#nico diangelo too come to think of it

[clothless-sock]

PJO wing AU Masterpost!!

The idea of the AU is that each demigod sprouts wings as they come into their powers and identity as a half-blood. This art is just for demigods with avian wings, but it works the same for bat wings too. Insect wings are a whole different beast that I will tackle later. The idea is that each individual gets human-sized wings of a species based on their godly parentage, personality, and other mysterious factors!

Links to my other posts about the AU- I'll try to keep it updated! ~ Percy Jackson ~ Will Solace ~ Nico DiAngelo ~

I really wanted to try and emphasize the inhumanity of the half-bloods in this AU by actually changing their fundamental physiology, because I really think it gets glossed over a lot that the demigods are literally not fully human. I imagine that the process of growing the wings is incredibly uncomfortable and at points painful, but is made a lot easier by access to Apollo cabin healers with nectar and ambrosia. The anatomy of it all is enabled entirely by magic, so there would be structures to allow wing movement, but without the magical element flight would be impossible. Here is an idea of the skeletal structure we are working with here:

(I am by no means an expert in human or avian skeletal anatomy- feel free to correct any egregious errors here lol) I imagine that there would be plenty of additional muscles that develop along with the wings, but I do not want to really figure that out. I think that with the aid of magic these muscles would be inconspicuous enough to not significantly affect a demigods general stature — remember that we are not going for exact anatomical plausibility here — and so I will not bother to figure that out unless I have to.

I have so many more thoughts on this and I plan to post a lot more about this AU, so be on the lookout for that if you are interested! Feel free to ask questions or voice constructive criticism, all is very appreciated! 💜

[sarahreesbrennan]

sorry if you have already answered this, but are we getting any queer rep in Long Live Evil? 💕 i am super excited to see what you've cooked up for us either way!

I came back after I'd gone off on one, seeing the post had struck a chord and being thankful but fearful of my inbox. Let me say with delighted surprise that all the asks are very kind.

Thank you for this one, sweet anon. I am so excited and so nervous about my best beloved, Long Live Evil, and about coming back with a new book of my own after so long, when I believed for a long time it was hopeless.

I'm really grateful to find readers waiting for me. But I know readers are naturally more invested in characters they know: I extremely appreciate you taking an interest in the future.

So, short answer: YEAH you are!

Long answer: Long Live Evil wouldn't exist without its queer narratives.

C.S. Pacat and I were talking in our virtual Brookline Booksmith event recently about our favourite Disney villains. C.S. Pacat picked Maleficent, a fine choice. I picked Snow White's Evil Queen. We agreed we loved most of them.

Here's the relevant excerpt I was quoting in my last post from Carmen Maria Machado's In The Dream House, saying 'I think a lot about queer villains, the problem and pleasure and audacity of them.' Well... me too.

I think many of us have experienced feeling made wrong in some way - for not wanting what society said we should or being what we were expected to be - and that one step along that journey of discovery is going 'Okay, if it's wicked, I'll just BE wicked.' And that's part of why those characters appeal - because they seem free, and free of pain.

But modern storytelling isn't confined to coding, and audiences can now feel free to expect, not the certainty, but the possibility characters who aren't introduced as such still might actually turn out to be LGBT+. The essays I've read about Supernatural, Teen Wolf, Sherlock, Ted Lasso, Fox 9-1-1... I think the latest argued Jaime Lannister was bisexual. (Pretty persuasive.)

I remember reading the Raven Cycle going 'oh? OH.' I remember being at a writing retreat in 2013 and running through the halls screaming about Nico diAngelo. Ten years later we got a Nico diAngelo book co-written by Rick Riordan and the amazing Mark Oshiro. I watched Red, White and Royal Blue with a friend and she said 'honestly I hope the guys get together, but...' and I (having read the book) silenced myself with a herculean effort and watched her hopes come true. I didn't know about The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and almost dropped the book in a swimming pool. But I've also read and watched many things thinking, just maybe... oh, no. Still that hope existing is meaningful, the thought that if the story had gone differently, if this revelation had happened, if this realisation had happened, if, if, if...

Long Live Evil is a story about the story going differently and asking yourself questions about your own nature, and the escape to fiction of those who really need escape. The book is based on that 'if,' and the 'if' itself is joyous, and brings me back to the idea of gleefully transgressing the narrative that much villain love is based on.

It's also an ensemble story with a rogue's gallery of characters and multiple PoVs. (I was much inspired by the Six of Crows ensemble.) So it isn't about any one character's romance, and by the book's nature there exist many possibilities. A critique partner read and said 'I didn't know you were going THERE' and I responded 'Should I?'

I've never been one to confirm where stories are going, and I won't do so now. I'm not talking about any one character or telling you a direction.

I'm just saying yes to rep. It's baked in.

[rrat-king]

And what if I tell you my Fight, Flight, Fawn theory for the Appleboys reuniting with Kristen. What then? Going by your age gaps of 2, 4, 8 because they're canon adjacent and the idea of the Applebees having a playpen when three out of four kids were 14, 12 and 10 is too funny. Assuming a reunion between Kris and the younger two happens post her birthday so it's 17, 13 and 9 respectively. Buckys is analysing his actual response we saw from 14 year old him. When I say leave in reference to Kristen, know that I know it wasn't her choice (Mac and Donna when I fucking get you)

Bucky got the Fawn response. I'll be real, when I began theorising that an Applebees brother would feature I thought "Oh god here comes the angst. There will be resentment, Mac and Donna have undoubtedly been talking shit for two years. But we see him and he's happy. He missed her. He hugs her. He wants to hang out. And yeah that probably stems from the fact you'll naturally miss your sibling and the fact he probably had to take the oldest sibling mantle. But he barely even commented on her life and friends (aside from the half baked comment about her living in sin and side eyeing Fig). I was expecting more problematic behaviours to be honest. The theory is he entered full people pleasing mode, desperately tampering down any complicated feelings because he NEEDS to make himself a good brother that Kristen will want to stay for this time (of course not realising Kristen will stay the best she can no matter if he kicks and screams)

Bricker got Fight. Was like 10 when Kris left, and I say this with love, in the absolute throes of puberty. I don't know what it is but this kid just gives me angry vibes, maybe it's the middle child. Very Nico DiAngelo "He looked too young to be so angry". When you're a kid, especially in that horrific period of 10-13 you go to the easy solution which is being mad, and you go to the easy target which is the one who "started" this huge upheaval (read Kristen). To a lesser extent, Bucky, for trying to play big brother (Bricker doesn't even realise this but the anger mostly came from a subconscious desire to preserve Kristen's place in the family for if she comes back).

(Bonus: Once they have a very good conversation and Bricker is reassured Kristen never did stop thinking about and loving him he will cry three years worth of pent up tears and beg her not to leave again)

Cork got Flight. He was only 6 when she left, its been 3 years of experiences (little man went from first grade to third in that time its a Lot). Kristen has physically changed a lot since they last saw each other. All this to say, he takes a minute to recognise this older person who's eyes are all wet at the sight of him. Some part of his brain blocked out memories of her because the way she was just gone one day was so scary to his little brain. When it does register who she is, Cork becomes completely unlike himself and gets shy. He makes Bucky stand close by because all he knows is that 1. This is a heathen who rebuked Helio's light 2. This is Krissy, back after what felt like forever and 3. She's so cool looking and why would someone this cool ever want to talk to him.

(Bonus: She played it off but Kristen's heart did break seeing Cork, the little boy she raised, take a minute to work out who she is, when she never forgot him. Not to quote Taylor but very "And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe")

god yeah kristen having partially raised cork only for him not to know who she is anymore/barely recognize her haunts me so much. bucky as a people pleaser is such a good read especially as he is forced into kristen's role as head of the siblings I just. yeah. also angry bricker is so important to me. he got left behind! he's not ok with that and he's gonna be angry. god I just. applebees kids make me crazy this is such a good read.

[nogoodninny]

I cannot get over how perfect the casting was for the show as a whole, but I want to highlight how perfect the gods were.

I can see Lin Manuel Miranda visiting May, checking up on her, while she waits for Luke to come home.

I see his defeated expression when his son dies. How he clearly blames himself

I can see him blaming Annabeth and Thalia for not changing his mind

I can see him talking to George and Martha, and helping Percy sneak out of camp

I can see Jay Duplass buying Hazel colored pencils, and fumbling about trying to raise Nico.

I can see him with his hands over his ears trying to ignore Nico’s nagging to get him to join the battle of Manhattan.

I can see his face when his Mother in Law moves in and tries to make everyone eat cereal.

