#this is the last we see of them together before heros of Olympus

[hermemescabin]

What Annabeth said: you can start planning our two month anniversary now.

What Percy heard: you can start planning our wedding and 12 children now.

[creativeashproductions]

Shadows of Haven // Luke Castellan

IN WHICH: Reader's been a sleeper agent for Kronos longer than most campers have been at Camp Half-Blood. Patiently waiting for the last piece of the plan it's a pleasant surprise that that piece happens to be the boy who see reader as his haven.

Warnings: Swearing, angst, hatred of the gods, dark!reader, manipulation vibes, Kronos mention, talk of death, and talk of betrayal.

Pairing: Luke Castellan x fem!reader (nicknamed Haven)

Words: 1.1k

A/N: I binge-read all of the PJO books and the Heroes of Olympus books. And the idea of the reader being in cahoots with Kronos and nudging Luke to join Kronos has been festering in my brain since the last episode.

Masterlist

You’d known Camp Half-Blood longer than most of the campers. Call it cruel, but it was a mixture of having no mortal parent and also watching naive, wannabe heroes stupidly dying for the gods. You had no love for the spawns, how they were abandoned by their godly parent and spent their short, meaningless lives trying to make them proud.

It made you sick.

It made you sicker that one of those gods was sentenced to be camp director. Not only did you have to hear about the gods from the demigods, but you also had to breathe the same air as a god.

And you couldn’t speak openly about it with anyone at camp either. No one shared your disgust or your thirst for vengeance. To change things. You want glory, too. But you didn’t want the novelty glory these children wanted. The glory that came with the plan that had been brewing ever since you were found nestled in a bassinet on the stoop of a house that never became your home.

Your skin itched to leave the climate-controlled bubble of Camp Half-Blood and finally put the plan in motion. There was only so much talk of quests and playing Capture the Flag you could take. The plan finally started heating up when you saw the seeds of unrest, hatred, and wrath. It just made it so much better that it happened to be your boyfriend of two years.

The cold October wind bit through your thick jacket. Standing on the edge of the training grounds, your gaze was fixed on the scar marring the skin of Luke’s face. The jagged line was a fading colour from the once brilliant red it had been in July when Luke returned from the quest. 

You kept your voice low, watching Luke’s shoulder heaving from deep breaths, training with his sword. “Luke, I know you’re angry. I know you feel betrayed by the gods.”

The disgust in your tone twisted around the word god like it was a serpent coiling around itself. More apparent than ever, and took Luke by surprise. In the five years he’d known you and the two years he’d been dating you, he’d only ever gotten the feeling you were neutral to the gods.

Luke turned to stare at you, “What-“

“What if I told you there’s a way to make them pay? To make them kneel before humanity?” You spoke with such conviction that it was obvious this wasn’t something half-baked but a real, thought-out strategy.

Luke dropped his sword on the ground, preferring to clench his fists, his eyes flashing with a dangerous light of rage, “What are you suggest, Haven?”

You stepped up in his space, only peering around your surroundings before whispering into his ear, “Join us. Join Kronos. With your wrath, we could finally overthrow the gods and bring a new era. An era where we have real glory, and Kronos can rule as it should be.”

You used Kronos’ name with such familiarity it was like the Titan lord was merely a long-time friend. Luke’s expression of rage faded into a mixture of shock and disbelief. His sweet girlfriend, who played referee between campers and pleaded military neutrality, was in cahoots with the absolute worst Titan, yet Luke wasn’t entirely resistant to the idea.

“You’re serious?” Luke asked, shifting his brown irises between your orbs. Only determination lights up your pretty irises.

“More serious than I’ve ever been. Luke, together, we can change the world. No more being errand runners for a bunch of selfish assholes. No more being entertainment for a bunch of fuckheads pitting us against each. Discarding us when they get bored like death isn’t permanent for us. No more fighting monsters.”

Luke’s attention was caught by the idealist future: “We could have our own home? If we want, we could have a family who won’t have to be scared.”

The wistfulness in his tone made you hide the sadistic smile on your face in the crook of his neck. You knew you made the right choice. You barely had to do anything with all the rage bubbling under Luke’s skin.

