’ visit, but be careful, Annabeth. Your choice will come soon enough.”

“Let’s rest here,” Percy said, sensing her waning steps.

Despite her exhaustion, she insisted on taking first watch. She had to think. Pray. Slowly, everyone else fell into a slumber, but her mind was wide awake, gazing at Percy’s motionless form.

Prophecies had double meanings, didn’t they?

.

Her world was turned upside-down once she heard the explosion, once she went airborne for a few seconds only to hit her shoulder on a jagged rock. Immediately, she felt the sharp sting of pain. She clutched her shoulder, biting her lip. Her hand came back slick with blood.

“You chose this,” the two-faced god taunted her.

Then she heard a strangled scream. Percy’s scream. She inhaled sharply and scrambled to stand up, ignoring the scuttling spider that was getting farther and farther away and the stabbing pain traveling from her shoulder to the rest of her body.

“Percy!”

She ran in the direction from which she’d come from. Too late. Searing heat slapped her in the face before she understood what was happening. Another explosion came, and this time, she wasn’t so lucky.

Her body stumbled back, rocks caving in on her.

The sky. This is like the sky—

And everything went dark.

The darkness formed into a memory:

“No! I can’t leave you!”

“I’ve got a plan—promise!” he insisted. “You follow that metal spider to Hephaestus' lair, tell him about what’s going on.”

“But you’ll be killed!”

This was the choice; leave him or stay. Stay or leave.

“I’ll be fine,” he said. From the look in his eyes, Annabeth knew that she couldn’t convince him. He was decided. “Besides, we’ve got no choice.”

Yes, they did have a choice.

No.

Yes.

She kissed him instead. A quick kiss, a promise.

“Come back to me,” she said, fighting back tears. She pulled on her Yankees cap and left, then ran.

Her sobs escaped from her rib cage by then, finally free.

She woke to that memory and nothing else, head pounding like drums. The spider was long gone, and she stumbled around, drunk with grief. It was a miracle she found Hephaestus at all.

.

Hephaestus, thank the gods, understood her unintelligible blabbering. He took pity on her, perhaps, because he healed her physical wounds and dropped her off at camp. Never mind that Grover and Tyson were gone, on their own path looking for Pan. Never mind that Percy…

She broke down crying for the thousandth time that day when Chiron asked her what had happened. Why she’d staggered into camp all alone. Her heart, her entire being, spilled to the floor like water from an overfilled cup.

“Four went in and one came back. Only Annabeth came back,” the campers whispered among themselves. She saw their faces, saw their horror at realizing that Percy was likely dead, Grover and Tyson gone as well without much of a trace.

It drove her to hide. She stayed in bed for the next three days, not daring to close her eyes in the fear of what she may find there.

She thought that she’d run out of tears long ago, but they came anyway. She clamped her mouth shut so as not to alert any of her siblings who were asleep.

Your choice.

For the first time in the past two days, her eyes fluttered closed. She didn’t dream of anything at all.

.

Clarisse came barging into cabin seven the next morning.

“Come on, Princess,” she said, staring down at her. “You’ve gotta eat.”

Malcolm stood behind her, likely the one who had told Clarisse to come in the first place, since Annabeth hadn’t listened to any of her siblings about eating.

She tried to protest, to fight. But Clarisse was strong and had a purpose; Annabeth had nothing at all. So she sat in the dining pavilion, taking her time with her breakfast and ignoring everyone’s eyes on her.

Clarisse sat next to her, making sure she finished her food.

“Slowly, okay?” she said, then murmured, “Gods, when was the last time you ate something?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Annabeth snapped.

A few minutes passed in relative silence before Silena came to their table, offering solace.

“Hey, girlie,” she said. “How are you?”

Annabeth didn’t respond. Silena softly laid a hand on her shoulder, then decided better of it and pulled her in for a hug.

“You know it’s not your fault, right?” she said gently.

But it was.

Annabeth chose to leave him.

It took everything in her not to break down in Silena’s arms. Annabeth gave her a weak smile once she proposed to do something to pass the time. Like weaving, something she knew Annabeth enjoyed, being Athena’s daughter and all that.

So they did. Silena was good at it—good at making beautiful things. In the arts and crafts station, they spent most of the afternoon knitting and sewing as well, with Clarisse begrudgingly accompanying them.

She felt herself forget, her hands the only thing working. Not her mind. Not her subconscious or her guilt or her worry and fear.

It lasted only a moment. Because then she saw what she’d been working on for the past hour. Subconsciously, Annabeth had created a shroud. A beautiful one at that, with different hues of blue and green—just like his eyes. Just like the sea.

As if sensing her distress, the two girls looked up from what they were doing.

Clarisse said, “Is something wro—”

She didn’t need to say the rest, because Annabeth found her legs already moving, racing out the door.

“Let her,” she heard Silena say. “Give her space.”

She didn’t look back, sprinting to the one place where she knew Percy’s presence still thrived. Where she could be reminded that he would come back, just like he promised.

“I’ll be here.”

Cabin three didn’t look like much. Granted, she could barely focus on anything but her breathing—which was rapidly increasing its pace—but even so, she was reminded of how simple yet welcoming cabin three was in comparison to Zeus’.

It smelled like him. Like walking down the beach on a sunny day. Everything was as it always had been—clothes splayed haphazardly on the ground, bed unmade, stray papers adorning his nightstand.

She crumpled to her knees on the worn wooden planks. A great sob escaped her, and she covered her face with shaking hands

“He’s gone, Poseidon,” she cried. “He’s gone, and—and I’m so sorry.”

That night, she threw up everything she’d eaten.

.

“It is time,” Chiron said, his eyes dim with pity.

He preferred demigods dead, it seemed, than to try and look for them. She’d begged. Pleaded. Fallen to her knees until they bled. But it was no use; her teacher was convinced he was dead, and by the time the second week passed without Percy showing up, he was declared as such.

“He’s powerful,” Clarisse had told her. “I trust your instincts. He’s not dead. Can’t be, or else I’d have to beat him up.”

She helped Annabeth try to talk Chiron out of the funeral but to no avail.

And he wasn’t. Annabeth knew, in her heart, that Percy wasn’t dead. Barely anyone believed her, however. She didn’t blame them; no one knew about the last line of the prophecy for her quest.

But a pestering voice reminded her of something else: Percy was not, by any means, her only loved one. That voice sounded eerily like Janus.

What if it’s Luke?

He was nothing to her, now. She swore that he wasn’t.

What if Percy is dead?

That’s when Silena squeezed her shoulder, repeating what Chiron had told her the day prior.

“It’s time.”

Everyone who had gathered by the Amphitheatre waited for her to give out her statement, grim-faced. Chiron stood at the center of it all, the shroud she’d made at the arts and crafts cabin in his hands.

She hated that shroud with all her being, but she took it anyway once she stepped the last of the stairs. The fire next to her kissed her cheeks like the warmth of the sun. But inside, all she felt was cold. His body hadn’t been found…yet the shroud that she clutched in her hands would burn with Percy’s life.

“He…” Her eyes drifted to the shimmering cloth. How could she ever describe Percy Jackson? How could she ever put him into words? “He was kind,” she began. Her voice was unrecognizable, even to her. “He was probably the bravest friend I’ve ever had, and…”

And then she saw him, grinning like an idiot behind everyone else.

.

“Bravest friend you ever had?�� was the first thing he said, after their bone-crushing hug.

She wiped her tears away and laughed. For the moment, she didn’t care that he hadn't answered her frantic questions.

“Where have you been?”

“What happened?”

He was here and he was alive. Her arms still clung to his neck; she wasn’t sure she’d ever manage to fully let go.

“You’re my friend above everything else, Seaweed Brain. And yeah, I guess you’re pretty brave.”

A question formed at the tip of her tongue—the one asking once more about what had happened in that explosion, where he’d been all this time; she knew that Percy could tell.

He was about to say something when Chiron interrupted them.

“My boy,” he said, mainly addressing Percy. “We need to talk.”

Percy’s demeanor changed like the shock of icy water to the face.

“Uh, yeah.” Something passed through his eyes; he glanced at her, then at their teacher. “I know how to navigate Labyrinth.”

.

Her relief became a ghost of the past once he explained himself. He told them the plan for the next part of the quest—for finding Grover and Tyson and finally Daedalus—but all she could hear was her ears ringing.  

“I was marooned on an island.”

“I uh…I stayed there for some time, healing from the explosion.”

She was almost certain about where he’d been. And then he’d mentioned his plan to find Rachel, the pretty redhead who wrote her phone number on his arm. Supposedly, she could help them.

“A clear-sighted mortal,” Chiron had said. “Clever, indeed.”

Only it wasn’t. It was her quest. Her choice. Not his.

Annabeth stood from her chair. The screeching noise made Percy wince. “I can’t believe you! You’re asking me to go to that mortal for help?”

Chiron’s eyes were soft when he said, “Annabeth, calm down—”

“No, I’m not calming down, because Percy here wants—”

“It’s the only way,” Percy said, hands wrung together.

“Ohh don’t tell me what’s ‘the only way’ and what isn’t when you could’ve easily come back sooner.”

Percy opened his mouth, but she talked over him.

“You think I’m stupid? You think I’m dumb?”

“No, ‘Beth, I—”

“You were with that goddess,” she said, her voice taking a hard edge. “Calypso, isn’t it? Was she nice company for you? Did you have a good time while I sat here, waiting for you, as my life spiraled out of control because one of the most important people in my life was gone?”

Percy stammered, “‘Beth, please…just—just let me explain.”

She laughed bitterly, shaking her head. “You’re not denying it, either. That’s why you didn’t recount the entire story of your fun little vacation in a beautiful island with a beautiful goddess who was probably all over yo—”

He stood up then, leaning over the table, face inches apart from hers. “Don’t act so high and mighty with me when I know you lied to me about your cousin.”

“Percy, this isn’t even about—”

“No, no. You’re hearing me out. Okay? Hey, stop. Look me in the eyes. Nothing happened between us. Okay, nothing. She liked me, yes, but that is literally her curse! I knew you’d react that way because I’m realizing that you don’t fucking trust me!”

“What? Percy, I trust you with my life—”

“Then how come you never told me what was bothering you?”

“Because I don’t know what was bothering me!”

“Oh, that’s rich, coming from you! You know exactly what bothers you. But guess what? You won’t tell me! So like, don’t even dare accuse me of not revealing where I was when you do the exact same thing, ‘Beth!”

Annabeth felt like falling, but this time, she found no branch to hold onto and crashed to the ground, bleeding out and breathless.