I can see his anger as Maria DiAngelo is murdered. And How he just barely manages to save his children.

This is the man who cursed the oracle in rage and pain. Saying no one could take her place as long as his kids were outcasts

I can see him lock up the boy his son is crushing on, and being beaten up by him five minutes later.

I can send Timothy Omundson watching monitors, keeping tabs on Leo and his siblings, wishing he knew how to talk to them.

I can see him building mechanical animals and visiting Calypso.

I can see him saving the head of his son’s pet dragon. So proud that he was able to tame it and put it back together.

Can’t you see Toby Stephens offering to build a palace for Sally Jackson

See him falling in love with her

See him still in love with her.

He tells Percy that he’s his favorite son.

He lets his home be destroyed because his son asked him to come help.

I can see his face light up when he thinks Paul’s last name is Blowfish.

I can imagine Adam Copeland taking his anger out on Clarisse. Demanding that she take his revenge. Blaming her. Demanding she earn her keep.

I can see him with a grenade pen, bullying terrified kids into giving Frank a promotion, and the look on his and everyone else’s face when amnesiac Percy says that he’s pretty sure he’s beat him up before.

We’ll never get to see Lance Reddik turn Thalia into a tree.

Or him fall for a movie star and have two children with her.

We’ll never see him promise one of them to his wife as a peace offering.

But can’t you just imagine the look on his face when he offers Percy immortality, and in return gets told to pay his child support.

and Jason Mantazoukus is literally Dionysus. There is no question.

This is the man who eats popcorn and watches drama go down between campers

Genuinely distraught when he loses Castor. He asked Percy to protect Pollux cause he can’t stand the thought of losing another child

The god who refuses to acknowledge or learn anyone’s names because knowing their names makes it more difficult when he watches them go off and die

who doesn’t like Percy or demigods like him because they remind him of Theseus.

Who helps mend Chris’s minds after he goes mad in the maze.

Who pretends not to care because he cares too much.

The gods can change their form and look like whatever the heck they want, but it takes true talent for an actor to fill those shoes so perfectly. I love it.

[mxnkeydo]

doctor's orders ✧ a solangelo oneshot

✧ summary nico's only intention was to get a drink and take a break from the constant challenges of his life. little did he know that his world was about to be turned upside down by a blond-haired, blue-eyed doctor.

✧ genre fluff

✧ word count 1.85k

✧ warnings none

✧ A/N writing this was so fun!! it was inspired by a pinterest post i saw a month ago, and i knew it was made for solangelo. i hope ya'll like it, and happy belated birthday will! all credits go to @soia-jpg for the fan art on the banner. also, pls reblog, it would mean so much to me!! <3

✧ link to main masterlist

✧✧✧

Nico DiAngelo woke up in an impossibly white room.

It was rather unnerving; after all, his own bedroom at home was dark and shady with no light other than the sun’s merciful gaze, which also retreated into the horizon as dusk fell. So when his eyes opened to the bright walls surrounding him, he flinched and closed them immediately, groaning as the pain in his stomach finally sank in. Slowly, surely, his senses started coming back to him; the soft cloth on his body, the cold, still feeling of the air around him like time had ceased to exist, the strong scent of artificial fragrances with a bitter undertone. Gently patting down his torso, Nico soon realized his jacket was gone–the one his sister had gifted him on his tenth birthday–and his feet were bare. Lying here in the small rectangular room made him feel cold and restless, a feeling he didn’t like one bit.

Suddenly, like a bursting dam, memories flooded into his mind. They were completely out of order, but Nico managed to piece them together. 

“Did you push me?”

“What if I did?”

“Oh, you’re so gonna get it, goth boy.”

Every movie made bar fights seem cool and tough, but in reality they were just petty fistfights between drunk people. Nico mentally berated himself for being so stupid, responding so rashly to that tattooed man. He just wanted one drink, really, one drink to forget…everything. One drink to take his mind off of things. But the after-affects made him regret all of it. If he was sober, he wouldn’t have stumbled into the large, muscled man next to him, and he most certainly wouldn’t have a throbbing black eye.

The lesson of the night? Being high alone was better than being high in public, because that just meant trouble for everyone.

But all that regret rushed by him and anger washed over him like a waterfall. Gushing anger, like the rush of blood thrpugh his veins. Bubbling anger, like a scalding pot of boiling water. He didn’t even know why – maybe he was still slightly drunk – but envisioning the man who’d given him so many bruises made Nico want to punch him where the light didn’t shine.

So when he heard light footsteps approaching, he blurted, “Fight me.” The exact words he’d recklessly said to the drunk man before he’d generously given him not one injury, but four: two punches to the jaw, one black eye, and a blow to the abdomen. It sort of sounded like a restaurant order, Nico thought deliriously.

“I’m sorry?”

A slender figure appeared over him, frowning with his head tilted. His bushel of blond curls made Nico want to reach up and touch them, though he was too tired and too beaten up to do so. This person seemed to glow, like the sun’s rays impersonized. 

But the thing that really caught his attention was his eyes. They were the clearest blue he had ever seen, like a crystal clear lake. Nico couldn’t bring himself to look away.

“Fight me,” he repeated in a daze.

“Okay, I think you should get some more rest, uh..” The man looked down at the clipboard in his hand, furrowing his brows. “Nicholas. Can you get some rest for me?”

“It’s Nico,” Nico snapped on instinct. The name Nicholas was long gone, lost forever, buried beside his sister. No one ever called him that anymore, and he didn’t want anyone to call him that either. That name had been for Bianca to use, and for Bianca only.

“My apologies. Nico, we’re going to give you some pills and have you go to sleep so the pain doesn’t bother you as much. Okay?”

Nico did nothing but stare with his mouth hanging open, his head spinning so his thoughts jumbled and mixed with one another. An image of his sister flashed in his mind as the events of the night before played over and over in his head like a broken videotape.

The man placed a mask on his face, making everything in his line of sight go blurry and then fade into a black void. “Bianca..fight…me?” Nico mumbled, his head lolling to the side.

And yet again, the darkness grasped Nico in its deadly embrace.

***

Nico got used to the white walls. It was inevitable; after all, he was due to be there for a week, minimum. He no longer winced when the brightness flooded his eyelids, and the constant hum of the hospital would lull him to sleep every night. It was different, yes, but it became routine.

What also became routine was seeing the doctor, that blond man with the blue eyes that seemed to peer into his soul whenever he turned his gaze towards him. It sent electrical shocks through Nico’s body, though he had no clue why that happened. It just…did. He found himself watching his movements, catching his breath when his arm brushed against his skin, making him shiver pleasurably. It was a new feeling. Now, Nico didn’t like new things, but this? This was something he could get used to.

Nico remembered the first time he’d really talked to him, apart from the dazed mutterings on the first night he’d arrived. He turned red all over just thinking about it. Dr. Solace had been adjusting the machine beside him when he started making small talk.

“Quite the injuries you’ve got there, Nico.”

“Uh…”

“You were drunk, yes?”

“Oh. Yeah.”

Nico had bowed his head bashfully after his comment, completely sure that he was going to receive a talk about how alcohol was not at all healthy for the human body. Instead, Dr. Solace said with a soft chuckle,

“I found it amusing, if I’m being honest. You said some delirious stuff. “Fight me’, you kept repeating. What was that about?”

“Oh… I was just high, I guess. People do stupid stuff when they’re high.”

After a short pause, he’d continued,

“Did you respond?”

Dr. Solace had laughed then, and it was a sound Nico had never heard before. It was the sound of twinkling stars in the night sky. It was the sound of everything good and everything wonderful.

“No. But I wouldn’t fight you if you begged me on your knees. I know you’d win. I can tell.”

The best part (and the part that had Nico blushing furiously) was when he winked, his eyes glittering mischeviously as he exited the room. Every time that moment came to mind was a moment of sheer bliss. It was very unlike himself to be fond of someone after a few days of their company, but William Andrew Solace managed to wiggle his way into Nico’s heart. It was strange, but Nico welcomed it. Seeing that sun of a smile was an experience he’d never get tired of.

Apart from the doctor that came in regularly, life was hell. Hell as in everything hurt like hell. It did get better, but the uneasy feeling in his abdomen every time he woke up from a nap never faded. Nor did the pain he felt when he touched his black eye with a touch as light as a feather. 

It wasn’t the best, but Will (yes, they were on a first name basis) was a ray of sunshine. And sunshine made things better. Didn’t it?

***

“How’s the eye, Nico?”