As the sun faded beyond the forest, it cast long shadows over the training grounds, and Luke made his decision. He was tired of living a life the gods thought he owed them, tired of the games, the excuses, and the responsibility that bred maturity sooner than a teen should have had.

“Lead the way. I’m with you.” Luke firmly spoke, defiantly smiling, and that same sparkle appeared again in his eye.

“Whoa there, hero.” You breathed firmly, pressing his shoulders to stop him in his tracks. “This is more delicate and important than a five-minute planned prank you and your siblings like to do. It has been in the works far longer than either of us has been alive.”

Luke furrowed his brow, “Then what—“

“You’ll find out more. When he comes, don’t fight it. It’s worse if you do. No one can know about this plan, either, Luke. You’re an important piece, and when it comes to that time…well, we’ll need your role as the camp’s Golden Boy.”

Luke captured your lips in a deep kiss before pulling away, his determination written all over his features. “When do we start?”

“First, Kronos will come into your dreams. Call him lord. Two, we’ll need to get you a weapon that fits you better.” Your nose wrinkled up in distaste at the sword Luke had used since he was fifteen.

Hands intertwined, you led Luke away from the training grounds to the trail leading back to the cabins. You steered away from the main twelve cabins to the smaller one hidden behind Zeus’ and Hera’s cabins. Zeus demanded a cabin to be built, and its location made it obvious why, even if everyone who didn’t know the reason was an idiot. Zeus was a mama’s boy at his core, and he’d protect her. Why else would he allow a cabin behind his own?

Luke hesitated after he saw it in the distance because even he had never been inside. Rumours swirled camp why you had your own cabin, and no one could find out the truth, just like why absolutely no one knew who your mom was. Luke knew your mortal parent was a man because you mentioned you lived at camp. After all, he died years ago.

When your hand touched the doorknob, the cabin door opened, “Welcome to the cabin of Titaness Rhea.”

“Kro—“

“He’s my stepfather. And what better way to overthrow the gods than by using Rhea’s own child.” Luke’s lips parted to match the grin on your features. 

The cabin door slammed shut, sealing you and Luke away from the camp you would soon betray. Plans were in motion, and fuck that so-called Great Prophecy.

[ace-of-garlic-breads]

why I think Valgrace would've been a better canon ship in Heroes of Olympus

Ok first off, I'm just gonna say this upfront that this is a personal opinion and I don't care what you ship.

OBVIOUS SPOILER WARNING FOR ALL OF HEROES OF OLYMPUS (and mild Trials of Apollo book 3 spoilers too)

ok so. into my points

if Jason and Leo were together the "to storm or Fire the world must fall" part of the Prophecy would've been SO MUCH MORE tragic. like they both know (at least a small part of them) that one of them HAS to die to defeat Gaea. they both know they're doomed. and that would make every moment they have together even more meaningful.

and don't you DARE get me started on their deaths. I mean, just think of it. the final battle at CHB against Gaea happens the same as canon, except before Leo's sacrifice he Kisses Jason for what may be the last time. an acknowledgment that their time could be up now. Leo still sacrifices himself and everyone thinks he died. Imagine the moments we could've had of Jason thinking of what he had and what he COULD'VE with Leo. what could've happened between them.

and when Leo eventually comes back and He finds out Jason is gone...that he couldn't prevent the fates making storm or Fire fall. Leo thinking that It STILL should've been him. that it was HIM who cheated Death, so it should've been him who permanently died. thoughts that he was never able to see Jason again. that they were never able to know the other was alive. and they could never have their future together.