Meanwhile, Percy kept talking, throwing javelins her way. “When you didn’t want to communicate via IM last semester, I agreed because I wanted to give you space to whatever the fuck was going on with you—and something is still going on, but you won’t tell me—and like, all that time while I was with her on that island, I wanted to go!

“I wanted to be with you! Shit, I don’t even know what I’d do without you, but I couldn’t fucking leave because that place is cursed! And when I did, it’s because she’d…she’d fallen in love with me! But I…but all I wanted was you!”

Silence fell over them with the remnants of Percy’s hard breathing. She blinked a few times, telling herself that she would not cry.

Chiron saved her before that could happen. “Now, children. Settle down. Percy. Give Annabeth some space to think about this.”

He obliged, much to her relief.

“This time, it’ll be the ultimate trial for what you can or can’t do. If you can yield or not.”

It all came down to that, to her mother’s words. She understood what they meant, now.

With just enough drachmas in her bag and a bluster assuring her that she would not fail, she grabbed Percy by the hand and crossed the camp border. Argus was waiting down below.

[bipercabeth]

percabeth | hurt/comfort | 3k | commissioned by @mericatblackwood 

a post-TLO fic in which we finally Let Percy Cry

Annabeth doesn’t know what to do with anger—her own or others’. She can take her problems to the sword fighting arena or bury her nose in blueprints for weeks, but she’ll still come away with a tight jaw. She doesn’t know what to do with her hands when they aren’t clenched into fists. 

So when the tendons in Percy’s hands strain around his silverware at dinner, when his eyes are downcast and he’s closed off in that I’m-angry-but-trying-desperately-not-to-look-it way, Annabeth can only fumble over a painfully casual attempt at conversation and watch as he retreats to his cabin. He doesn’t even make an appearance at the campfire. The flames have been low in the weeks following the Battle of Manhattan, but they’re rising tonight. 

The problem isn’t reading Percy; it never has been. Annabeth knows what’s hurting him and why. It’s the fixing part she struggles with.

continue on AO3 

or 

He’s been angry for the better part of a year, often because of the ambiguous impending doom of his sixteenth birthday, but not exclusively so. Annabeth caused more than her fair share of his anger, she knows. Rachel had been there to provide an escape in her place, but Annabeth supposes part of being Percy’s girlfriend means that it’s her who gets to provide solace now. Not that she didn’t before, but. There’s a deeper commitment now. He was always her person—as she was his—but it’s out in the open. She’s the first line of defense—she wants to be the first line of defense from danger, be it physical or emotional. 

So Annabeth dons her Yankees cap and sneaks to Cabin 3, replaying the conversation where Percy shrugged and said he’s fine when she tried to call him out. He isn’t fine. She knows that much. 

That doesn’t mean she expects to find him curled in on himself, bedsheets tangled around his middle. It shouldn’t be possible to look small in a twin bed, but he looks so small—not at all like the hero the other campers celebrate over the campfire. It’s a stark reminder that he’s only sixteen. 

He lifts his head when the door opens, his eyes wide. Annabeth remembers that she’s invisible and knocks her cap off her head. She’ll pick it up later. Right now Percy’s breath stutters at the sight of her, his eyes shining like open wounds. 

Annabeth can do dry anger: the cold, unfeeling rage that motivates, propels, inspires. But wet anger—the paralyzing, painful kind you cannot power through—leaves her scrambling for purchase. Annabeth is a runner. She doesn’t sit in anything. 

The sheets rustle as Percy closes his eyes and takes refuge in his bed like a dog hiding his wounded paw. Despite his efforts, he cannot disguise his limp.

“Please don’t hide from us,” Annabeth pleads. 

“I’m not hiding from you,” he says mildly, not lifting his head from the pillow. “I can’t hide from you.” 

“But you came here.” 

“I knew you would come.” Percy shrugs, casually stating as fact something Annabeth didn’t know herself until a few minutes ago. 

In this moment, Annabeth envies Percy’s connection with Grover. She would kill to have a way to funnel her emotions into Percy’s brain in a way he could understand. All the love and concern she can’t articulate could exist in the world without the struggle of finding the right words. 

Still, Percy specified her. Grover is out there at the campfire, probably sensing Percy’s pain like a twinge at the base of his neck, but Annabeth is the one Percy can’t hide from. 

The thought propels her to the edge of his bed, sitting in the curve of mattress his torso folds around. His knees press into her right thigh as he shifts to close the space between them. Annabeth realizes with a jolt that he left this space for her to occupy. 

On her other side is his face, youthful and soft in the moonlight streaming through the window. Blue light for a blue boy, swimming in blue sheets that should shelter him instead of giving him something to fist his hands in. His arms cage his chest as if his heart is trying to escape it. 

Annabeth reaches for his hand, drawing it to rest between hers. If his heart is a burden, it’s not one he has to bear alone. They held the weight of the sky once. They can handle this. 

For all their shared burdens, the one that weighs on Percy now is uniquely his. Annabeth is a hero, but not the hero. Shouldering “child of Athena’s final stand” for a few weeks is not the same as “hero’s soul, cursed blade shall reap” looming overhead for four years. Percy’s very existence has been dissected and politicized since the moment he was claimed, whereas Annabeth could’ve chosen a quieter, quest-free life if that’s what she wanted. She chose to pick it up. Percy’s choice was to stand under a weight that would otherwise crush him. 

It occurs to Annabeth that everyone who has shouldered this burden before him is dead. The heroes whose birth was prophesied, whose death was prophesied, died fighting their battles centuries ago. There are no words for that. 

Words are Percy’s strong suit, anyway. He has always known what to say to calm his friends down. Annabeth can’t recall the last time she saw someone do the same for him. 

She squeezes his hand and focuses on being here, where it matters. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks, knowing he doesn’t. Or rather, knowing he doesn’t want her to have to talk about it. 

As expected, Percy burrows deeper into the bed. Half his face is squished in his pillow; the sole eye Annabeth can see fixes on the empty space in front of him. He gives her a noncommittal shrug she doesn’t buy. But at least he won’t lie outright. 

Silence follows. It nips at Annabeth’s ankles, nagging her to move, to do something, but she decides to sit with the discomfort. The confession he’s suppressing is a palpable thing: Annabeth watches it stutter in his lungs and claw its way up his windpipe. Percy will tell her when he’s ready, and she’ll be here when he is.

“I’ve been having dreams,” he says, still not meeting Annabeth’s eye. That’s okay, though. He’s getting the words out. That’s what matters, right?

“What kind of dreams?” 

Percy grimaces. “Not the useful kind. Nightmares, mostly. About the war.” He doesn’t breathe between the sentences, just grits his teeth. 

“It’s over, Percy. The war is over. We can rest now,” she tries. 

“They can’t.”

Dread settles over Annabeth, but she asks anyway. “Who can’t?” 

“Beckendorf,” he chokes, his hand tightening in hers. “Silena, Castor, Lee, Michael—I killed him, Annabeth. I told the others where to go, and they died because of me, but I killed Michael.” 

Annabeth opens her mouth to interrupt, but the names keep coming. Percy steamrolls through the tears, leaving her to watch his anger limp along until it collapses into the worn bed of sadness.

“Ethan shouldn’t have been on Olympus. I should’ve hit him harder, then he might have stayed down. And Zoe—I knew she was going to die. We found out who her dad was, and I knew and I couldn’t do anything. And Bianca wasn’t supposed to stop the automation. It was supposed to be me. She could’ve come home to Nico, and maybe then—” 

“Percy…” 

He shrinks with each word, looking every inch the child Annabeth found on Half-Blood Hill: bruised, tired, and crying for his mother. “My mom died because of me. I didn’t even save her—I saved the world, because that’s what I had to do. Hades let her go, but she still died.” 

Annabeth gapes at him uselessly. To love Percy is to know intimately the amount of guilt and unearned blame he assigns himself, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stomach. 

“You saved your mom,” she reminds him. “You saved her and the world. You shouldn’t have had to do either, but you did.” 

“But I didn’t save the others.” 

“No one could’ve.” 

“I should’ve. When you fight the way I can, the people who die around you die because you can’t get to them fast enough. If I had just been faster, I...” He takes a shuddering breath. “Why do I get to survive when they don’t?” 

A lifetime of war games and war alike, and that question is the worst thing Annabeth has ever heard. Percy is just laying there, still not meeting her eye, and she doesn’t know how to help him. 

Terrified of how he’ll answer that question, Annabeth leans down to kiss him before he can. She tries to pour everything into it despite not having too much experience. Kissing Percy so far has been fun, sweet, and definitely trial and error. Nothing this desperate, this needy. She inhales him like she can steal the painful words from his lungs before he says them. 

Annabeth tastes tears and pulls back, terrified that she’s done something wrong. Instead, Percy’s hand catches the back of her neck, keeping her close enough for their foreheads to touch. It’s there, inches away from his trembling lips, that Annabeth finds the words.

“You saved me,” she pants. “From the Furies on the bus, at the Lotus hotel, when Polyphemus knocked me out—” her fingers travel to his grey streak— “when we held up the sky, at Mount St. Helens, on Olympus… Too many times to count. From the first day we met, you gave me hope.” She strokes his cheek and wipes away the tears, feeling her own eyes well up. “Every day. You save me every day.” 

Percy clings to her hand on his cheek and releases a deep breath, fully exhaling for the first time all night. “You save me just as often.”

“So let me do it now, yeah?” 

Percy looks at her, green eyes wet and wide, and nods carefully. Annabeth sighs her relief against his forehead before pressing her lips there with an aching softness. There is more to say, but she takes a moment to just hold him. The Fates deemed her his anchor to mortality, so anchor him she will. 

“You survived because you were saddled with the weight of the world at twelve years old and the gods owe you a fucking break.” She looks at the ceiling, almost daring thunder to rumble. The sky stays silent. “More campers are alive than dead after a war with impossible odds, Percy. You saved so many, but you can’t save everyone. None of them would want you to blame yourself for this. We have to honor their sacrifice—and, in some cases, their choice.” 

That breaks him. The last of his anger gives way to painful sobs, the ugly kind that squeeze your lungs like a spasming fist. In this moment, he is not the wounded dog, but rather the limp itself: the awkward cadence of his breath reminiscent of limbs struggling to hold new weight. 

“What do you need?” she asks. “What can I do?” 

The mattress jostles as Percy scoots closer, freeing up part of the bed. “Could you stay here with me? Wake me up if it gets bad? If you have to go back to your cabin, that’s fine—” 

He’s cut off by Annabeth kicking off her shoes and crawling into bed behind him. There isn’t much room on the twin mattress, but she tucks her knees into the backs of his and wraps around him, and they fit well enough. She settles quickly to avoid overthinking, glad for the excuse to be close to him. 