Will smiled gently as he walked in, his white coat billowing out behind him. Nico abruptly looked up from the book he was reading (a story about a sixth grade demigod on a quest) and shut it closed, placing it on his nightstand. 

“It’s okay. Getting better.”

“The cold compress is helping, I assume?”

“Yeah.” Nico watched as he wrote something down on his notepad.

“The jaw is fine?”

“Yes, except for the occasional pain.”

“And the stomach bruise is healing, right?”

Nico went quiet.

“Right?”

With no warning, Will pulled the blanket draped over Nico’s thin figure down to his waist, gently lifting up the hospital gown he was wearing. Nico felt his face heat up as the doctor studied his stomach, exhaling deeply every now and then. His fingers brushed the expanse of his stomach, grazing over the purple bruise. Nico’s breath caught in his throat, and was only released when Will covered his torso with the blanket once again.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this? That’s a nasty one,” Will finally said with a grimace. “That’s gonna take time to get better. I didn’t think it was very serious at first, but–” He raked a hand through his unruly hair. “I’ll have a nurse bring you an ice pack and some ibuprofen, that should help. In the meantime, get some more sleep.”

“More sleep?” Nico repeated incredulously. All he’d been doing for the past few days was sleeping on and off. If he slept any more, he was sure he was going to go into a coma.

“Yes, more sleep,” Will emphasized.

“But–”

“Doctor’s orders.”

Nico suddenly realized Dr. Solace was closer than he’d ever been before. He could spot the sparkle in his eyes, the slight upturn of his lips. 

“Fine,” he sighed, breaking the moment. He slid down so he was completely on his back, pulling his thin blanket up to his chin. Will shut off the lights after writing something else on his notepad, standing at the doorway.

Although Nico protested against taking rest, he found his eyelids growing heavier by the second. His sight went blurry as he finally closed them, his chest rising and falling with even breaths.

And as he went to sleep, he swore he heard an angelic voice say,

“Sweet dreams, Nico.”

***

Will wasn’t there when he woke up the next day. Today was the last of Nico’s time at the hospital, which meant he was free to go whenever he wanted. But, just in case Dr. Solace made an appearance again, he stayed. Sitting up in bed, Nico picked up his book and gingerly opened it, processing the words slowly. ADHD made reading incredibly hard, but Nico put up with it. Books were his escape from reality, where he had no one to care for, and no one to care for him. In the fictional stories he read, he found friends; imaginary ones, but friends nevertheless.

He had just started reading the first sentence on the page (the protagonist was just about to jump off the Gateway Arch, apparently) when he noticed a sliver of green peeking out just above the last page. Cautiously, he flipped to the end of the novel. There, on the back cover, was a sticky note. Nico quickly scanned its contents, a grin growing on his face as he did so. His heartbeat kicked up rapidly as he read it over and over again, even though he already had the words etched into his mind. He memorized the look of Will’s handwriting as he gazed at the sticky note:

771 Victoria Street, Bert’s Coffee House

Fight me? Doctor’s orders. ;)

[catinasink]

oh yeah

i continued my discussion with mr fuck

key points:

i have come out to him as pan (i kept accidentally dropping hints during our discussion that im gay/part of the queer community (we, us, etc) and he asked me about it)

i came out to him as trans (what the fuck past pluto) (i first said "im pan and vaguely trans" and then i restated it and was like "no not vaguely, i am trans" (what the fuck past rusty???) then when he asked me my preffered pronouns i was like "any; well, he/they if i dont know someone well" and my preffered name "nico; i kinda stole it from nico diangelo" and i asked him to not call me by preffered name and pronouns just in case tho :'3)

theres actually two out trans kids at our school !! :0 theyre both close with mr fuck too ahdjshdsjkf

i might make a gsa for the part of the school im in bc theres one for one part of the school but not one for the one im in, but thats gonna be. scary. will work more on that at the beginning of next year, we're planning on meeting again

uhh i think thats all yeagh

whoo

im out to one of my teachers

what the fuck past nico ??? :sob:

[moa-broke-me]

PJO characters and what I think their music tastes are (by the way, the internet? No longer an issue for the purposes of this post)

Rachel Elizabeth Dare: Oh, she's cool. Her playlist is made up, almost entirely, of artists you've never heard of until just now. Think about it, she's in New York City, so many talented people are prowling for a chance to strike it big, and as a rich person, she feels she owes it to them to give them a chance, and if she likes them, to endorse them publicly. She's canonically part of the avant-garde performance art scene, so this really isn't much of a stretch.

Percy Jackson: I think he tells people he likes Jimmy Buffet and other people like him, and he does, especially 'brandy you're a fine girl', mostly for nostalgia's sake because Sally used to play that on long road trips, so it's not a lie. But it feels like one. He knows that when people ask that question, they're trying to figure out what kind of person you are, and wants to convey that he's just this easygoing guy, y'know? Easy, breezy, beautiful, covergirl. Harmless and unassuming and kinda goofy, not much going on under the surface. But there IS a lot going on under the surface, he IS angry, and listens to a lot of angry, angsty music. Smashing Pumpkins, Insane Clown Posse, that kind of thing. But if you hand him the aux, he's not gonna play any of that personal shit for you unless he really trusts you.

Annabeth Chase: She's that girl that pretends not to like pop music because she doesn't wanna come across as a vapid airhead, but she's also learned that answering 'classical' won't win her any cool points, so she caves and just says she doesn't have a preference. Most of the time she's listening to music, it's not even like... With intention. She's just listening to music because she can't clean her room in silence. And for the most part... Yeah it's Taylor Swift. With some Journey and Bo Burnham thrown in there for flavor. Although she does have some weird things in there picked up from the weather reports on welcome to nightvale, because she's a podcast girlie.

Nico diAngelo: I think his time in the casino has exposed him to a dizzying variety of music in really quick succession, meaning he's very open-minded and genuinely will listen to just about every genre, every era, at least once. Also, he doesn't think to catagorize by genre, or even vibes, he just puts them all into the same playlist the minute he finds out they exist. Dean Martin, Will Wood, and everything in between is home in his playlist.

Hazel Levesque: Hazel, on the other hand, was dead for all that time. So while she's open to new music, she hasn't had the opportunity to adjust to this generation's sonic landscape, so she mostly prefers the classics of her time, or modern music that tries to recreate that sound. Think 'I will always think of you' from the Bojack Horseman soundtrack.

Will Solace: He loves Dolly Parton and the Dixie Chicks with his whole Texan heart. His playlist contains mostly that, and some of his mom's work too, although he feels a little weird listening to it because, like, that's his mom. It feels weirdly personal to share that with other people, but it's nice too, having that closeness with people. He's more open than Percy, more willing to be vulnerable with the people he loves, because he doesn't see his authentic self as something to hide.

Piper McLean: She's a theater kid through and through. Yes, once upon a time, she wanted to be just like daddy. And she loves, absolutely loves, belting her heart out to the entire soundtrack of whatever musical she couldn't get out of her head. Last week it was Twisted, this week it's West Side Story, next week, who knows?

(If there's anyone you want me to cover, just ask!)

[awanderingmuse-fandom]

HYBRID THEORY

Chapter 24

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus

Summary: Percy dies in battle.  A very tragic death that wasn’t at all lame, thank you. Unfortunately, the gods aren’t done with him yet. Instead of waking up in Charon’s waiting room as he should, Percy wakes up in the courtyard of Hotel Valhalla.  Thinking things can’t possibly get worse he runs to Carter Kane for help. In hindsight, that probably wasn’t the best idea he’d ever had.

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Major Character Death, Canon Typical Violence, Off Scene Sexual Content, sex addiction - kinda, Percy’s PTSD, super self destructive behavior

Characters: Percy Jackson, Nico DiAngelo, Piper McLean, Jason Grace, Samirah al-Abbas, Magnus Chase, Sadie Kane, Leo Valdez, Jasmine Anderson, Hazel Levesque, Thalia Grace, Reyna Ramirez Arellano, Thomas Jefferson, Annabeth Chase

Pairings: Percico, Cannon Pairings, Leo/Reyna, Percy/Jaz - kinda, Percy/TJ - kinda

Chapter Preview

"They don't care about music or any kind of noise at all." Annabeth confirms. "I guess the raven makes them too smart to get whipped into a frenzy like that."

It's not what I want to hear. "Ravens like shiny objects." I look to see that T.J, has abandoned the group of single pantheon soldiers to talk with Annabeth and I. He is also a strategist and I am not surprised that he is inclined to join the leadership when a fight is going poorly.