[11queensupreme11]

honestly like going through your asks i agree sm how underwhelming heroes of olympus was. like in the og series there was so much death, betrayal, and character development and in hoo we see percy and annabeth in tartarus (which i felt like their disappearance should have had waayy more of an affect on the rest of crew but without annbeth as their leader and percy as their glue how are they serving) and Nico's forced coming out ceremony (poor boy was tamazatized by cupid and ric didn't even delve into much more after that?).

gaea was so underwhleming and i don't belive at all that she could have been beaten after she was fully formed. like there was no actual counter against a primordial and percy and annabeth only defeated luke bcuz he killed himselves. like i don't think celestial bronze can actually do enough damage to kill a god, yet alone the earth! (divine weapons be looking a little enticing here) and at least with kronos their was a personal connection. like i get that she tried to kill the people in the prophecy like with leo but i felt like it was so long ago leo had already comes terms with his mom's death. there was no emotional charge that should have been there and the romans vs greeks was so disappointing. i didn;t like at all that the greeks were good and the romans were evil and i felt like jason was to easily accepting within greek ranks. like yeah i get it, greep camp is more chill but their was no promised internal hostility and it just felt like their big battle wasn;t that big of a mutal battle, just greeks tryan stop another invasion. and don;t get me started on the athena statue. that was written SO weird and it definitely should have been established way earlier in the series. and poor nico and reyna tryna haul it across the world when they could have contributed much more. their perspectives was such a snooze-fest and i was just like what the hell is this side-quest?

like the second series was more mature and professional writing wise so i expected much more blood and gore. every demigod was a tragedy is the og series so it was so weird to see everyone live happily ever after after. and like i felt like he forgot how to create chemistry after percbeth. like japer??? was lacking like any flavor and hazel and leo had more chemistry than frank. like frank and hazel could have been such a good sable couple if they were written better. and the foced interactions with the mini-quests in the books were so awkward. rick should have created so much more interactions with each other or killed them off if he couldn't manage that many characters.

YES 👏 YOU 👏 GET 👏 IT

heroes of olympus honestly seemed so... poorly planned to me? like with pjo, a lot of plot points connected so well together whereas hoo was a mess and i genuinely think the amount of main characters was what rick had a lot of trouble with.

the first two books, the lost hero and the son of neptune were actually pretty good and that's because both books strictly focused on just three characters and three povs each. but then when the seven finally joined, things went downhill 😭

the last book was super disappointing. the seven + gods vs the gigantes went by really quickly and most of the "fighting" was just a paragraph or two of each battle. as for the gaea battle.... yeah 💀 i think it would've been cooler if the demigods (roman and greek) worked alongside the gods to take gaea down since, like it was mentioned many times before, that gaea would've been hard af to beat once she formed 💀

A DETAILED TEAM UP OF THE DEMIGODS FIGHTING ALONGSIDE THEIR GODLY PARENT??? POSEIDON AND PERCY SQUARING UP??? ZEUS AND JASON????? ANNABETH AND ATHENA???? I WOULD'VE LOVED THAT!!! 😩 (i definitely believe athena would be nagging her daughter throughout the whole fight about how she still doesn't approve of her boyfriend and annabeth is just "omg moooom 🙄 focus on the battle!!!)

octavian could've been better written too! it was clear that he was supposed to be the "luke" of the second series with gaea as "kronos", but his death was meh to me unlike with luke who i genuinely felt bad for especially since his reasons made sense. octavian... i didn't feel any sympathy for.

rick's favoritism for piper was also an issue for me too, especially as i grew older and out of my 'not like other girls' phase 😭

pls im just hoping that if hoo gets made into a tv show too, that there's MAJOR changes to it 🙏

[bibibbon]

Thanks for answering my ask....If you don't mind me asking (again), can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....

My top 7 favourite media in general actually ends up fluctuating a lot considering that I tend to hyperfixate on one thing and then kinda get a bit lazy and go and try and find something else to hyperfixate on. 

It will be really hard to rank this so Iam just gonna tell you my top 10 in no particular order (again) sorry about that. 

Currently Iam hyperfixating on Jujutsu kaisen I really love the premise of the story and how it's built in this way where the story just repeats itself in different ways. It kinda sends the message of history always repeats itself and if it doesn't it will rhyme in a twisted way. I also love the way gege handles the themes of the story. However, I do think the story has a lot of wasted potential especially centering around themes of misogyny and just female characters in general. 