This is entirely unfamiliar territory, as Annabeth discovers when she tries to figure out what to do with her hands. She’s never spooned someone before. 

Percy senses her hesitation and laces their fingers, pulling her arm around his torso. Annabeth squeezes him tight, like maybe lining up their hearts will calm the frantic beat of his. Between that and her body protecting his Achilles spot, she’s got him. 

It’s a little awkward, the silence that follows. They haven’t exactly had pillowtalk before, let alone while calming Percy during a breakdown. Annabeth doesn’t know how to hold him to make all that go away, so she clings to him as tight as she can. 

“You’re like a boa constrictor,” he chuckles. It’s a wet, half-hearted laugh that tells Annabeth he still has more to say. He’s at his worst when he’s deflecting. 

Still, she moves to loosen up. “Sorry.” 

 He tugs at her hand. “No! I mean, it’s nice. I feel… safe.” He pauses, his breath deep. “I always feel safe with you.” 

Annabeth hasn’t kissed much of him apart from his lips, but she liked the comfort of kissing his forehead. She tightens her grip again and presses her lips to his shoulder, just because she can. 

“Sometimes they’re about you,” Percy whispers. 

Annabeth lays her cheek on his shoulder, trying to see his face. “What?”

“The nightmares. Sometimes they’re about losing you.” 

“Percy, look at me.”

The tension falls from his spine as he flips around, tangling further in the mess of sheets. Annabeth smooths everything out for him before laying on her back and tugging him close. He ends up halfway on top of her: his arm around her waist, her hands in his hair, their legs a tangled mess. 

She holds his face, thumbs swiping at his cheeks gently. He may be invulnerable, but he’s a fragile thing. Maybe even more so with the invulnerability. 

“Tell me about them.” 

“What? No. Annabeth, I’m not— I can’t talk about you d— about losing you. I can’t say those words.” 

Annabeth just holds his face and his gaze. “You should. Talk about it here, safe, with me, and maybe it won’t be so bad when you fall asleep. I’ll be here the whole time.” 

The tension in Percy’s body is palpable as he resists Annabeth’s coaxing. But slowly, she slips her hands to his scalp and massages him there, leeching the stress from his body as he sinks forward into her. His weight presses Annabeth into the mattress. It’s comforting, having him above her. She can feel every breath he takes, every time his heart beats in his chest. 

“We’ve almost died a ton of times, but that was always together.” He swallows, and his Adam’s apple bobs against her collarbone. “But then on the bridge with Ethan, when you took the knife…” 

Percy takes a shuddering breath. 

“Sometimes we get you to the hotel and Will can’t help. Or I can’t find Will. Or Blackjack can’t grab you. Or—” his grip tightens around her, and his tears fall on her skin. “Sometimes you, you die right there at my feet. You jump a second earlier, and Ethan hits you in the chest, and I kill him for it. I kill everyone on the bridge. Most times it’s an accident, just the river listening to me, but sometimes… sometimes I don’t know. Both scare me.” 

One of Annabeth’s hands moves to his Achilles spot of its own accord. Percy gasps into her neck, where some tears fall as well. He’d fought his way through his confession, coming from somewhere so deep inside him that the deluge of tears was unavoidable. She hopes to distract him from them now.

“You saved me on that bridge,” she reminds him, her free hand scratching lightly at the base of his neck. 

“But what if I didn’t?” he breathes. He sounds so small. 

“Doesn’t matter. You did. Anything else is a hypothetical.” 

“But in the future—”

“Uh uh.” Annabeth’s chin taps Percy’s temple as she shakes her head. “It’s like strategy. You can think and think and think and plan your whole life out, but it’s not real. You never know what’s going to happen until your feet hit the floor. Are your feet on the floor?” 

“No,” he grumbles.

“No,” she echoes. “You’re in bed. You get to rest now.” 

Percy is still for countless heartbeats. Right when Annabeth thinks he might’ve fallen asleep, he props himself up on one elbow to look at her. Even in the lowlight, Annabeth can make out his puffy eyes and wet cheeks. 

“You know you’re my best friend, right?” He sniffles, his nose wrinkling adorably as he does, and his eyes bore into Annabeth’s. “You’re my girlfriend too, but you’re my best friend first. Always.” 

Annabeth hears that statement for what it is and grins despite the tears prickling in her own eyes. “And you’re mine. Always.” 

A smile breaks out on his face like dawn at this late hour, brightening up the small space between them. Exhaustion sets in to close it, drawing Percy to settle back into Annabeth’s neck with the slow pull of gravity. 

They drift off in a bed made to be slept in alone as they share a burden made for one person. Newness tinges the corners of this memory, this moment Annabeth finds herself missing before it’s gone: Percy asleep above her, finally getting the peaceful rest he deserves. Part of Annabeth wants to stay up all night to make sure he gets the most of it, to watch his back as she promised to do, but her eyelids are heavy with sleep in no time. 

What sticks with Annabeth is this: Percy’s breath slow and steady against her neck, his heartbeat reliable as ever as it syncs with her own. The world is warm and safe despite all the evidence to the contrary, and that’s what makes this moment untouchable. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, here they are. Together in every way that matters. 

[aknosde]

Okay, you know earlier this week when I dropped a paragraph of a fic? I actually finished it, and the end isn’t the best so I’m posting it here and not on AO3.

Loneliness - (featuring my HoH Percy and Clarisse head cannons)

TW for attempted self harm and a generally bad mental space

Percy’s never really had a mentor. When he was young he was put in a few organizations as a mentee. The type of organizations that are supposed to make things easier on kids like him, brown and black kids with “authority problems”. They never really clicked though, sometimes it was him, a lot of the time it was the supposed mentor. He had never cared much, it’s not like they could help him in a way that mattered.

Then there was Luke. Luke who was tall and strong and quick and really, really, really good with a sword. Maybe some of it was a crush, but he had never met someone who he was so encapsulated by. Luke was cool, intelligent, and good looking. He was everything Percy ever wanted and ever wanted to be.

Luke left a bitter taste in Percy’s mouth and a scar on his hand and a distaste for soda. Luke left Percy with an even quicker brain and a knot in his stomach that turned into a murder plot for his stepfather. He drew Percy in time and time again with a hatred that was laced with unrequited love and left Annabeth with blood stains on her dagger and both of them with salt stains on their cheeks and the taste of ash on their tongues.

After Luke was Beckendorf. Granted Percy had had a bit of a crush on him too. Beckendorf was pure, not in the way some white campers might call Hazel innocent. He was just kind, and genuine, and warm. Percy looked up at Beckendorf, big, strong, brave, caring, and he thought this, this is something I could do. I might not be able to be a big hero, but I can do this. I want this.

Beckendorf left Percy with no body for the shroud to cover. He left Percy with inside jokes that would never again be completed and a desire in his brain to constantly be in the forges and to keep as far away from them as possible. Beckendorf left a hole in Percy’s heart that was filled by blood and guilt. Percy looks at the acid scars on his foot with a longing for the time when Beckendorf was taken by giant ants.

And after Beckendorf there was no one. Suddenly Percy was one of the oldest campers. A war veteran. Supposedly the strongest demigod alive. He wasn’t just a counselor now, of his cabin that was solely him, he was a senior counselor. Jake Mason sat in Beck’s seat and Percy cried because suddenly he was alone.

He shouldn’t feel alone. When Annabeth holds his hand while they wait for breakfast he shouldn’t feel alone. When Grover makes enchiladas in the kitchen of the Big House and they eat them together in a field Percy shouldn’t feel alone. When Nico comes running into Percy’s cabin telling Percy that Mythomagic is apparently run by demigods and that they made a card of Nico he shouldn’t feel alone.

It only gets worse when he’s back at home. His mom goes through their normal post-quest routine. She gives him time and space and love. She takes him to the doctor’s. His old prescriptions get refilled, adderall, meperidine. Sally tries again to find a demigod therapist, to no avail. They don’t celebrate his birthday this year.

He’s at Goode without Rachel and he has no other friends. He’s never really been good at that, the whole friend thing, and now it’s practically impossible finding someone who isn’t uneasy around him. He sits in the back of his physics class and eats alone at lunch and sleeps in Paul’s office during breaks.

A teacher hands him back an essay and there’s a paperclip in the corner keeping all the pages together. There is a B+ on it with a smiley face, and Percy takes the paper clip and sharpens it and tries to scratch his skin. It doesn’t do anything. His skin still won’t break, there is just a faint redness. Only after scratching away mindlessly for weeks does he realize that he’s writing words. Last words. “Go!” “Don’t let it happen again.” “Tell him I’m sorry.”

He can fill up his schedule with school and homework and swim and skating and basketball. He can wake up in the morning and eat breakfast and take adderall and carry around the other small orange bottle waiting for his skin to revolt against him. He feels disgusting and empty. Like a demon in a suit of skin that used to be Percy. He misses two years ago when the war wasn’t looming over head, when he and Annabeth and Silena and Beck would all hang out, when he and Clarisse had weekly midnight basketball games.

Grover knows. Grover’s gotta know. For one thing, there’s the empathy link. And Grover is calling multiple times a week, and he always asks how Percy is, if he’s alright. Percy lies “I’m all good man, don’t worry. How’s work?” Then Grover goes off on a tangent about pollution or some shit he saw a human do and the way he purses his lips when he’s worried doesn’t come back until they’re hanging up.

He hates it, the lying. He’s only told lies to protect others, when he doesn’t have enough information yet, when he needs to save them. Now he is lying for himself. How fucking selfish does he have to be? But he’s so lonely, and he can’t bare to lose anyone else. It feels like the smallest step out of line will make his world crumble.

So he lies. He lies his ass off, and he doesn’t know if he’s good at it, but he could be. When Annabeth comes over one weekend, all the way from California, and she asks about the pill bottle rattling in his pocket he says that it’s adderall and she turns back to the tv. When his mom asks if he’s made new friends he says yes, and proceeds to tell a mortal version of something that he and Beck did last year.

One day Rachel comes into the city to visit her parents. They’re sitting on a bench in Central Park and he takes the paperclip out of his coat pocket and goes to work on his wrist while they talk. It’s habit by now. Rachel stops in the middle of her sentence and gently pries the paperclip from his hands and in its place she leaves a blue eyeliner pencil.