Annabeth takes that tidbit and runs with it. "We could bring out some metals large enough be worth a roc's time. Set them about and ambush the birds that take the bait. It would definitely lower their numbers."

"As long we get it done fast." I say. "Wise Girl, head up coordinating that with rest of the adult campers. The kids stay in hiding. Reyna, Leo and I will distract the monsters with support form everybody else." I try not to mention that we're probably all going to get killed.

"I'm coming with you." T.J. says suddenly.

[inke-ri]

Sat down to watch ep 2 of Percy Jackson and realized I never posted my thoughts on the first episode! Oops. I hadn't intended to basically liveblog it but alas. Oh well, figured I'd post it anyway!

---

- God hearing Percy's very baby voice reading the book's intro gave me chills. That was fantastic

- I love how they immediately set up the Mist

- Blackjack? :o

- Percy actually playing Mythomagic, that's cute. I think I like him not knowing about it all in TTC better (mostly cause he keeps getting annoyed at it) but this is neat. Maybe he's embarrassed by it like how people try to ignore their Hamilton phases lol

- Sequence between Sally and bby Percy was perfect btw, god

- Not feeling this mr Brunner yet, too dignifed for a guy who dresses up in armor and swings a sword around in class, but lets see what happens when the horse comes out

- Percy and Grover trading sandwiches, babies <3

- Did they not animate the water grabbing Nancy or was that just me

- Hang on, that was it? Ms Dodds looked so cool but there was no sense of urgency whatsoever with that fight? And Riptide just? Shook? Did it pop out on its own? Is the sword alive now? Dont Magnus Chase me btw OTL

- IDK it almost feels like it was an accident? I liked how in the books Percy messily but instinctively knew what to so. And that's not how the Mist works, people would definitely see SOMETHING jumping Percy

- I like that Percy's wearing a blue shirt tho

- ... also was that Rick Riordan

- That's some unnecessary drama between Percy and Grover :/

- Lowkey sad they cut everything about Percy genuinely trying his hardest to study for Brunner's class and failing. Chiron also didn't make that big of a blunder in the show either.

- That said I like Percy fidgeting with his hands in that scene

- I also wish he had failed school bc of his anxiety and dislexia frankly, as well as just showing more of how big of a troublemaker he was BEFORE the museum tour, not bc of the Nancy situation. Guess it was cut for time?

- Wait. we skipping the Fates? Seriously??

- Eddie! Kinda like what they did with him actually, before he kinda just let Gabe do whatever he wanted with Percy and only piped up when it started to get ugly.

- Okay so Gabe IS abusive - I like the line about picking up Sally's cellphone - but also kinda? Not as bad as he should be? I guess this is "aggressively mortal" and enough to mask Percy's scent? idk Gabe's behavior explained Percy's attitude so well but since he's been stripped of a lot of said attitude I guess this is consistent?

-  Sally hiding away and feeling the rain was nice. Feels like she's hiding away from all the mess that is her marriage. Also Poseidon maybe? They DO call him Stormbringer in the book - kinda ironic here tho since we know it's been raining a lot bc Zeus is mad lmao. I also love how young she looks since she was basically a teen mom

- That said I wish we'd seen how angry Gabe and the situation had made Percy instead of him just looking like a lost puppy. Just him angrily stomping to his room then immediately RELAXING when he saw his mom would have been perfect.

- ... do we really need another diAngelo reference. Again. I liked that Nico and Bianca were just random kids in the books at first y'know.

- No seriously between this, Mythomagic and a potential Blackjack... Dont Marvel this, show, PLEASE dont "I understood that reference" me 40 million times :/

- ... Sally is? Shutting Gabe up? Making him say please? Book Gabe would never ever let them go to Montauk after that, lmao. Is this really the kind of guy you're gonna MURDER at the end of the season?? Does it really warrant THAT? With this setup, it feels like it's leading up to ditching his crumpled backside with humiliation and hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills for all the appliances, not actual death. It just doesn't feel like either Percy or Sally are truly at the end of their rope with him.

- Idk I thought they were going to start with more subtle signs of abuse and then have that /moment/ when Percy realizes Gabe has been hitting Sally, and all the subtlety would fade away. Book Gabe is worse, but you get the feeling of Percy being used to it. It makes the moment he realizes it's much worse hit like a gut punch, which is what I expected them to emulate. Guess that's that then :/

-  Percy still looks like a confused puppy instead of being relaxed with Sally/angry at Gabe/happy about Montauk. Pls don't let this become a trend I know Percy being clueless and dumb all the time is a sin the later books did to him but,,, not here,,, not with this,,,

- it took me a moment to realize that was Kronos bc that did NOT sound like what a voice that seemed to come from the bowels of the earth should lol

- Ok, so I guess Sally crying while Percy's asleep is proof she's been holding back a lot. Maybe they had her stand up to Gabe as a hint that she's desperate and it's not something she usually does? That recontextualizes things, but, idk. Still think it would hit harder if they had made Gabe more menacing. You don't need to keep the physical abuse, but, idk, just shoot the same scene with Gabe's lines having more venom to them instead of that condescending vibe. Or at least not end it feeling like Sally "won" the argument, which is what it felt to me. Gabe at least coming out on "top" would tie it up more neatly imo. Maybe the line about not a scratch on the car or else?

- Unless she's crying cause she knows she's about to loose Percy. mmmmm.

- Interesting that they changed it from Percy always knowing Montauk was where Sally and his dad met.

- Btw Percy's actor is KILLING IT here

- Oh. Oh! So Sally's the one telling him? Oh, I'm gonna miss the mystery and terror of realizing a monster is after you, almost being FORCED to accept it. The absolute shock of seeing Grover with goat feet. The surrealness of being told the greek pantheon is real just after your mom dies, that distinct feeling of Percy barely believing it bc he feels like he's in a daze after he looses Sally.

- I do like the delivery of the scene tho, Sally is very awkward, it does feel like she rehearsed something akin to this and is so tense she cant get it out like she wanted. relatable lmao

- AGAIN SCOBELL IS KILLING IT GO BABY GO

- Loved the way Sally teared up too - really in line with the book - tho that would have stopped Percy dead on his tracks, he wouldn't push her like this, even if he was frustrated. It was another sign that Sally was at the end of her rope, how Percy refused to push her as most kids would bc he loved her so much and knew she was already so fragile thanks to Smelly Gabe

- I thought Grover felt a little too... Grown up I guess? But y'know what, I'm warming up to this cadence of his voice. Makes sense since he's like 28

- The "happy" music feels so offfffff,,, definitely missing the terror and urgency here. big sad

- Yea ok nvm Grover is wayyy too in control here. what did they do to my scaredy baby where is his anxious chewing and the bleating where IS IT GIVE IT TO ME

- Also he's 24? Huh, I guess I need to double check later

- ONCE AGAIN where is the sense of fear it's just Percy tilting his head and realizing its the Minotaur in one go like?? he's not even standing up??? /I/ barely noticed anything except for a vaguely bull shaped blob chasing after them

- No "shh!! names have power". I expected it since its a rule dropped after series 1 but I always liked it :(

- When is Grover gonna freak out or bonk his head and pass out pls he's too in control of the situation here ;-;

- Is it just a Giant Bull now? And did they decide to make Zeus 0.2% less of a jerk than he is and not have him crash the car?

- Oh! Grover is down at last! Okay, at least there's thaaaaaand he's up again. GREAT :/

- Sally's speech is great but once again ZERO sense of urgency. She can back and forth with Grover for minutes while a GIANT MONSTER is right after them. Also why is she making Grover promise to keep Percy safe? I thought it was at least leading up to a River Styx oath to set up the series but no??? This feels kinda ooc of her? Are they doing away with the Council of Cloven Elders and having THAT be the reason Grover goes with Percy bc. I would not like that.

- Okay, kinda warming up to the Minotaur design. Wish they kept the half-human bit of it but anthro cow works too. Fun fact I occasionally imagined Bessie being the one with long ears so this threw me off for a bit lol

- Not sure about how to feel about Sally being the one to tease the Minotaur with the coat. I GUESS its not too different from Sally being the one to tell Percy to jump sideways, but the thing is I don't like how giving that to her left Percy's own confrontation with it

- Like he just CHARGES IT, that's supremely stupid :/ Percy actually thought strategically about it even if he was terrified and angry, he was able to control himself enough to be smart about it!

- We also miss out on him doing it bc he already lost his mom and couldn't loose Grover

- Also did he hit it with Riptide in that lateral move he does in the book? Isnt that THE move that kills it?