There is also MHA. I think it has a whole lot of wasted potential as seen when I talk about in my blog I have kinda became a hater on what the manga contains because I feel like it could of been better and we could of had so much more in general but we just don't it's a big let down for me but I love seeing peoples view on the manga and how people would rewrite the series or different aspects in general. 

I also like attack on titan. Yes I do like the ending of attack on titan (controversial but yeah 🤷‍♀️) I think isayama made a great choice in ending the series the way he did. I think the seires follows the idea of history repeats itself especially if people forget history and I love the way he depicted erens character how Eren is both a selfish and selfless fool at the same time. The interactions between the younger and older generation of characters for example Armin and Erwin parallels/contrasts are really interesting. I also love how both Keith and magath were just two sides of the same coin fighting something bigger then them both and both dying together back in the ship felt like a decent conclusion to both their characters. 

Violet evergarden is a great series where the main protagonist has to learn love, the different types of love and how to love. I loved how each episode had its own story that made it very unique and the animation style is flawless. I do have my own problems with the ending especially with violet and Gilbert's relationship (the way they met and the 9year age gap isn't doing it for me) I think the series should of simply ended with violet learning self love and acceptance. 

Avatar the last airbender is a masterpiece of a kids show. The themes it tackles like survivors guilt, imperialism and genocide I think it handles them very well. However, I do have a problem with the way they handled aangs character in book 3 and how they tried and failed to handle the theme of sexaul assault. Katara's character was also done very dirty I wish she accepted bloodbending but understood how it can be helpful and dangerous at the same time. Considering I watched with my sister it does have a special place in my heart and I love the content the fandom creates. 

Percy Jackson was like one of the first books that got me into reading and greek mythology. I love the series from what I remember reading I absolutely love the parallels the series has, how it actually battled certain issues, how it has a perfect balance with humour and seriousness in the books and so much more. I also love the irony that rick puts latter in the hero of Olympus books how every child of the big 3 ends up being scared of their own element is a great touch or the focus on fatal flaws is very interesting how one thing can be your downfall even if it's something good like loyalty. To be honest I always found annabeth and Luke's relationship in the books to be very weird especially with how Luke is 21 and annabeth was like 12 so Iam glad that rick chose to change it when it came to writing the live action. 

Purple hyacinth. Oh if I had to recommend anyone to read a webtoon this is the one that I would recommend. I absolutely love all of the characters and the character development there is. The series concept is amazing ( I don't wanna spoil it so I won't say much) and I love how there is music that goes with the chapters you read, it's just amazing. I hope we get a new chapter soon considering that the author is still on hiatus due to some health issues. 

[muqingapologist]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

this is such a hard question because i’ve gone through so many phases of obsessing over pieces of media in my life, and sometimes it’s really hard for me to parse which characters are lasting favorites and which are just part of that phase. but i’ll try! keep in mind, lots of sentimentality ahead…

and this is in no particular order.

1. wei wuxian (the untamed)

ok so this kind of goes along with a previous post i made discussing my feelings of the mdzs book vs. the untamed. when i first watched the untamed at the recommendation of a friend, it was so unlike anything i’d ever seen before. and wei wuxian was so unlike any protagonist i’d ever encountered before. his determination to do what’s right no matter what others do, but also not being above experiencing doubt and uncertainty about his decisions, really touched me. also of course his carefree attitude toward life is something i repeatedly try and fail to achieve myself. it might also have to do with xiao zhan’s acting choices, but he really touched me as a character. it’s hard for me to say if the wwx of the book did the same organically because i read it over a long period of time after watching the show, so im just going to count the untamed version.

2. shizuku tsukishima (whisper of the heart)

this one is probably pretty niche but allow me to give my most heartfelt recommendation of whisper of the heart, my favorite ghibli movie and one of my favorite films of all time. shizuku is the protagonist of the film. she’s a young girl, probably about 14, and so far, her life has been defined by satisfying her imagination by always reading fiction, immersing herself in stories. inspired by the love interest of the film seiji, she decides she wants to try to be a writer. the film is kind of like a slice of life over a few months of this time, and we see shizuku struggle with perfectionism and wanting to follow her dreams and inability to take criticism, etc. i rarely cry over movies but i cried at this one because i had just never felt so seen by a character. everyone please watch whisper of the heart!🙏

3. prince zuko (avatar: the last airbender)

i think 50% of the reason he’s on here is sentimentality since avatar was a show i watched so much throughout my childhood and of course again more recently with its resurgence in popularity, but also what can i say? his character arc is unmatched. i won’t rehash the details. i will say uncle iroh would probably be here instead if we knew any more about his past because he’s off-screen journey is just so fascinating to me.