Soon his arms are covered in names and words and horrifically beautiful drawings. Blue pigment against brown skin and pink scars, all swirling together. The pencil runs out quickly, but a week later, just as he’s about to take the paperclip back out, an envelope arrives. Sitting in the bottom is a new pencil of blue eyeliner. Percy throws the paperclip in the trash.

By Thanksgiving break Percy isn’t feeling good exactly, he’s feeling mildly better. Loneliness still hits him, in pangs. He’ll be walking to lunch and he’ll have to jump in the canoe lake because he can’t handle it, and swimming is a good excuse for missing a meal.

He wakes up early in the morning and sits in Rachel’s cave waiting for her to wake up. She makes hot chocolate and points out drawings she particularly likes, and then he’ll wash his arms off ready to begin again.

Days are filled with meetings. Meetings with Chiron and meetings with other counselors, trying to make up for being away at school. When he’s not in meetings he trains. Sometimes himself, but a lot of newer or younger campers. The disarming technique he teaches throws him back to Luke and he gives the campers a five minute break hoping the feeling leaves.  

Evenings are being tossed between one person and another. Racing up the climbing wall with Annabeth and laughing at the top and sitting there for way too long. Stopping by the Aphrodite cabin where Drew will catch him up on everything he’s missed being away or being busy. He sits on the floor of the Hades cabin trying for the fifth time to understand Mythomagic.

Every night since he’s gotten back Clarisse raps on his door at two in the morning and they play one v. one on the basketball court until they end up on their backs under the stars. There’s rarely any talking. It’s dark outside and Clarisse has left her hearing aids in her cabin and he’s left his back in Manhattan. Not like he ever uses them in public.

He’s still lonely. 

Maybe Clarisse can read his mind because she taps his leg and they sit up facing each other. He can just barely see her fingers in the moonlight.

“Sometimes people can be lonely not because they are alone but because they miss someone. You have a lot of people to miss.”

“Thanks for reminding me.” He signs back.

“Oh be quiet punk.”

They both break into laughter then, before she continues.

“Miss them. As much as you fucking want. I was in love with Silena, and she died, and Drew is a bitch about it, but she has a right to be.”

Percy is struck again by how similar he and Clarisse are, their lives and their feelings and their actions. The only difference is that Clarisse grants herself the freedom to do what she wants, and he’s scared to death of doing that himself.

“But, and do not ever tell anybody I told you this, a lot of people would miss you. You can pull away and feel lonely but you can’t disappear. Annabeth needs you, Rachel needs you, Nico and Will and Drew need you. And gods fucking dammit, I need you.”

Clarisse stands and pulls him up behind her. They part ways, heading back to their cabins. Percy mulls her words over in his head as he finally drifts into sleep, his body completely and utterly exhausted. Suddenly there is a blue-gold light, and he remembers Annabeth, and then everything is dark and there’s the smell of pine.

[bright-eyes-strawberry-lies]

Annabeth “triflers need not apply” Chase

In my last post, I said “another Annabeth hot take” as if I’ve ever posted any of my musing about Annabeth’s character (the posts Percy’s Personal Sense Of Evil  and Every Time Annabeth Is Mean To Percy In The Riordanverse] do not count) here on the blue hellscape.

Two disclaimers before I write this: the first is that PJO is my jam. I’ve read those books forward and back more than five times this year. HOO...I’ve read as a whole once; read Son of Neptune twice; and recently skipped through House of Hades specifically for the parts about Tartarus. Every series beyond that in the Riordanverse (Kane, Magnus, Apollo) have been woefully neglected by me as in I haven’t even cracked the spines on them. 

The second disclaimer is that I don’t like Annabeth, she’s basically the Christian Gray of the Percy Jackson series. I ship Percy with everyone who isn’t Annabeth because I think he deserves to be happy. But some people were calling for meta so here are your hot takes, folks. 

Annabeth is only with Percy because he’s the chosen one. 

She disdained Percy from day one, thought that he was worth less than the mud on her shoes and made sure that he knew it. This was before she found out that he’s a child of Poseidon so you can miss me with the “well their parents are enemies” bullshit. After Percy got claimed, Annabeth invited herself on his quest because she’s all about obtaining personal glory and he couldn’t say no because he only had two friends at camp (Luke and Grover). 

“He wouldn’t tell her the whole thing, but he said Annabeth wasn’t destined to go on a quest yet. She had to until...somebody special came to the camp.” [...] “Annabeth wants to think every new camper who comes through here is the omen she’s been waiting for.” [Luke] (TLT, pg 102)

“I’ve been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain.” [Annabeth] (TLT, pg 147)

She was silent for a few more steps. “It’s just that if you died…aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world.” [Annabeth] (TLT, pg 169)

Well, that’s not the only reason she’s with Percy. 

Chiron made Annabeth swear on the River Styx that she would try to keep Percy from danger. Which comes in handy during the Last Olympian, when she takes Ethan’s dagger for Percy (saving his life) but sucks for her because now her life is tied to his forever. Maybe that’s why she calls Percy crazy literally every time that he has a plan. 

“Swear you will do your best to keep Percy from danger,” he insisted. “Swear upon the River Styx.”

“I-I swear it upon the River Styx,” Annabeth said. 

Thunder rumbled outside. [SOM, pg 54) 

Actually Annabeth is the creepy one.

Luke always refers to Annabeth as such: daughter, little sister, cousin, family. From the moment he saw her, it was a familial love for him. He constantly reminds her that they were a family and that he wants to be a family. 

Annabeth, on the other hand, likes to call him “family” but she has a mad crush on Luke for the entire series that has got to be super weird for Luke. It was super weird for me, the reader. This girl can’t even hug Luke without panting like a bitch in heat (yeah, I said it, and I refuse to take it back). 

“This is Luke,” Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and could’ve sworn she was blushing. (TLT, pg 84)

Annabeth blushed, like she always did when Luke was around. (TLT, pg 151)

Luke patted Grover’s head between his horns, then gave a goodbye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out. After Luke was gone, I told her, “You’re hyperventilating.”  (TLT, pg 151)

It isn’t until Luke is literally on his death bed that Annabeth finally agrees that he’s a brother to her.

“Did you...” Luke coughed and his lips glistened red. “Did you love me?” 

“You were like a brother to me, Luke,” she said softly. “But I didn’t love you.” 

He nodded, as if he’d expected it. (TLO, pg 337/338)

NO SHIT HE EXPECTED IT. LUKE HAS BEEN AIMING FOR THIS FOR FIVE FUCKING YEARS. HIS ENTIRE LIFE IS ALL ABOUT FINDING A FAMILY THAT LOVES HIM (and equal rights for all demigods).

Then there’s the other creepy stuff

Remember that time that she stalked Percy and fans are like “well it’s so romantic!” You’re the same people who thought Edward watching Bella sleep without her knowledge or consent was sexy. 

I thought I saw a shadow flicker across the glass – a humanlike shape.  (SOM, pg 3)

As I stepped outside, I glanced at the brownstone building across the street. Just for a second I saw a dark shape in the morning sunlight – a human silhouette against the brick wall, a shadow that belonged to no one. Then it rippled and vanished.  (SOM, pg 7)

 [Percy realizes Annabeth has been stalking him] “Pretty much all morning.” She sheathed her bronze knife. “I’ve been trying to find a good time to talk to you, but you were never alone.” [ … ] “There’s no time to explain!” she snapped, though she looked a little red-faced herself. (SOM, pg 23)

For those of you who are like “well she was waiting for him to be alone!” First of all, bitch it’s called knocking on the door and asking to speak to someone like a normal human being. But if that isn’t good enough for you, HE WAS ALONE RIGHT AFTER HE WALKED OUT OF HIS BUILDING. Talk to him then. 

But we all know the real reason she’s creeping outside Percy’s window. She’s a peeping tom. Anyone who has been around teenage boys (like, say, the girl who lived with teenage boys for five years) would know that the morning isn’t really the best time to be creeping outside a dude’s window unless you’re hoping for a show. 

All she cares about is glory.

Look, we know she’s a glory hound. Annabeth is in this war for the sweet, sweet recognition. She doesn’t care about the unclaimed demigods, she doesn’t care about all of the minor demigods being shoved in one cabin (here’s more info on that). Annabeth is off in her own little world where she’s the only thing that matters. 

Meanwhile, our boy Percy is fighting for his mom. And then he’s fighting for his best friend. He actually looks at Camp Half-Blood and goes “maybe this isn’t really right...” Yes, it takes him forever to get to the point where he’s like “Oh, Luke was right about everything” but he does get there. 

And then there’s our sweet baby angel, Luke Castellan, fighting from the get-go for fair treatment. Because Luke has suffered his whole life (since he was literally an infant); because Hal Green died to save Luke; because Luke has spent five years in a cabin full of kids who are hurting and whose pain is entirely preventable; because at fourteen, he thinks of himself (and Thalia) as heroes but Hermes says that he needs to go on a quest to be a great hero, so Luke does and it turns out to be the worst mistake he made in his life (up until Kronos). 

Which brings up a point, Luke always thought that they were heroes. For him, just being demigods and fighting monsters made them heroes. He didn’t need to go on a quest to prove himself to anyone. But for Annabeth, that is never enough. She needs to go bigger and bigger and bigger. 

Glory and being better than everyone else...

Wow, here we are again talking about Annabeth and Percy’s relationship. I really wish we couldn’t, because I’ve already taken literal days to find every instance of Annabeth being a dick to Percy (in the PJO series) and writing them down, conveniently located here if you’re interested in reading it... But it just keeps coming up. 

So, being better than everyone else. Where do I begin with that? How about the times that Annabeth thinks that the children of Demeter, yes Demeter the major goddess of the earth, are weak? Or the children of Aphrodite, you know, like Piper who charmspoke Gaea to sleep or Silena who charged into battle against a drakon are nothing but whisy washy airheads? Or really, anyone who isn’t booksmart like her. Like Percy, for instance. 

Annabeth’s nickname for Percy means stupid. Every time she uses it, she’s calling him stupid. You know, when she doesn’t actually use the word stupid or idiot. She’s also very fond of calling Percy’s plans crazy, every time he has a plan, despite the fact that his plans have never failed. Now who’s crazy, Annabeth? 

For real, though, she’s doing this because she wants to keep him in his place. Annabeth is shit for Percy’s self esteem. She constantly berates him for every little thing he does. She threatens to (and does) hit him on multiple occasions. Every time Percy says or does anything around Annabeth, he always thinks she’s going to punch me. 

GUYS THAT ISN’T CUTE. GUYS REMEMBER HOW PERCY USED TO GET PUNCHED INTO UNCONSCIOUSNESS BY HIS STEPDAD? 