- Riptide is being your resident Spidey-Sense again BUT AT LEAST THE SWORD GLOWS ITS BEAUTIFUL I'M SO HAPPY.

- I actually had a moment of "oh, they made it sparkle?" and then it hit me that its the celestial bronze glow and I cheered lmao. I expected it to be a little more subtle so it took me a second but this is SO COOL.

- I like that they still have Percy climb on its back but it feels too sanitized: grabbing the horn, being able to hold on with just your knees on to a slippery animal IN THE RAIN in order to have a cool stab-in-the-head shot.

- Like the sequence isn't BAD, per se, it just lacks that frenzied, barely thinking, just surving, angry and hurting vibe of the book. It's like they sucked all of the emotion out of it even tho its more or less accurate.

- No Percy dragging Grover down to camp, crying, calling for his mom? CRIMINAL. You cast a little kid! Let him be a little kid!!

- At least the credits are pretty

---

Final thoughts: I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but I sort of expected that, given how much Riordan shows up in the credits, this would have been more book-accurate. And even if it wasn't, he went off about how the actors may not look like the characters, but they embody the "feel" of them, and that's enough, which so far holds up - Walker Scobell being the absolute winner so far, kid can ACT - with the notable of exceptions of Grover (too in control, too serious, not really the scaredy but brave satyr he is), Chiron (yea, he definitely feels too old and dignified for my tastes. He feels like someone who teaches theory, not practice.) and Smelly Gabe.

So I think I expected the same out of the show. But I actually think it's more akin to the Hunger Games: pretty accurate if you go through it scene by scene, but with so much nuance, emotion and context missing.

Regardless of how negative this sounds, I actually enjoyed the episode! It just caught me off guard, how... lifeless is a bit harsh, it's more like a lot of the emotion was sucked out of quite a few scenes, it felt like they were just hitting plot points I guess? Regardless, I'll adjust my expectations accordingly. I DO genuinely like the THG movies, and I assume if I apply the same separation between adaptation and book to this show it'll be a lot more fun.

(The one thing I wont forgive is the score tho. It's SO generic. Almost like a discount superhero theme at times. Sad.)

[i-like-gay-books]

something so will byers core about merlin in the dorocha episode

[fandomwriterstuff]

Percy was at the academy when he met Annabeth, a Minervan with a penchant for getting into dangerous situations. That was how they became fast friends (not the Minervan part, Percy was a human), getting into tight spots and having eachother’s backs.

They got into shenanigans nonstop while they were in training and that didn’t stop when they became part of a crew to journey through space. Annabeth was used to Percy being clumsy and getting minor injuries, but she realized soon into their friendship that she shouldn’t try to predict how the human body would react to anything. Depending on the levels of hormones like adrenaline and the specific torque of his body, a small injury could land him in the hospital, and major falls could mean just a bruise. For Annabeth, it didn’t make any sense, but she learned to roll with it.

Percy’s new crewmate though, a Plutonian named Nico, came from an exceptionally sturdy species and was very aware of Percy’s fragile human-ness. It was getting on Percy’s nerves. They were on a mission on a planet covered in skyscraper volcanoes and Nico kept looking back at Percy, checking his ropes, and generally nagging. Percy thought it was because Nico was romantically interested in him, but damn was it annoying.

“Just keep climbing!” Percy huffed, locking eyes with the Plutonian above him. Nico reluctantly turned his face and kept climbing, silent except to update Annabeth (who was on the comms in their ears).

Not three minutes later, Nico asked if Percy needed more slack and held up their whole operation another few minutes.

“You know what?” And Percy was nothing if not reckless, even though he knew he was overreacting. He could feel the rage and adrenaline pulsing through his veins as he unhooked himself. He free-climbed up to a wide-eyed Nico and glared into those glowing obsidian eyes.

“Stop worrying about me. I’ll meet you at the crater,” Percy rolled his eyes as Nico sputtered and continued his climb (sans rope), all the way to the crater lake at the top of the mountain.

Not too much later, Nico joined him to collect samples in silence.

“You can’t just assume everything will break me. Humans are sturdier than you think,” Percy sighed as they sealed their containers and made their way to the edge of the crater to climb back down.

“I guess, but you’re just so much… Softer than me,” Nico looked away and frowned. It warmed Percy’s heart a little to be called ‘soft.’

“Alright, I’ll forgive you and hook back onto the rope to go down, but only because you’re too cute to be mad at,” Percy smiled at the soft blush Nico emitted, though as he went to hook onto the rope, he lost his footing and slipped.

He was sure he was going to die.

He felt every stone jab at him as he rolled down the slope. His ribs were being battered, his head whipped back and forth, and as he collapsed on a plateau nearly halfway down the mountain, he groaned, checking himself for injury.

“Percy?” Nico shouted from above, already hooked in and climbing down to Percy’s position.

He ignored the other man while he checked himself. No broken bones, no blood anywhere, no intense internal damage. He might just get out of this with a few bruises! He sighed and thanked whoever was watching out for him for preventing his early demise.

“Percy! Are you alright?” Suddenly there were hands on his shoulders and Nico pulled Percy from the edge of the plateau to check him over.

“I’m fine,” Percy huffed an incredulous laugh.

“You fell down half a mountain! You should be dead!” Nico was searching Percy’s limbs for injury, and Percy allowed it only to reassure the other man.

“Jackson, report,” Annabeth’s tinny voice came in his ear, and Percy could hear the concern tightly lacing her tone.

“No broken bones, no lacerations, maybe whiplash,” Percy tilted his head side to side and turned it right to left. “Possible minor concussion. Slight dizziness.”

“DiAngelo, get him back here, ASAP,” she commanded, and Nico confirmed her with a nod and a ‘Yes, ma’am.’

The trip down was uneventful, though when Percy got through medical, Nico was waiting anxiously outside the door.

“What’s the verdict?”

“I’ll live, Officer DiAngelo,” Percy saluted him, then smiled at the relieved look on his crew mates face. “No lasting damage, not even a scratch. No concussion, they’re saying the dizziness was adrenaline wearing off.”

“Thank Pluto,” Nico sighed.

“I call that ‘God Mode,’” Percy laughed. “When the human body defeats all odds and comes out unscathed,” and as he said that, he tripped on the rubber mat at the foot of the staircase and he couldn’t control his body as it flung itself into the stairs. Percy braced himself with his left arm, and immediately regretted it as he heard a loud SNAP and felt a sharp pain shoot through him.

“God mode or ‘One hit KO,’” Percy choked out.

“What?” Nico looked over to see Percy crouched over the stairs, left arm dangling.

“One hit knockout. The human body either defeats all odds and comes out unscathed, OR one small thing can throw the whole thing out of balance.” He groaned as Nico nodded, taking in this information.

“Do you have an example?”

“Yeah, I fell less than five feet just now and I’m 100% sure I just broke my arm.”

“WHAT!” Nico crouched down next to Percy with wide eyes. Percy laughed through the pain and patted Nico’s shoulder with his good arm.

“Nothing medbay can’t fix in a day or two. Just painful as hell.”

“You’re going to be the death of me.”

[cassieschaosdimension]

Okay! Here it is the fanfic some of you have been requesting!

Enjoy it!

"Nico!" Will called to his boyfriend. "Put that sweater on right now! You know you want to!" He starts running after Nico with said sweater in hand. He knows his boyfriend wants to wear it, but the goth message is too strong.

Nico is being chased all over their apartment in New Rome by his overly energetic boyfriend who wants to match for their first Christmas on their own. He would have put the sweater on by himself, but it was too ugly to be seen on anyone. Even Hephaestus and the guy was ugly!

Will stopped all of a sudden and stared at the sweater in his hand. "Nico, it's not that bad! Please wear it! For me!"

Oh no Nico thought as he watched his boyfriend turn on that Southern charm and the puppy dog eyes. He tried to look away, but found he couldn't because Will was advancing slowly towards him.

"William," Nico says slowly edging towards the front door of their one bedroom apartment. "Be reasonable, would you want your dad, the fashion guru of Greek mythology to see me in that?!" The horror is present in his tone. "First off, I would not wear it and you know I would wear almost anything to please you. I draw the line at that thing!"

This gives Will a pause as he considers the question. He stares at the jingle bells stripes and Christmas tree underneath them. The green and gold don't work out and the red of the presents aren't helping the poor sweater's case. He thinks back to the time his dad yelled at him for wearing sandals with socks because he was in a rush after being late for cabin clean up duty. He shudders. He does not want a repeat of his over dramatic father flapping his arms while lecturing him on fashion choices.