4. percy jackson (percy jackson & the 12 olympians)

PURE sentimentality but ya know….also im only considering this character how he exists in the original series. he kind of lost me in heroes of olympus. but yeah percy jackson was the first character that really impacted me back when i was 9, and i think i still carry that impact to this day. i also think the original series still holds up reading it as an adult.

5. kim wexler (better call saul)

kim nation!!! reveal yourselves!! i watched better call saul a little over a year ago and damn, it’s so rare to find such interesting, well-developed, flawed within reason female characters in a tv drama like this. her intelligence and her tendency to get carried away with jimmy don’t contradict each other but work together. her emotional journey….UGH!! kim x post-prison jimmy, who else hopes?

6. xie lian (tgcf/heaven official’s blessing)

so this one is new and i’m not completely sure the deep impression will last yet, but i’ll explain. when i first read tgcf about two years ago, i kind of skimmed because it was so long, and the feelings i had toward xie lian were…not super favorable. i was kind of bored by him and….i saw him as a lesser wei wuxian. AND I WAS WRONG!!! because i reread tgcf finally a couple of months ago, no skimming, really thinking about what i was reading and now i love him. his journey from optimistic prince who had never before suffered to carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders to nearly collapsing under that weight but despite all odds, pulling through and once again finding that optimism, or at least hope. it touched me so much this time around!!! also i don’t know why i thought he was boring first time around. this guy is funny as hell! anyway, lots of lessons to apply to my own life and whatnot.

7. ninth doctor (doctor who)

guys….hear me out. notice im not saying “the doctor” because i think most of doctor who is just nonsense. but that one season with the ninth doctor (and okay i like the tenth doctor’s seasons well enough, or i did really love them. less so these days…). so much potential. so when i say he’s one of my favorite characters ever, i accept that it’s mostly the version of the doctor that lives in my head and isn’t subject to the bad writing decisions made later in the show. it’s a lot of sentimentality, but i am really fascinated by this traumatized alien guy who just lost his entire people, finding himself devolving into more violent, unforgiving tendencies, but meeting rose, jack, whoever else along the way is able to remind him of not who he was but who he could be. of course doctor who is forever ongoing though so character development can only go too far lol.

8. nozue (old-fashioned cupcake)

this is also brand new so not sure if lasting because i only just read and watched ofc, but man. this guy’s journey from being defeatist about getting older and turning 40, being afraid of trying anything new, to allowing himself to experience new things, one of those things being falling in love! his whole concept of using regret as fuel for happiness, transmitting that idea to togawa who transmits it back to nozue later!! ahhh!! so like my love for this character might actually just be love for the entire story but i can’t not mention it every five seconds rn so….

9. isabel archer (portrait of a lady)

so this is the protagonist of henry james’s portrait of a lady, which i finally finished reading last month. and gosh! well the book itself was amazing, but i was especially touched by isabel’s character, mainly because she just felt so realistic. her motivations, her goals, her shift, her sorrows, they all feel earned, creating an incredibly vivid character that i think most people can find something in there to relate to, especially other women who have always been told they are clever and imaginative and yet find themselves struggling internally to live up to those expectations.

10. natasha rostova (war and peace)

it’s been years since i read war and peace in my university freshman seminar, so it’s hard for me to speak on the details of why exactly this character is here. but also it’s no surprise because this is a character that continues to be the star of russian literature. what i can say, she’s another bright, carefree character (clearly symbolizing aspects of russian culture but even beyond that) who it’s impossible not to feel deeply connected to. she goes through some pretty life-altering stuff in war and peace (everyone listen to the musical called natasha, pierre, and the great comet of 1812 for those details!!) and as the reader, you just really feel for her. idk man she still stands out in my mind, but also this is also much thanks to the musical i just mentioned above.

i kind of came up with these on the spot so like…who knows how accurate this is, but i like to talk about the things i like so sue me. thank you for the question though!!