Oh, and does everyone remember where Annabeth mocked Percy’s every choice in TLT but in Battle Of The Labyrinth where Annabeth is put in charge of the quest for the first time and she spends most of it freaking out and cracking under the pressure. It sounds like someone isn’t actually as good as she thought was. 

I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about this but in Tartarus, Annabeth is scared of Percy. He’s stronger than even she knew. Percy just wakes up from passing out and kills Arachne before Annabeth can even move. That caught her by surprise. Percy manipulates poison in an attempt to kill the goddess of misery, who has just tricked them and is planning on killing them. Annabeth immediately shuts that down. Because Percy isn’t allowed to be that powerful. She also freaks out when Percy jumps blind over a 20ft chasm while holding her because she didn’t know he could do that. 

And Percy is so used to not arguing with her (because she’s going to kick his butt, because it just isn’t worth it) that he just accepts it.

Her home life didn’t suck that bad. 

Because I was just talking about Tartarus, Percy says that it smells like Gabe in Tartarus and Annabeth....laughs? She thinks he’s joking. She thinks he’s trying to cheer her up. Why would she think that when they’re in literal hell and Gabe abused Percy for years? Because she’s on a different plane of existence than everyone else.

Annabeth’s home life didn’t actually suck in the way that she’s told everyone it did. It sucked that she got attacked by monsters. It sucked that Arachne sent spiders to scare her for three nights. 

Her parents don’t suck. Not even Athena. After ten years of hanging around all of these abused, neglected, traumatized people she finally got...what is it called? Oh yeah, some fucking perspective.

Frederick and Mrs. Chase (who doesn’t even have a name) did their best. There’s absolutely nothing unreasonable about Frederick not wanting Annabeth when she floated down from the heavens like the little Grinch she is. The dude had a few conversations with a woman and the next thing he knows, she’s dropping off a baby and won’t even help him raise it? Yeah, no thanks.

Either way, the entire family was getting attacked because of Annabeth’s presence in the house. So Mrs. Chase not letting her kids play with Annabeth? Makes total sense. It’s like quarantining the kid with chicken pox so that the rest don’t get it. 

Fighting about how to handle being attacked regularly? Also makes total sense but the fact that Frederick and Mrs. Chase stayed together is like couple goals. They’re the real power couple of the series. 

You know what else makes total sense? Thinking that Annabeth had a series of bad dreams about spiders because Mrs. Chase and her husband are mortals with mortal sight and cannot see divine shit. 

Is all of this terribly confusing for a child? Yes. Does her family deserve to die or be vilified because she’s too young for logical thought? No. 

Plus they kept asking her to come home. And when she finally did, she ran away again shortly after? She does this twice. Frederick literally flew into battle for her. She is so ungrateful for what she has (she’s rich, with a family who loves her. Literally her only problem is monster attacks).

Annabeth wasn’t homeless for that long

Look, Annabeth ran away  from home between July 12, 2000 (her 7th birthday) and was at Camp Half-Blood by December 22, 2000 (which would have been Thalia’s 13th birthday). Her first couple of months were spent alone...unless you count Athena helping her fight monsters and guiding her towards Luke and Thalia. 

Which directly breaks the Don’t Interfere Rule. You know, the one that Hermes used as an excuse for not helping his nine-year-old son while he was homeless for five years. Yeah. That one. 

Luke and Thalia took really good care of her for those few months. Annabeth mentions that the three of them built shelters all over the place, and since Luke doesn’t mention shelters in his diary or any (pre-Annabeth) flashbacks, we can assume that they built those specifically because they adopted a little girl. 

The whole “Family, Luke. You promised.” Is bullshit.

Here’s why. First of all, Luke was fourteen, a baby, barely out of puberty when he made that promise to be a family. He’s only ever wanted to be loved his entire life so that was him desperately trying to add another member to what he considered to be his family (Thalia never considered them family). He also never hurts her (see my post about holding the sky for more details). 

Annabeth was with Luke and Thalia for a couple of months at maximum. Then Thalia dies. Luke and Annabeth are split up into different cabins so they cannot eat, sleep in the same room, or do activities together except during the off-season. Annabeth does her best to get into Luke’s pants because I don’t know what else to call it when you pant all over the person hugging you. 

Luke also asks Annabeth to join him and be a family again for three whole books to which she repeatedly says no. His last attempt at being a family and keeping his promise happens literally before Kronos possesses him (after which, it is far too late to be a family because Luke barely exists anymore). 

“He came under a flag of truce. He said he only wanted five minutes to talk. He looked scared, Percy. He told me Kronos was going to use him to take over the world. He said he wanted to run away, like the old days. He wanted me to come with him. [...] I told him no way. He got mad. He said...he said I might as well fight him right there, because it was the last chance I’d get.” [Annabeth] (TLO, pg 201). 

Luke asks her to kill him because if he can’t escape Kronos and can’t have his family back, then Luke just doesn’t want to live anymore. Then he dies knowing that Annabeth doesn’t know that familial and platonic love are things so her “you’re my brother but I don’t love you” actually means that Luke dies thinking no one loves him. Probably why Luke immediately turned to Percy with his request for positive change. At least Luke can count on Percy to let him know that his entire life and death weren’t meaningless. 

.Fin. Fucking finally. 

[blackgwenstacy]

highlights from the lightning thief musical

i saw the lightning theif last night at the straz in tampa and it was so!!! good!! my inner theatre kid was so satisfied and i wanted to make a list of all my favorite parts (which is basically the whole musical lmao) spoilers  ahead

so the musical started with this LOUD ass clap of thunder and half the audience (including me) nearly peed

PERCY’S ENTRANCE WAS SO DOPE after the Prologue the demigods rip away the lightning banner and Chris McCarrel s l i d downstage into a “thinking man” position and goes: “look. i didn’t want to be a half blood” i DIED

when sally gets home from work percy goes something like “hey mom how was your day mine was great went on a field trip got expelled did some homework nothing extraordinary hahaha”

when Smelly Gabe made his entrance percy suddenly had a can of air freshener and was OBNOXIOUSLY spraying it LMAO

when grover appears after Strong he’s like: “thERES A FURY” and percy responds “no, YOU’RE ALL FURRY” but the audience definitely heard “you’re a furry” we were dying

percy meets poseidon in a dream and goes “oh look. a strange man in a Hawaiian shirt.

poseidon gives him a sea shell and he talks really deeply and slowly. he was like “what beloooongs to the seeeaa can alwaaays returrrrn...it’s a sea shell” and does the Shaka hand gesture and walks offstage. i cannot make this up.

grover’s actor also as mr. D? A+

silena gestured to her crotch when she said charlie grew sunflowers “everywhere”

katie gardener went on a spiel about not senselessly slaughtering trees and Mr. D just....aggressively sharpened a pencil in front of her

during Another Terrible Day percy was so confused and overwhelmed he just started clapping to emphasize what he was saying: “WHAT👏🏽 IS👏🏽 HAPPENING👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽” i screamed

CHIRON’S CENTAUR BODY WAS JUST A TAIL STICKING OUT OF HIS PANTS AND HE JUST WALKED REALLY ABSURDLY TO EMPHASIZE THE FACT THAT HE WAS HALF HORSE. suspension of disbelief was really my friend here.

when Grover and Percy get reunited Grover’s scared that Percy will be mad at him for not protecting both him and his mom but Percy just goes “i’m so happy to see you!!” and they share the biggest hug i’m 🥺🥺🥺 grovercy rights

Percy has only seen Annabeth in his weird dream sequence so when he actually sees her in real life he blurts out “HEY YOU’RE MY DREAM GIRL” and everyone onstage is just like...did you really just-

to represent water they used a toilet paper roll and leaf blowers. they literally TP-ed clarisse in the bathroom scene

the campfire scene was probably one of my favorites like the bonding!! complaining about their annoying parents!! the little dance they all did at the end kinda seemed Greek influenced but i couldn’t tell ah!!

they japed the entire audience during percy’s claiming. they couldn’t actually show a trident above his head so they were like “LOOK IN THE SKY. IT’S A TRIDENT” and pointed toward the back of the house and the audience turned around in their seats looking for the damn trident we looked stupid

Chiron: “All hail Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God.”

Percy: “Son of a SEA GOD?? SWEEEET!”

and then everyone started panicking because “holy shit son of the Big Three we’re doomed.”

Mr. D legitimately wanted to turn Percy into a dolphin to avoid Zeus’ wrath

Mr D (about the Master Bolt): THIS ISN’T SOME TIN FOIL COVERED CARDBOARD PROP IN A TRAVELING MUSICAL

The Oracle was SO COOL like all the actors were inside her dress to make it move with her hand movements it was creepy but COOL

GOOD KID!! Good Kid was so intense like you could see Chris SPITTING. HE WAS SO INTO IT

there was a heart to heart between Luke and Percy after good kid at the lake and it was so beautiful I ALMOST forgot Luke was the traitor

can I just say the OG trio is amazing omg frick. they were so excited during Killer Quest I love them 🥺

as soon as Act 2 started it jumped right into them being chaotic aka them exploding a bus

random bus passenger: “believe it or not this isn’t even the weirdest thing that’s happened to me on the greyhound”

Grover explaining how he can talk to the squirrel during Lost! and Percy went: “I think that’s kind of nuts” and just SMIRKED. the entire audience started clapping for the f*cking pun they had to hold the scene for ten seconds it was golden

I FORGOT TO MENTION THIS EARLIER BUT EVERY TIME SOMEONE COMPLIMENTED ANNABETH SHE WOULD GET SO HAPPY!! Luke said she was the strongest person he knew and she was like “you think i’m strong??🥺” and Medusa was like I just HAVE to take a picture of you and Annabeth was like “you want a picture of ME?? 🥺🥺” someone please give this girl the praise and love she deserves

Kristin really sang her heart out during My Grand Plan like I had chills literal CHILLS. KRISTiN YOU’RE DOING AMAZING SWEETIE.

during Tree on the Hill they had Grover on the ground level singing about what happened then up on the scaffolding Luke, Annabeth, and Thalia were acting out what he was singing and during Thalia’s death Annabeth, Luke and the actress who played Thalia stood with their backs together and used their arms to form a tree and i cried

THEY HAD CONFETTI CANONS FOR THE END OF DEAD ON ARRIVAL I WAS SO IMPRESSED

annabeth: “guys...i think that pit down there is Tartarus”

percy: “THE FISH SAUCE??”

“we need to get out of here before hades finds us!!”