Will sighs. "Alright Nico. You win this one. My dad's fashion lectures aren't for the faint of heart and I've had enough of them to last a lifetime. But please dress in green or red okay? You would look really good in emerald green." He starts walking to their room.

Nico grins to himself. He's won this round with his mad reasoning skills. Then again, he almost always wins his arguments with Will. Decades in the Lotus Casino arguing over games will do that to you. Then he registers what his boyfriend requested of him.

He starts to run after Will. "Will! I don't have emerald clothing! I have brown, black, and grey! What are you talking about?! William! Get over here!"

Will cackles to himself while going through their closet. He bought his boyfriend colored clothes for occasions with his father and Nico looks delicious in cool, dark times so that's what he bought. He was lucky he hid them on his side of the closet. He turns to see his boyfriend glaring at him.

Nico stares at his poor boyfriend he only knows wants to help him make an impression on Hades. It was only supposed to be the two of them and Hades and Persephone, but of course Apollo had to invite himself. Rolling his eyes at the memory he turns back to Will with his hands on his hips glare still in full force.

With a pleading look on his face, Will is desperate. They're running late and he doesn't want to leave the three gods alone more than they have to be. "Nico," cue the sigh. "We're already running late and I don't want to find a war going on with your stepmom in the middle. She's scary."

"Will… Fine!" Nico says throwing his hands up and walking to grab the shirt from his boyfriend who is now grinning broadly. He walks to the bathroom and changes into the shirt grumbling about Will and if he didn't live him he wouldn't do this.

Meanwhile Will is getting dressed in a dark maroon, fluffly long sleeve sweater and dark blue jeans with black vans. When Nico comes back from the bathroom his heart stops.

His boyfriend stands slightly slouched, uncomfortable with the attention. The emerald shirt sets off his long lashes, dark eyes, and raven hair perfectly. Will wants to swoon, but they have business to attend to.

"Good you're ready to go. Hades confirmed he's ready for us?" Will says coming next to Nico.

In response Nico nods and they head out the door. "Just so you know," Nico says with an undertone. "I'm only wearing this shirt and making nice with your dad because your mom loves me so now I need to win over your dad."

Will doesn't tell Nico his dad was won over the minute Nicon said hello, I'm only here because Will made me. Maybe he might actually behave. One can hope.

They head to the car deep in each of their thoughts. Nico is worried how long his dad is going to last in Apollo's presence. Will is worried how long Hades can stand to be in his dad's presence because Apollo is overbearing.

They have agreed to meet in the Underworld and Zeus has given Apollo permission to head down there to celebrate with them. As Will starts to drive south, the air in the car turns warmer. They banter and whine about the music choice. Nico wants Green Day and Will wants to listen to Blake Shelton.

They left around eleven in the morning on Christmas Day and it takes them about seven hours to get to Hollywood because of traffic in the LA area. They park the car and walk behind the Hollywood sign, Will grabbing Nico's leather jacket in the way behind the sign because even with a sweater on the Underworld is a child, unforgiving place. There Will grabs onto Nico and they shadow travel down to Hades' living room.

Nico wonders why they couldn't shadow travel in the first place and why Will insisted they drive when they walk in and he immediately knows why.

Persephone is standing by the wall her hands over her head while her husband and cousin are going at it.

"This is my domain Apollo you do not have the authority to say what's going to be served for dinner. I can do that on my own."

"But Uncle, you're serving turkey! It's supposed to be ham! Most mortals use ham!" Turning to his son he implores him. "Will tell Hades most mortals use ham for their Christmas dinner!"

Will is torn between getting the approval of his boyfriend's father and his dad. He ultimately goes for the one that will save his life. "Dad, many mortals celebrate Christmas differently or not at all. If Nico's dad wants to serve turkey then let him serve turkey! We are here as his guests and I expect you to behave!"

Apollo looks torn but nods and says "Will, I know you want to make a good impression on Uncle over there, but I am your father!"

"No dad. Mom raised me to have manners and her manners have taught me to accept all food unless I am allergic to it and I have no food allergies. Now sit down and we can eat." Will turns to Lord Hades. "Please excuse my father Lord Hades. I had a talk about this with him earlier, but it seems to have not rectified in his brain."

Hades nods and strides over to Nico. "Nico. Thank you for coming. I am starting to warm up to the boy, but I still need time."

Nico sighs his left hand clenching in a fist involuntarily. "Father you have been given years to accept Will. And it seems you have, but you don't want me to know. Father, the spirits talk."

Hades looks shocked and now angry. "Now listen here Nico. I may have approved of him, but he must be worthy of Maria DiAngelo's child. Bianca wishes she were here, but she is having fun in the fields of Elysium."

Meanwhile Will and Apollo are having their own discussion.

"But Will, Uncle said he didn't mind me coming!"

"Dad, you invited yourself here, remember? I know what mom saw in you, but really. Your manners need brushing up. For real. Just because Lord Hades is your uncle doesn't mean you can barge into his domain even with Lord Hades permission." Will feels like a dad reprimanding a child.

"William," Apollo strikes a pose. "I am the god of music and medicine. This is a celebration with my son and son in law. I had to come." He dramatically sighs and heads to the table. "Come now Will, let's stuff our faces!

As Will follows his dad he wonders who exactly the child is. He looks over at his boyfriend and his dad. They look like they're still having a heated discussion. Luckily for Will he has Nico's jacket so the chill in the air isn't as bad as it could have been. Nico hasn't noticed the jacket is gone until he brings his hands up to tig it around himself and it's gone. Looking up he mock scowls at Will.

Nico walks up to his boyfriend with an air of I don't care. They both know he cares very much. "Will, give me my jacket."

In response Will sticks out his tongue and says no. This results in a banter fight much like the one back at the apartment.

Will doesn't want to give the jacket back because it's warm and he's freezing. Nico says he can get him another one of Nico's leather jackets. But Will isn't having it. He knows this is Nico's favorite jacket hence why it was in the car, he takes that thing everywhere he goes. He wants to wear his boyfriend's favorite jacket. His boyfriend wants to wear his favorite jacket. The two of them are so engrossed in their argument they don't see the three adults smiling at them.

Persephone was reminded of how she first felt arguing with Hades over the fact she was kidnapped against her will by a much older man. She was intimidated by this man yet she felt some sort of weird connection to him. She pitied him because he was older and lonely down here with no one but Cerberus to keep him company. Eventually she came to care for this man unlike her stepson and his boyfriend who genuinely seem to get along even when arguing.

She goes over to break it up. "Boys, you can have this argument later. Nico, let Will keep the jacket, you can feel him shivering. I'll go turn up the fire. Will dear, come sit and stuff your face as your impatient father has been doing for the past half hour.

At this Apollo looks up turkey gravy dripping from his mouth. They all sigh and hope this is over soon. The dinner drags on and on and suddenly Hades can't take it anymore. While the rest of the group has polite conversation, Apollo finds it necessary to butt in and make it funny when it's not.

Normally Will accepts this behavior with grace, but not on Christmas and not when he is trying to get approval from his boyfriend's father who happens to be Lord of the Dead.

"Hey Dad," Will says from across the table where he has watched his dad pack away most of the food on the table. "I don't appreciate this and maybe I'll tell mom about this little gathering and how your Southern manners disappeared." He raises an eyebrow and Apollo's response is hilarious.

He sits up straight and acts like a Southern gentleman the rest of the time. Will signs in exasperation and turns to Nico and Lord Hades.

"Lord Hades, please forgive my father for his behavior," here he pauses while throwing side glances at his father.

Hades waves his hand in a gesture of peace. "Please boy. This is almost tame for my nephew. Did you enjoy your meal?"

Turning to Nico for reassurance Will answer carefully. "Yes Lord Hades. The good was quite delicious. Thank you for inviting us over for dinner."

"You are welcome boy," Hades says turning to his son. "Now, let's get the gift giving over with so my nephew can go home." The two snicker together and Will tries not to join in. It's impossible though as Persephone is talking to Apollo utterly bemused while he sprouts haikus about the meal.

"Father, here is my gift to you," Nico's voice carries as he hands a gift to Lord Hades.

"Thank you son. I appreciate it." His voice also carries. Apollo is beginning to quiet down and not be so energetic. Now he begins to get downright cocky. He's no longer dramatic.

He heads to their end of the table near the tree Persephone insisted on having. "Ahhhh presents. I remember when I was youn-" Apollo is cut off when Nico hands him a gift.

They're all speechless and Will stares at Nico in shock. Looking around at all of them he asks "what? I can give gifts."