[ollieofthebeholder]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks @fridayyy-13th for the tag!

How many works do you have on Ao3? 64!

What's your total Ao3 word count? Holy...! Uh, 1,700,611. (I should've guessed, I've got some ultra-long fics on there, but Jesus Christ on a cracker.)

What fandoms do you write for? These days, mostly The Magnus Archives. I've also written for Star Trek (primarily the AOS/Kelvin films), the MCU/Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Cut & Run, and RQG. I've got a couple of very, very old Sherlock fics, a couple PJO fics from some ship week challenges I took part in back when the Heroes of Olympus books were still coming out, a couple WTNV fics, a few Star Wars fics that never made it to AO3, and three one-offs.

What are your top five fics by kudos? leaves too high to touch (roots too strong to fall) - 1,758 kudos Had He Known It - 777 kudos Whiskey Lullaby - 395 kudos It Was Just My Imagination Telling Lies - 378 kudos Hurry Up and Slow Me Down - 349 kudos

Do you respond to comments? Every single one! It's half the fun to me.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Ooh...that's a toughie, actually, but I'm going to go with Where the Road Waits to be Taken because it's the only one where the ending focuses on the people left behind.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Also a toughie! But I'm going to go with Love Will Find Out the Way.

Do you get hate on fics? Not so much anymore. I've been around long enough that I definitely used to, but I write for saner fandoms now.

.Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Not these days. I'm asexual and, while I'm personally sex-averse, my tolerance for it in fiction kind of goes in cycles. I think the last time I wrote an explicit sex scene was in 2016 or 2017.

.Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Heh...I do, on occasion. Most recently the WTNV/TMA crossover (the full extent of which hasn't been published yet), which isn't that crazy. I think the craziest one I wrote was the Sherlock/Star Trek crossover that was also (sigh) a HP AU...which I have deleted, so sorrynotsorry.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not as far as I know, but I don't exactly go looking.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Again, not as far as I know.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Uh...technically? My brother had an idea for a fic, but he wasn't old enough to join any fanfic websites at the time (we were probably the only two kids who never lied about our age on the internet to join websites), so he dictated it to me, I fleshed it out and posted it under my username.

What's your all time favorite ship? I love so many, but I have to say, the only ship I love that I genuinely can call an OTP in that I cannot fathom them in a relationship with anyone else (even adding anyone else to the equation) is Cecilos. JonMartin is a close second, but, well, I can see (and frequently enjoy) them also having other people in their relationships. Cecil and Carlos? Nuh-uh.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Ooh. There are...a couple. But I have a WIP sitting in my Tumblr drafts that was a sequel to Hurry Up and Slow Me Down that I would very much like to finish someday...I just, yeah.

What are your writing strengths? Angst and heartbreak. I've got a gift for descriptions, and I'm really good at conveying emotion in text. And I think I have a knack for putting together a tasty sentence.

What are your writing weaknesses? I do tend to get hung up on irrelevant details, and I frequently think myself into a corner. I also think I tend to obsess sometimes about things being perfect...and if I'm being honest, a big weakness of mine (not just in my writing, but in general) is that I often feel like it's something I need to apologize for, which is not helpful.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Oh, I love doing that! I try to put a translation in hover text, and also in a footnote for benefit of screen readers, but I also try not to burden the actual text with translations. It's one of those "trust the reader to know what you're trying to say, and if they can't figure it out from context, you have failed as a writer" things to me. (This may have something to do with the fact that I used to write Star Trek fanfic, and conlangs are a thing.)

First fandom you wrote for? If you want to get technical, Power Rangers; I used to tell myself stories about the Power Rangers to put myself to sleep at night when I was a little kid, and once I wrote one down and read it out loud for Show and Tell. (The opening line was "One night, when Kimberly and Trini were sleeping, they were stolen," which should tell you everything you need to know about it. In my defense, I was seven.) I didn't know that's what it was at the time, though. If you're talking fandoms that I wrote for knowing it was a fandom and published on the internet...well, I grew up in the '90s and turned thirteen in the early '00s, so it probably shouldn't be that big of a surprise that it was HP.