Hades, in an exaggeratedly southern, flamboyant accent: “WELL, it’s TOO LATE FOR THAT!”

hades radiated chaotic gay energy i swear. you know the john mulaney new in town bit where the guy’s like “i’m a homosexual and i’m new in town” that is hades.

Hades: “give me the lightning bolt”

Percy: “there’s no way in HELL--oh”

Hades really emphasizes the fact that there’s no way out of the underworld without his help and then Percy remembers the shell his dad gave him and blows into it which opens up a PORTAL and Hades goes “oh, COME ON”

ANNABETH AND GROVER REFUSED TO LET PERCY FIGHT ARES ALONE MY BABIES

Ares singing his version of Clarisses “Put You In Your Place” vs Percy singing “Son of Poseidon” all during a fighting sequence. poetic theatre.

for the climax of Son of Poseidon percy, annabeth and grover all had leaf blowers and TP-ed the front three rows of the audience to represent percy defeating ares with his powers. jesus.

percy told his mom Medusa’s head was a “do it yourself statue kit” scream

annabeth: hey clarisse we met your dad, he’s not as strong as you think

clarisse: you met my DAD??...did he say anything about me? 🥺

LUKES EVIL YET HEART WRENCHING VERSION OF GOOD KID WHILE HE AND PERCY ARE SWORD FIGHTING

“I’ll do anything I don’t care if I hurt anyone it doesn’t pay to be a GOOD KID A GOOD KID A GOOD SON”

he stabs percy and runs and also rips down the CHB banner on his way out. what kind of anarchial mess.

annabeth goes “seaweed brain!” while giving percy ambrosia for his stab wound and percy smiles and goes “wise girl :)” and they nearly touched foreheads. nia.exe has stopped working

during the final moment of Bring on the Monsters white lights focus on percy while the rest of the stage is dark and he smiles while singing “I’ll be back next summer, I’ll be back next summer.” and there’s a final blackout. my heart.

there’s so much i want to say and a lot i probably forgot but just know this musical did that. the actors are all so talented and so many of them played 3+ more characters!! like imagine the amount of quick changes and lines and songs they have to remember!! they’re bad asses all of them. it’s true to the actual pjo books as well. if you have a chance you should totally see it because the tour is closing soon :’)

[bigfan-fanfic]

Grain Brain (Son of Demeter!Reader Headcanons)

Requested by @acoustickitten - another incredible requester - for a Son of Demeter with the relationship at my discretion.

Thanks for this one, I feel like there’s so little PJO reader-insert content for males! Anyway, I couldn’t decide, so the first part will be what life is like for a son of Demeter, and the second part will be the relationships, with Luke Castellan (for angst lovers), Will Solace (for the fluffy ones), and Percy Jackson (for a mixed bag). Hope you enjoy!

So, you’re a half-blood. 

Children of Demeter are often have it the worst: theoretically, they are the only demigod grandchildren of Kronos hopping along out there: Hestia is an eternal maiden. Hera doesn’t cheat. The Big Three has only had a few slip-ups since their big oath after WWII. Demeter’s the only child of Rhea out there still... producing demigod children. 

And your cabin might be the most ridiculed after Aphrodite and Dionysus in terms of combat usefulness.

The general insult for a Demeter kid is Grain Brain. Grain is such a rhymeable word that Cabin Four has been the result of many a scathing limerick from the Apollo Cabin.

But in the future, all those people will look at you as the counterexample.

Sure, Athena and Ares may have superiority in battle tactics and strength. Hermes might be sneaky and crafty and wordy. Apollo might have a huge number of seemingly-unrelated skills. Hephestus might have craftsmanship.

But you have... agriculture?

Woe betide anyone who underestimates the power of Demeter. Like Dionysus’ children, Cabin Four kids may develop some level of control over plants, specifically, anything cultivated. 

The dryads are okay with you, but the dryads connected to fruit-bearing trees practically worship you, calling you my lord. 

And especially powerful children of Demeter have some minor weather control ability. Demeter once stopped the entire world from getting any weather but scorching sun to hold it hostage for her daughter to be returned. Her children can access this power too.

Make a powerful child of Demeter angry? Clouds part, and the sun heats up like a thousand degrees, as concentrated rays of heat bake the opponent. It can even cross Camp Half-Blood’s magical weather shield.

Another thing Demeter kids have power over is food.

A Demeter kid can curse someone else with excessive hunger, or bless someone to be able to go without food indefinitely. They can also make anything taste like anything else. 

They are also often enlisted, along with the Dionysus kids, to help boost the strawberry harvest.

The berries go crazy for Hilary Duff, but early Justin Bieber and Cheetah Girls makes them bananas. So you have to choose the lesser of all evils, because these songs do NOT sound good from a satyr’s pipes.

I feel like a Demeter kid shares some healing with Apollo kids, but can only mainly heal exhaustion, dehydration, anything relating to malnourishment.

Demeter kids can eat whatever they want. 

Demeter Chrysaoros was the Lady of the Golden Sword, so don’t tell me Demeter kids can’t fight just as well as anyone else. Demeter’s sword was also made out of part of Kronos’ scythe, so she is powerful.

You are the most powerful son of Demeter in thousands of years. You might be the most powerful child of Demeter since Persephone.

You are the head counselor of Cabin Four, and you make sure everyone is hale and hearty.

Luke Castellan

Luke recognizes your power when he gets to Camp Half-Blood

And it strikes him as unfair that you might be just as powerful as Thalia, but since you weren’t a Big Three kid, you had to make your own way to camp - no seekers out looking for you.

So he and Annabeth adopt you into their little family.

Luke realizes he has fallen for you when he sees how much little Annabeth has taken a shine to you.

He’s known you for about a year when he sneaks out of Hermes cabin with a couple of smuggled Cokes and a Disney movie on cassette.

He asks you to sneak with him into the Big House. You watch the movie in the room usually reserved for the orientation video.

Your head leans on his shoulder because you are tired - it’s the middle of the night.

“Hey, uh, Y/N...”

“Mmm?”

“I really like - uh, this movie.” He can’t do it. He’s almost crying with frustration when he feels you kiss him on the cheek.

“I think I might love this movie.” You say hopefully.

Mr. D doesn’t sleep, and he’s right behind you. Shockingly, he doesn’t turn you both into dolphins, but instead ropes you into a late-night pinochle game with Chiron, who’s tail is in curlers for some reason.

It’s both the happiest and most embarrassing night in your life.

But from then on, you two are the “it” couple at camp.

You two become slightly distant after Luke’s quest, but you think it’s because he’s insecure over his new scar. There’s something missing when you two do seem to regain that lost ground.

When Percy comes to camp and beats Luke in a training duel, you congratulate him and boost his ego, telling him that everybody always ridiculed Demeter kids for not having any good talents, and that he can be good at whatever he chooses.

You are devastated when Luke betrays the gods.

He begs you to join him, but you refuse.

He kidnaps you aboard the Princess Andromeda, but you are rescued by Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson.

It was when you realized Luke was too far gone.

At the Battle of the Empire State Building, you yourself take on Kronos with all the might of your godly parent.

It’s not enough, and you are almost killed.

Luke takes back control for an instant, allowing you the chance to escape

Annabeth and you give the final blow together.

The last thing Luke sees is you.

And you know you will never meet again, not even in death, because Luke was always a pusher, and he’ll reincarnate to get to the Isles of the Blest.

Eventually you age out of Camp Half-Blood and travel the world, searching, hoping you can find happiness once more...

Will Solace

You two are the medicine couple

Feeling bad? Feeling blue? Visit Y/N and Will - odds are one of them will solve your problem.

You hang out with Will in the infirmary, handing out magical crackers that assist with healing.

During the Battle of the Labyrinth, your powers truly blossomed - you granted power to all the fruit-bearing dryads, allowing their trees to come to life and attack the opposing army. Will thought that was so cool - he brags about it every chance he gets.

You and Grover seal Hyperion into the tree during the Battle of the Empire State Building.

You and Will met during archery practice, because as an Apollo kid, he was booked to teach.

Among your numerous talents, archery is not.

You accidentally shoot him.

Although, the way you shot him was worthy of an Apollo kid - the arrow ricocheted off of like, thirteen different things before striking Will.

Not a good idea to have the best healer teach archery

But anyway, you felt so bad that you practically carried him to the Big House

And cried because you never wanted to hurt anyone

Especially not anyone as hot as Will

“Wait, what?”

“Oops.”

“Well, I think you might have to check for another wound.”

“What? Really?”

“Yup. I think you struck my heart with your arrow.”

They change the rule so that no two demigods from different cabins can be alone together because of you two.

You resolve this by camping in the woods overnight - the dryads have got your back.

Although a lot of them will try to steal Will from you, so I guess everything has its ups and downs.

Percy Jackson

At first, you were so annoyed by this sarcastic ball of insecurity.

He comes in here, insulting your godly heritage, making a mockery of all these camp activities, and then he met you

And his jaw drops open.

“Wow. Uh... who’s your godly parent?” he asks, almost in awe

“Demeter.”

He snickers. “The farming goddess?”

Yeah, that was pretty much one of the worst first impressions he could have made.

But he grew on you after a while. 

And you... he was gone from the moment you saw he had blue Coke and changed yours to match.

He takes you to meet his mom as soon as possible

And she automatically knows he’s in love because Sally Jackson always knows.

She approves because she sees how much you love him back.

The two of you just started being together one day - neither of you can really pinpoint an exact moment.

Just, somehow, you two held hands and it felt right, so you kept doing it.

And just like that, you were a couple.

Aphrodite once promised to make Percy’s love life interesting.

Well, it doesn’t get much more interesting than you.

[toutorii]

Broken Pieces: Chapter 1

Okay so when I started this blog, I thought, “Oh I’ll just reblog a bunch of things, post some art and maybe some fanfics.” And I realized that I haven’t published any fanfics yet... oops. SO. This is the first chapter of my Percy Jackson OC insert story, its my first writing piece like this, so criticism is greatly appreciated! And let me know what you guys think. You can also check out the second chapter on Wattpad. Just look up Broken Pieces or my name, TouTorii! And if you want to be put on the taglist, just ask! Anyways, without further to do... I hope you guys enjoy!

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Disclaimor: I don’t own any of the characters in this story other than Phoebe, Rick Riordan owns most of the plot and all the other characters.

Warnings: Some Language, terrible grammar, and spelling errors.

Broken Pieces Masterlist

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Pain flooded my senses. The weapon impaled my gut, right below my heart. It took all of my remaining strength to look at the man I once considered my brother and choke out, "Gods damn it. Fight." And that's when numbness took over my body and the darkness flooded my eyesight.