A shocked silence falls over the room when Will throws himself in Nico's arms. He whispers in his boyfriend's ear. "He didn't expect to get one from you Nico. Look, you made him cry. " They look over still wrapped in each other's arms. Apollo is in fact hugging the gift while grinning with happy tears running down his face.

The look on Will's face says it all. Nico grins as he watches his boyfriend watch his dad open the gift. Suddenly Apollo is rushing towards Nico and grabs him in a hug. Stiffening Nico is confused but then reaches around the god and hugs him back.

Hades looks on with pride at his son who with Will Solanc's aid will grow to be a fine young man. He already was, but since he met Will he had grown in leaps and bounds in height and personality. He was proud of his boy.

Will is beaming with pride at the fact his boyfriend was thoughtful enough to get his dad a gift. To their surprise Apollo hands a gift right back to Nico.

The night is just full of surprises and after the gift giving and opening, Will and Nico start to clean up to head out. They had fun despite the rocky start and by the end of the night Hades had laughed out loud more times than Apollo can remember and Apollo hadn't felt the need to be cocky or arrogant. He was the man Will's mom must have fallen in love with.

As Nico and Will get up to leave Apollo hugs each of them, but Nico's is especially long. He whispers thank you for everything in his ear. Nico is absolutely shocked. He didn't think Apollo knew the words thank you. But here he was a mere demigod getting thanked by a god! Wow, Will's dad is full of surprises…

Apollo then goes over and hugs Hades and Persephone. He really is full of surprises today. He goes and leaves. In his wake four very confused people discuss what happened.

Hades wants to know how his nephew behaved all nice and sweet. He almost didn't recognize him! Persephone told him it was because he realized he could be himself and not have to put an image up.

Nico says he doesn't know which Apollo he finds most sickening, earning him a slap on the back of the head from Will.

They discuss it more and the four grow closer. The Christmas dinner really was a success even with Apollo there. Nico hugs his father and stepmother then gathers up their gifts. Will goes up to Hades and shakes his hand thanking him for inviting them. Persephone hugs Will saying he must come back soon when Nico next visits them.

Soon the two fade into shadows with the two immortals waving after them. Will takes off the jacket and puts it back in the backseat of the car with a grin.

"Well Neeks, I'd say it was a success though I was worried for a second." Will says getting into the driver's seat.

"Me too Will. Your dad actually seems like a really nice guy. I bet it gets tiring putting up a facade all the time," Nico responds through a yawn. "Will, don't drive all the way home. Stop at a hotel okay?"

Nodding Will turns the ignition and starts to drive. They talk about the dinner and how different it turned out from what they expected. Then they start to banter tearing each other with how they expected the night to end up.

"Neeks, you look really good in emerald holy Hera!" Will glances over at his tired boyfriend who is drifting off.

"Will, don't even start you look amazing in my leather jacket. Maybe I'll let you wear it more often." Smiling to himself Nico thinks he'll let only Will wear his leather jacket now. They can share it. His last words before he falls asleep are: "I love you William so pull into a hotel and we'll spend the night there. You're not driving all the way home this late."

Nico's soft snores fill the car and Will can't help but think he and Nico are made for each other. They complement one another perfectly and he thinks back on all the memories they've made together since they got together all those years ago.

Seeing a vacancy sign at a motel he pulls into the parking lot. He leaves Nico snoring away while he goes and asks for a room. Coming back out he rouses Nico and tells him he can sleep in a real bed.

Half asleep Nico leans on his boyfriend for support. The night turned out better than he could ever expected. Maybe next year they could shadow travel or even stay the night.

As Will supports his boyfriend while walking to the room he thinks of how grateful he is to Apollo for catching the eye of his mother so he could he born and also Lord Hades because he made Nico come into existence.

Opening the door, Will walks over to the bed placing the dozing Nico on it. After giving him a forehead kiss he goes to the other side of the bed. "Love you too Neeks."

Both Nico and Will dream about the wonderful Christmas dinner they just had and wonder what will happen next year.

And that's a wrap (lol) on they fanfic! I hope you guys like it! Please let me know what you think of it!

[sweetmercysystem]

Hi everyone, I’m Blair. I created this blog for the rest of our alters to use, since our host has their own blog already. This is our introduction post. A few things to keep in mind: If Jax is fronting, it is probably not the best idea to interact too much, as he can be aggressive. Absolutely NO nsfw will be tolerated here, along with bigotry or hatred directed at our alters or followers.

Name: Blair

Age: 18

Gender/pronouns: I’m a cis guy, so he/him

Sexuality: pansexual

Role: protector, caretaker, co host. Also, I’m pretty sure I was originally an “imaginary friend” to the host.

Relationship status: taken (I’m dating Rhett)

Extra: I’m from California, but the body isn’t. I’m also a lot taller than the body. (I’m 6’1) I have dark brown, shoulder length wavy hair. Also, I’m pretty sure I have a sister but the body does not. I enjoy being outdoors, so this pandemic hasn’t been the most fun for me. Also, I’m not great at introductions, but I do love talking to people and would like to make some friends.

Tag: #blair here

Name: rhett

Age: 20

Gender/pronouns: demiboy, he/they

Sexuality: bisexual, female-preferring

Role: trauma holder

Relationship status: taken (by blair)

Extra: i don’t like talking about myself. also i just don’t like talking. you all probably won’t see me much.

Tag: #rhett speaks

Name: Jemma!

Age: 4 or 16, depending.

Gender/pronouns: cis girl, she/her!

Sexuality: idk yet!

Role: I’m a little/age regressor!

Relationship status: single and NOT looking!

Extra: Hi guys! I’m Jemma! I probably won’t use this that much but I think this is a really cool idea! Ummmm….. Blair is my bestest friend and I can’t really think of anything else to say. So bye bye for now!!

Tag: #hi its jemma

Name: jax

Age: why tf do you care

Gender/pronouns: he/him

Sexuality: gay

Role: ex persecutor

Relationship status: single

Extra: blair made me do this. dont talk to me if im on here. thats it.

Tag: #jax was here

Name: Jett

Age: ageless

Gender/pronouns: non-binary, xe/xem

Sexuality: aroace

Role: gatekeeper

Relationship status: single

Extra: hey all, I’m Jett. I don’t front super often but when I do, you are welcome to come and talk to me! A few fun facts about me: I don't consider myself entirely human, but I’m not sure what I am exactly. My name, Jett, is kind of due to the fact that in the headspace I’m entirely black. If we had an artist in the system I’d have them draw me, but alas, we don’t. Anyways, goodbye for now!

Tag: #jett talks

Name: Kasey

Age: 36

Gender/pronouns: genderfluid, ask me for my pronouns. (they is usually good, though)

Sexuality: abrosexual

Role: caretaker

Relationship status: single

Extra: I’m Kasey, sort of the parent of the system. Most of my responsibilities take place in the headspace, so I’m not out very often, but if you need a parental figure to talk to, I’m here!

Tag: #kasey here

Name: arrow

Age: eternal/ageless

Gender/pronouns: it/its

Sexuality: aroace

Role: trauma holder. protector.

Relationship status: single. not interested.

Extra: you don’t need to know too much about me.

Tag: #arrow speaking

Name: Jacob (Kasey here. Jacob needed some help, so I filled this out for him)

Age: 5

Gender/pronouns: he is a cis boy and uses he/him pronouns.

Sexuality: he doesn’t know just yet

Role: little

Relationship status: he is single, DO NOT try to change that as he is 5.

Extra: I’m Jacob, I like playing dress up with Jemma and also I like cars.

Tag: #jacobs words

Name: Nico diAngelo

Age: 15

Gender/pronouns: I’m a cis guy, so he/him

Sexuality: gay

Role:fictive.

Relationship status: taken by Will

Extra: I’m Italian, shy, and gay that’s it.

Tag: #diangelo whispers to the void

We have a few other alters who are not included here either because they did not want to, have been silent for a while, or because Kasey or I (Blair) decided that they should not interact. If more alters present themselves or decide they would like to participate in our blog, we will update this post.

[welllpthisishappening]

First off I’d like to say I’m super excited for the pushing daises au, and if you love Nico di Angelo already, just wait for House of Hades and Blood of Olympus. You’ll (probably) love him even more

Thank you so much, anon! I’m super excited to be posting One Foot In. At the risk of sounding way too proud of myself, I do think it’s some of my best flirty banter, so I hope you guys enjoy it. 

And lemme tell you, anon. Have I got thoughts and feelings on Nico di Angelo and pretty much everything that has happened in all the Percy Jackson books I’ve read this far. Including and ESPECIALLY my newfound PERCABETH OBSESSION. YOOOOOOOOO, ANON. 