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I woke with a start, my breathing was labored. It was dark, but not pitch black like my dream. I sat up and scanned my surroundings. Dozens of demigods were packed in the little Hermes cabin. Mostly undetermined stayed here. I grabbed my dagger and slipped out of the cabin. It was about three hours until breakfast so I walked to the tree on the hill. Even though bloodshed and horrors have seen this camp, it had an amazing view. I dont know how long I sat there, it could have been hours, it could have been a couple of minutes. But after awhile I heard footsteps approaching me. I turned my head to be greeted by Connor Stoll. He has a lopsided smile plastered onto his tan face. He wordlessly sat down next to me. We sat in comfortable silence, until he broke it, saying,

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"And I'm the queen of England."

"Yep, I know you are."

"Phoebe..."

I sighed and closed my eyes.

"How'd you know somethings wrong?" I asked.

"You're wearing your baby blanket."

I looked down, sure enough, it was wrapped around my shoulders. When did I do that?

"The only time you wear it is when you're upset, so please, tell me whats w-"

"I had the dream again." I said. He looked up.

"The one where you.... You know.."

"Yeah..."

"Did you see who stabbed you?"

"No." That was a lie.

"Well, are you okay?"

"Yeah." Another lie.

He looked at me with worry plastered on his face. He saw right through my facade. Just like he always did. But instead of saying anything he just engulfed me in a hug. I clung to his shirt like my life depended on it. Tears threatened to break through but I shoved the feeling down. We stayed like that until breakfast. That's when we got up and walked to the dining pavilion.

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When Breakfast was over we all went to do our daily training. Everything was normal. No one trying to kill me, no one trying to kill each other, all was going great. The Hermes cabin was currently sparring. I was paired up with Luke Castellan, my cabin leader. We were even for the most part, both getting in hits every once in awhile. But eventually I disarmed him and took the victory.

"You did good, but not as good as me, Luke." I said as I helped him up.

"I wish I could slap that smirk off of your face right now." He grumbled.

"You still love me though." I said with a wink. He blushed and said something incoherent.

"You gotta speak up pretty boy." He mumbled something again.

"I said, you wish." He finally said at a normal volume.

I mocked offense and put a hand on my chest.

"How dare you! I am loved by everyone and almost everything!" I said with the utmost confidence.

"I have to disagree with that!" I heard Connor yell while he was sparring against Travis.

"I could whip your ass too." I yelled at him.

"Kinky!" He slyly smirked.

"Connor! There are children!"

"Says the chick who said ass.''

"Whatever"

When I turned around, I was met with Luke red in the face from laughing.

"Shut up."

"I never said anything."

He raised his sword toward me and said, "I declare a rematch."

"Sure your knighthood." I said with a bow. And we went at it again.

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It was late at night, a storm raged around camp.

"Who the hell ticked off the drama queen?" Thunder boomed louder, I decided to stop before Zeus incinerated me. I was just outside the border getting soaked in the rain when I turned around and saw a horrific sight. A child was fighting a giant bull while someone else was knocked out cold. When did they get here? How could I be so blind?The wind and rain was deafening, but I ran and tried to make my way over there. But before I could help, the little kid stabbed the Minotaur and it evaporated. The kid nearly passed out so I ran to grab them before they hurt themselves even more.

"Just hold on kid." I said. They looked confused but let me carry them passed the border.

"Grover..." The kid said. I was confused, Grover? Then it clicked, this is the kid that Chiron was watching at Yancy. I turned around and saw Grover covered in mud. I picked him up and carried them both to the border. I saw Chiron and Annie come with worried looks.

"Is this him? The one from the p-" Annie started.

"Not now Annabeth, he is still awake." Chiron reprimanded. That's when I looked over where the kid was and saw that he was passed out on my shoulder. I scanned his face, seeing cuts and bruises from the battle. He couldn't have been more than 12.

Jesus, 12 and fighting for his life. How long had he known about the life? This world? I picked him up and carried him to the infirmary. After I had seen to stitching up his deep cuts and applying bandages and healing salves, I sat down and kept an eye on him.

"Bull baby, of all the monsters to send after an innocent kid."

"How do you know he's innocent?" I jumped, unaware of Annie being in the room.

"Because, I have a gut feeling, and I've learned to trust my gut."

"That's so stupid." I chuckled. Annie got red in the face, "Well it is! Using your brain is much more efficient."

"So you're telling me that you ignore your instincts on the battlefield?" I inquired.

"Well I- I mean- I just- Shut up!" That made me burst into another fit of laughter. But Annie had a scowl on her face showing she did not appreciate my teasing.

"Aw come on, Annie."

"...."

"Are you really mad at this amazing beautiful specimen?"

"..."

"Okay, I guess you don't want to read any more of my dad’s architecture books.” 

"What?! No! I'm not mad!"

I laughed, and eventually so did she. It was rare to see a smile on her face, especially after Luke got his quest. The poor girl couldn't get a break. She had been here a long time, not as long as I have, but still a long time. She just wants to prove she's worthy of being a daughter of Athena.

"mom. .. . ." The kid groaned quietly. I whipped my head around and immediately grabbed his hand, so he could have something to ground himself with if needed. He opened his eyes and oh my gods, they were like the ocean.

Ocean?

No.

Why.

But the pact.

I swear they're more horny than a teenager.

That's why this kid is attracting so many monsters.

Not just because of Hades.

But because of his parent.

Poseidon.

[howtotrainyouragents]

Agent H’s Musical Reactions

[rainagainstmywindow]

Fallen Heroes

So...I had to. Obvious SPOILER ALERT for THAT spoiler in TBM. This is the Greeks finding out about Jason. I know the timeline is murky but bear with me.

Percy was having the first normal day at camp in months when the nereids brought everything to a screeching halt. Most campers knew better than to pay much attention to the beautiful women that lived in Camp Half-Blood’s canoe lake. They loved to take advantage of those unfortunate souls who didn’t know about their tendency to flirt until they got you close enough to dump you inside of the lake. The naiads had always paid special attention to Percy, him being the son of the sea god and all, but these weren’t regular water spirits. Nereids lived strictly in salt water, the fact that they were in the lake caught Percy’s attention right away. That and the utter look of devastation in their beautiful faces. They were definitely not there to flirt with him.

Percy didn’t pay much attention to the questions from the Stolls brothers and Clarisse as he deviated from their way to the dining pavilion. He walked up to the nereids, already fearing for the worst. He tried to calm his nerves by reminding himself that Annabeth was probably already waiting for him in the Athena table; he’d seen her not two hours ago. She was fine. “My Lord,” started the nereid. Percy didn’t know her. Something was definitely wrong. “We’ve been looking for you. Something’s happened. My sisters in the Pacific tell me a hero has fallen.” Annabeth is fine. It’s not her. You just saw her. Through his nerves he made sense of what the nereid was saying. Pacific? She probably meant California.

“Is it Camp Jupiter?”

The woman submerged herself for a moment. Through the water Percy could see her consulting another nereid he’d never seen before. She looked younger, shaken. She finally came back up, nodding. “The boy bore the mark of the Romans, but it doesn’t appear to be the other Camp. He wasn’t alone, though.”

Piper. Jason. A hero has fallen. The boy. “What happened? Who else was there?”

“The others are alive but the boy perished. I’m sorry, my Lord. We can’t sustain ourselves in these waters much longer.”

“Wait!” Percy reached out and caught her wrist before she could fully submerge herself again. “Are you certain? Are you sure?”

Her dark blue eyes softened, looking up at him sadly. “Yes, my Lord. My sisters made sure to at least retrieve the body. There was nothing left to do.” Percy’s hand went slack and she swam away quickly.

Maybe it’s not him. It can’t be him. Not Jason.

“Jackson!” Clarisse’s voice zapped him out of his panic. “You done getting your fill of gossip? We’re gonna be late for dinner!” She walked to where he was kneeling and pulled on his arm. Whatever she was going to say died away when she caught his expression. “What happened?”

“Where’s Nico?” The son of Hades had confirmed his fears when Beckendork died. He’d know. Especially if it was Jason. He’d know.

“What? I dunno probably sucking face with Solace. Why-”

“I need to find him.” He got up and started heading towards the cabins but Clarisse caught his arm. He turned towards her. She was looking at his hands, which Percy just now noticed were shaking. He balled them into fist and shrugged her hand away. “I’m fine,” his friends had seen him and Annabeth struggle to more than a couple panic attacks since coming back from Greece. “Something’s happened. Something...I just need to make sure first.”

Clarisse looked like she wanted to say more and now she was definitely getting worried, but Percy’s sense of urgency was obvious and she let him go. She nodded and called for Travis and Connor, who had observed the whole interaction from a few feet away, to follow her back to the dining pavilion.

Percy’s brain felt sluggish. He tried to recall Nico’s schedule but his panic had turned to dread and his heart was beating so loudly it was impossible to listen to his thoughts. His feet instinctively took him back to Nico’s cabin. His eyes fell on his hunched from right away. His back was to Percy and he was sitting on the ledge of the bed. He walked towards him and almost tripped over his sword and shield. Clearly, he’d rushed into the cabin. “Nico.” He didn’t jump at the sound of his name. He’d heard Percy come in.

“He’s gone, Percy. “ He turned the slightest bit towards Percy so only half his face was visible. But Percy could see the shine of tears in his eyes. “Jason’s dead.”

Percy didn’t feel anything. His mind wa still reeling with dread and panic. What Nico was saying just made no sense. Jason couldn’t be dead. He’d killed a Titan with his hands. They’d just won a war. This didn’t happen now.

He didn’t say any of this to Nico, though. Because, through the noise of his thoughts and furious heartbeat, he’d caught the utter devastation in his voice. He rushed to him, seating beside him so he could see his pale, tear-stained face. With a jolt, Percy remembered how he looked when they’d rescued him from Ephialtes. He wore that same empty look in his eyes. Percy couldn’t bear it. “Nico.”

“I felt him go...I wanted to call his- his spirit but,” his voice finally broke. Percy hugged him, something awful hurting his chest at the sound of sobs racking through the younger boy. Percy knew that Jason had managed to connect with Nico in a way that everyone else had failed in the past. He was his friend, a good friend. Percy clung to that feeling of numbness. He couldn’t allow himself to lose it. Nico got to lose it. Nico deserved it.

Percy held him for what felt like an hour. It could’ve been ten minutes. His brain was still sluggish. Eventually, Nico calmed down enough to wipe his face. Percy knew him well enough now to know he’d want to do something erratic. He couldn’t blame him, but Percy also knew he’d just end up hurting himself more. “You can’t go looking for him, Nico. Not now at least.” Percy expected him to be angry, almost welcomed it. He needed to know he’d be okay before he did anything else. “Just let me figure everything out.”

“It doesn’t make sense for me not to look for him, Percy. How else are we supposed to know what happened? If someone else is hurt?”

He wasn’t alone. A new wave of worry for Piper, Reyna, Dakota, all the romans, stirred in Percy. Tyson! Nico made a lot of sense, but Percy didn’t want to let him.

“You’d think the gods would break their radio silence for something like this…”

“Did you try to contact your Dad?” Nico nodded, clearly he hadn’t gotten through to him. “Can you even go to the Underworld right now?”

“Probably not. But I could summon...him.”

Percy shook his head. That would just tangle Nico more and more into whatever was happening. Percy suspected it was probably linked to Apollo and whatever he’d been doing these past months. “You didn’t feel anyone else?” Last time Percy had seen Apollo he’d been with Leo. He was certain Piper wouldn’t have let Jason go on any quests alone, even after whatever had happened between them.

“No.”

Percy pushed his brain to go into overdrive, grasping at any possible course of action. Their silence was interrupted by someone opening the door. Will looked from Percy to Nico, panic turning into worry. “What happened?” He too rushed towards Nico, who took his hand but said nothing.

Percy looked past Will to the other person that had followed him in. Annabeth was asking him a million questions with her eyes. Are you okay? What happened? It was getting harder and harder for Percy to cling to his initial shock. “Jason’s dead.” Annabeth froze in her tracks, he felt Will do the same besides Nico. “We don’t really know what happened yet. But he’s definitely gone. Nico...felt him go.”

Annabeth’s gray eyes grew wide, still asking him, confused. She turned towards Nico, looked back at Percy. Is it true?

Percy needed to do something. He needed a plan, needed to know what to do, how to fix it. You can’t fix this. He got up, avoiding Annabeth’s pleading stare. Will looked at him. “Stay with Nico,” he told him. Don’t let him do anything rash. Will nodded and Percy moved towards the door, taking Annabeth’s hand and guiding her outside.

Percy tried to think of anything he could do. I’ll just go to California myself. “Percy,” Annabeth said somewhere behind him. He hadn’t let go of her hand, he couldn’t let go. I have to find Apollo and Meg. “Percy.” Annabeth’s voice was firmer this time. She stopped and he was forced to stop as well. He only then realized he was standing right in front of the Zeus cabin. Maybe he’d been heading to his own. Either way, he stepped back when he saw the familiar marble door. Annabeth seemed to share his trepidation and guided them to her own cabin instead. It was thankfully empty since everyone was at dinner. She pushed him down onto her bed. “Tell me what happened.”

Percy recounted everything that had happened in the last hour robotically. Annabeth never interrupted him until he was finished. She looked as shocked as he felt but finally managed to say. “Do we know if the rest are okay? Piper?”

“Nico didn’t feel anyone else go. The nereids didn’t say much either, but I’m sure it has something to do with Apollo and Meg’s quest. Leo might’ve been with them.”

Percy heard Annabeth curse beside him. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. It didn’t feel real. Everytime Percy had a nightmare about losing his friends, he was always there. He’d always been there, one way or another. It was the only way it felt real. Besides, Jason was one of the most powerful demigods he’d ever met. It just didn’t make sense.

Percy. Through his sluggish thoughts he made out the sound of his name. He was sure Annabeth hadn’t said a word in a while. This was something different. Percy.

Grover? He hadn’t heard from his best friend in months, hadn’t used their empathy link since before Hera kidnapped him. Grover is that you? A rush of excitement, immediately accompanied by despair overcame him. Percy saw a brief glimpse of Grover’s dirty high tops as he walked through what looked like a forest.

Percy something awful happened. Jason…

I heard something from a nereid here at camp. Where are you?

I’m in California. He’s really gone, Percy. I’m sorry. Hedge and Mellie went with Piper.

What happened? His vision suddenly flashed with images of a weird assembly of people. They had to be the strangest collection of nymphs he’d ever seen. As he looked closer he noticed Meg McCaffrey’s bruised face, Hedge, Mellie, and of course, the one and only Lester Papadopoulos. He couldn’t catch everything he said and his voice got frailer and frailer as he recounted what happened. But Percy got the gist of it. Another Roman Emperor, Caligula, had surfaced. Medea had helped him. They almost didn’t make it out. Jason sacrificed himself.

Afterwards, I went with Meg and Apollo to the burning maze. Medea was there. We wouldn’t have made it out in time but Piper killed her just in time. They got a new prophecy, Perce. Something about Reyna. Caligula’s on his way to Camp Jupiter.

The words ‘Piper killed her’ rang in Percy’s brain. Are you with them? Are you going to Camp Jupiter?

No. I’m heading home, Percy. Piper left for Oklahoma with Leo and the Hedges.

Good, Percy thought. At least Piper wasn’t alone, he would get to see Grover. How are you getting here? The gods have us on radio silence and none of our communications work.

I’ll try out the labyrinth and find local nymphs or satyrs. I have to go now, whatever’s affecting our communications isn’t doing wonders for our empathy link. I’m sorry about Jason.

Just be safe. Keep in touch.

We need to tell Thalia, Percy. Last I heard, the hunters were in Indianapolis. With that, the connection finally gave out.

This morning his biggest worry had been school, college, his SAT results. He was back to being normal for the briefest of moments. Now, one of his friends was dead and the other Camp was about to be attacked. War never seemed to stop. It followed him everywhere he went. “That was Grover in the empathy link,” he told Annabeth. She immediately perked up. He recounted what he’d told him.

“No.” She shook her head in disbelief, letting go of his hand and pacing around the cabin. “I should’ve been there. Piper-”

“She’s got Leo and Hedge and Mellie. She’s walking away from it, Annabeth.” Angry tears had started running down her face. She didn’t even bother wiping them away, imagining what her friend was going through while she was all the way on the other side of the country, with no way of reaching her. “Annabeth, Thalia doesn’t know.”

That got her to stop pacing. The look she gave him mirrored exactly what he felt. No, not her. She doesn’t deserve this. “Grover said she might be in Indianapolis.”

They had both immediately seemed to have come to the agreement to put everything else on hold. Whatever attempts at not getting involved before were out of the question now. There was always going to be something to be done. They’d both always prefer to do it themselves than to have it fall onto someone else’s shoulders.

Annabeth hadn’t stopped crying, but she steeled her expression, nodding. “We need to call a head counselor meeting. Tell Chiron. Burn his shroud.” Like Percy, she was already grasping for a plan.

***********

They didn’t waste any time delivering the news. Everyone in the rec room of the Big House had lost someone before. Half of the counselors had gotten there because their sibling had died. Percy didn’t fail to notice that half of the faces there were different than the ones a year prior. Beckendorf, Silena, Michael, now Jason. It still stunned everyone into silence. The death of a child of the Big Three, a child of Jupiter, changed everything.

“Nico and I,” said Will after a few moments, “we’ll design the shroud.” No one objected.

“What about my sister?” Whispered Drew. It was all too familiar to her. “She can’t be alone right now.”

“She isn’t,” Percy assured her. She nodded, wiping away at her face, oblivious to her makeup. “Grover also told me Caligula was on his way to Camp Jupiter.”

“We can’t even warn them,” said Clarisse bitterly. “Or send back up. It won’t make it in time.”

“Meg and Apollo are on their way. Besides, Caligula is travelling through water, right?” Chiron was about to protest from his place at the other end of the ping-pong table, but Percy held up a pleading hand, the other was once again secured around Annabeth’s. “Tyson is there, Chiron. We can’t leave the Romans alone” Annabeth had insisted on going with him. They’d have to leave right away, tomorrow at the latest. Percy hoped Grover got to Camp before then. They’d have better intel and he just hadn’t seen him in so long. No one liked it, but the only one that looked like she wanted to object was Clarisse. It was just the only way less people got involved. Percy and Annabeth were the most powerful demigods, their leaders. They were the best backup they could send. “Someone’ll have to tell Thalia too.”

“I’ll go,” said Nico. It was the first time he’d spoken during the whole meeting. “I can move around fast and can get the hunters to Camp Jupiter if I find them in time.”

It was Percy’s turn to protest but Annabeth pulled on his hand. She gave Will a look and he said: “I’ll go with him.”

Percy looked at Nico. Before, he would’ve defied him. I’m not a child! You’re not the boss of me! But he’d grown up so much since then, been through so much. The war chased him as much as it did Percy. He didn’t object, a small agreement passing between him and Nico. Percy trusted him. He knew why he needed to do this. He couldn’t protect him because he knew how to defend himself, could hold his own. “That’s settled then,” he said.

After everyone started shuffling away, Clarisse came up to Percy and Annabeth. “I’ll go with you guys,” her voice sounded strange. “You shouldn’t even be going. I can’t believe Chiron would let you.”

“We didn’t ask him, Clarisse,” Annabeth told her. “We’re not asking you to go either.”

“Just walk away. You’ve earned it, both of you. No one has done more. I get that you want to do something about Jason, but he’s gone. It’s just the way it is. Let someone else...” She was pleading, her brown eyes uncharacteristically tearful. They both knew how much Clarisse didn’t want to go. She finally had a good, stable life. She was only at camp now because her and Chris got some unexpected time off from college in Arizona. They’d just gone through a war, no one deserved to go.

Percy thought back to his first weeks of camp, when Clarisse was ready to zap him with his electrical spear, her anger towards him after defeating her father. Then, that time with her godly brothers, showing her her deepest fears: her friends perishing around her, among them Percy. They’d come a long way, fought wars together. He’d gladly fight another if it meant she got the life she was starting now. “You’re not going with us Clarisse. That’s final.” She immediately bristled at the sound of being given an order from Percy, because she was Clarisse. “You’re going to go back to Arizona with Chris, and you’re going to live your life.” She looked to Annabeth, as if begging her to make him see sense. But her mind was as made up as his. “Go Clarisse. I need you to go.”

She looked like she was going to punch Percy. He braced himself, but instead she hugged him, pulling Annabeth in with her other huge arm. “Damn you! Damn you both!” She squeezed them so hard Percy felt his ribs protest, but he hugged her back just as hard. She’d made it, is all he could think. While some heros fell, sacrificed themselves, others got to see the other side. That’s why he fought, not for the gods, Roman or Greek, but for his family. For those who were good, who deserved the happiness that others sought to tarnish. If he had to, he would fight for the rest of his life for them.