I AM A MESS

That boy is so in love with that girl and I cannot cope. CANNOT COPE. And she is equally so in love with him???? (Hey, uh, how come when Annabeth shouted  “I love you” at Percy, no one mentioned it again? Because, anon, I spent several hours thinking about it.) Seriously, how did you guys deal with this when you were reading it as it was originally being published??? What did my teenage myself miss???

TOO MUCH. I MISSED TOO MUCH. THIS IS EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WANTED IN A SHIP. MY TEENAGE SELF WOULD HAVE BEEN ALL IN ON THIS SHIP. MY CURRENT SELF IS GETTING PRETTY CLOSE. 

I just finished Mark of Athena yesterday. So, picture it if you will. Me, sitting in the park a few blocks away from my apartment, listening to music, trying not to get sunburned and I get to it. Annabeth dangling over Tartarus and Percy holding onto her with everything he’s got and she TELLS HIM TO DROP HER. 

And what does this actual teenage child do????

HE TELLS HER NEVER.

I HAD TO PUT MY HAND OVER MY MOUTH TO STOP FROM LEGITIMATELY SCREECHING IN THE PARK. IN. THE. PARK. ANON. 

and then they just---fall together???? Into a never-ending darkness filled with unspeakable horrors AFTER they’ve both already turned down immortality because they can’t imagine not being with each other. 

I have so many thoughts and opinions, patent pending, on this series and some of the things that have happened and not all of them are great, but I have lot of feelings about Percy and Annabeth’s feelings for each other, Nico DiAngelo and Leo Valdez. I also love Leo Valdez. 

[jjuzoir]

★Tag Game!

————🌷————

I was tagged by @newtie-14 !!!

Name: Sora/Roro

Nickname: Dorito, Dora or Dot !! Very dumb nicknames!!

Zodiac: I’m Sun Libra !! Moon Pisces with Mercury in Virgo;;;

Height: I’m 1’64cm but it’s possible I’ll grow more according to my doctor’s;; My family varies in height a lot though, my sister is 1’45, my mom is 1’57, and my dad is 1’84.

Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and I’m currently learning Arab, Japanese, and Korean!!

Nationality: I was born and raised in Rio, Brasil so Brazilian but my parents are both mixed! My mom is Arab and my dad is English/Spanish;; But! I also have Chilean nationality!

Favorite Season: Winter/Autumn! I seriously hate hot weather, I’m very pale so whenever I stay in the sun my skin burns red for months, that and I get sweaty and it feels icky;;

Favorite Flower: I love lavender because they were planted all around my great-grandma’s house and I have many memories with their scent + Tulips since they’re both my parent’s favorite flowers!

Favorite Scent: My mom gifted me my first bottle of perfume when I was like 5 and it was this small bottle of the Moschino x Olivia Oyl perfume, the one that kind of looks like her. She made me promise to only wear it on special occasions, so my favorite memories are always tied with that scent!

Favorite Color(s): I love purple (as you can see) but my two favorite colors have always been baby blue and black! I dress in tons of black irl and many articles of my clothing are black, there was a time my parents thought I was emo because of all the black I was wearing;; They were very concerned mostly due to the caricaturisation of emo’s by boomers;; I was also super pale back then and it did not help my cause at all TT

Favorite Animal: I love birds in general, I have one and she’s so fucking annoying I love her, but if not then Red Pandas! I saw one at a zoo last year and I burst into tears because of how cute she was.

Favorite Fictional Characters: I’ll do them from my main fandoms and the ones that come from the top of my head so; Sayaka Maizono, Kaede Akamatsu, Shuichi Saihara, Kyoko Kirigiri, Hajime Hinata, Toko Fukawa/Genocider, and Celestia Ludenberg. Kuromi, Hello Kitty, and My Melody. Masumi Usui, Juza Hyodo, Izumi Tachibana, and Yui Komori! Black Tea, Bloody Mary, Brownie, Peking Duck, and Brownie. Eren Jager, Armin Atler, and Historia Reiss. Annabeth Chase and Nico DiAngelo. Usagi Tsukino, Prince Demande, Black Lady, basically all of Sailor Moon. Daisy Mae, KK Slider, Tom Nook, Timmy and Tommy, Isabelle, and Beardo.

Tea, Hot Chocolate, or Coffee?: Coffee! My parents accidentally got me hooked on coffee from a young age, I remember stealing my mom’s espresso shots and chugging them much to her horror- since then, I always need to have coffee or else I go through the 7 stages of denial.

How many hours of sleep do you get?: It depends,,, before I got my medication assigned to me last year it could vary from 2-12 hours but nowadays it can be 5-12 hours.

How many blankets do you sleep with: 1 during Summer, it’s a knitted one my mom got me recently it’s not too heavy during, during Winter I use up to 3.

Dream Trip: I’d love to make a tour around Asia during Spring and Summer and go around Europe during Winter and Autumn. I probably won’t be able due to studying and the plans I have for my future but maybe someday, especially since I’m planning on studying abroad for a year or so in Korea (mainly because I’m planning on becoming a Plastic Surgeon) or Japan (I have a close friend there!).

Followers: Around 162! I don’t know why and/or how but it’s something, it’s crazy to think 162 people follow me;; That’s almost as many people I had in my grade,,,

Random Fact: I like to bake! Super random, but it’s one of the things I love the most! I’ve been baking for 5 years now, I started when I was 10, my favorite recipe is honey & coffee chocolate muffins! I also cook but I cannot for the life of me cook meat of any sorts without having a panick attack (just today I hyperventilated and went into shock just from seeing bones on a piece of meat),,, if it weren’t for my mom I’d probably never eat any sort of meat.

Tagging: Anyone who wants! I’m very bad at tagging 😖👉🏻👈🏻 So do this if you wanna, it’s very fun!

[happymeishappylife]

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan Book #4 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians

These books are so easy to jump back into, so fast paced, and the plot is getting darker and bigger. I love coming back to these and finding out what happens next. I think I’ve said before that I’m vaguely aware of some things in these novels because a lot of fan art over the years have popped up and influenced character design for me so I am aware of some of the big moments, and big relationship changers, but as I come across them, I get so excited. So reading this was also a treat, because a lot of those happened in this novel that surprised me.

First off too. I love the way the stories really do blend this action packed adventure with its incredible storytelling into the ancient Greek tales and beliefs. Like I love the tale of the Labyrinth and Daedulus and Icarus blended into this. It’s a great way to tell and retell it. Plus tying it in to how the Labyrinth still exists today and connects the Gods and Demigods outside the Labyrinth without human existence, does make me believe even more that this is possible which is what is great about fiction like this.

Now then let’s talk about the things I was aware of in regards to character relationships. Starring the hero of our story, who by god, if this is how most teenage boys act, I now fully understand why boys are clueless. I mean I love Percy, he’s amazing. But either Aphrodite really screwed him or he really doesn’t get girls. But I do like how he tries to be nice to everyone and while that unintentionally causes friction, it does prove how genuinely caring he is. Like trusting Rachel and becoming her friend. And also wanting to help Calypso, but knowing he truly couldn’t because he had to return and save him friends. And of course, Miss Annabeth Chase. She is a good balance for him and she is his teammate through thick and thin. So when she does in a way, confess by kissing him goodbye because he wants to protect her, you totally understand how this girl fell for him. And then its perfect because the next scene of them together is her calling him out at the funeral at Camp Half Blood for not being dead. It’s the best.

The plot itself is obviously coming to its climax and I know the next book is going to be intense. It’s now set up with Luke becoming Kronos’s host body and freeing the time god from his cage. And now that a war has begun, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. And you know its going to be filled with surprises, if Poseidon even pays a visit to warn Percy about it. Will he be the chosen hero to fufill the prophecy? Maybe… But then there’s Nico DiAngelo! I’m intrigued by this young man and his story and his abilities! Seeing where he came from the last novel and grieving over his sister’s death, to embracing his role as Hade’s son and summoning the dead to help himself and his friends, he’s certainly not staying quiet about his attentions. And while that causes trouble for him, I do like how that starts to repair the relationship between him and Percy who does want to help him as well as try and not have him be the one in the prophecy. That screams not only hero, but a brother looking after his little sibling. Which is endearing. Even if his sibling can raise people from the dead, Mr. Ghost King. The other interesting thing is I want to learn more about is why Hade’s children are looked down on by other demigods. I mean, all of you are weird. Is it just because Hades is canonically disliked? Guess we’ll see.

Overall Rating: 10/10