Favorite fic you've written? It's like asking me to pick a favorite child. I am deeply in love with to find promise of peace (and the solace of rest) even if the next chapter is currently frustrating me a bit, because I am always deeply in love with my current project, because I love the way it showcases how I've grown as an author. That being said, I think my favorite fic that is currently complete might actually be Tomorrow When the World Is Free.

Tagging (absolutely no pressure) @blasphemous-lies-and-deceit, @amberastra, @magnetarmadda, @astudyinfic, @dyscalculated, and anyone else who wants to give this a go!

[itsupermanti]

My Hero Superman AU; Miscellaneous #1

Musutafu Daily News; Earth Has Not Just a Superman, But a Superfamily!

-By Inko Midoriya.

During the last UA Sports Festival, the world was shocked to learn about the existence of the Superboy, the son of Superman, the beloved hero who’s death sent shockwaves throughout the hero community. Many were shocked to realize that the hero had a son who appears to have been born shortly after his death against the monster known as “Doomsday”, and that he had the same incredible powers as his father before him.

This isn’t the only shock we’ve head within this year concerning the Man of Steel, as during a confrontation between All Might and a powerful villain known only as All for One, we learned of All Might’s weakened form, and the return of the vigilante heroine many considered the Symbol of Truth, Wonder Woman, as well as the truth concerning the true fate of Superman. He had actually survived his battle against Doomsday and after recovering from a coma, he retired to raise his son alongside his wife, the aforementioned Wonder Woman.

Superman made short work of the mysterious villain, before addressing the world and revealing the truth about his origins.

“My name is Kal-El of the planet Krypton. I was sent to this planet as an infant by my birth parents in order to save me from our planet’s destruction, and I raised here by a loving couple as their own son. You all believed me to have died in my battle against Doomsday, but I simple retired to be with my family. Know this, though I am an alien, I grew up on this planet. Earth is my home, it’s people are MY people! I’m still the one that you all called Superman, the man you all chose to be your champion.” -Superman

The mighty Man of Steel is an alien immigrant from a long dead planet. His symbol is not just an “s” but the crest of his birth family, the House of El, a family of esteemed scientists and brave heroes. An alien symbol that stands for Hope!

He and Superboy draw their powers from the radiation of Earth’s yellow sun, the more yellow sunlight they have stored, the stronger they become. This is why they seemingly have a wide array of abilities, their bodies can use the solar energy to enhance their physical capabilities, making incredibly strong and fast, and able to create ice and hurricanes with a single breath, as well as enhance their senses to see microscopic structures and hear sounds from across the planet. They can shoot this stored radiation from their eyes as beams of heat vision, and generate a personal field that grants them invulnerability and the ability to fly! Superboy has stated that since he was born a Hybrid, those last two abilities resulted in him developing telekinetic abilities, that are separate from his Kryptonian physiology, and are not the result of a quirk factor, but instead the newly discovered Metagene.

Not only are aliens indeed real, but so are the godly pantheons and magic, as Wonder Woman as revealed herself as being a demigod descendant of Zues, Greek god of lightning and the king of Olympus, and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons of Themyscira, making Superboy an alien-demigod hybrid.

Superman and Wonder Woman have also gone on to state that their fellow vigilante and former teammate of theirs, Aquaman, is actually an Atlantean, and the King of the Lost City of Atlantis. The vigilante, “Martian Manhunter”, is indeed a Martian who was accidentally teleported to Earth, and has since adopted our planet as a second home. The second Green Lantern is a member of a galactic peacekeeping organization known as the Green Lantern Corps., the previous Ingenium was the second Flash, and he drew power from a pocket dimension he called, “the Speedforce”, and the Flaming Hero, Endeavor, used to live a double life as the second Batman, succeeding his uncle, who originally wore the cowl, after his time as his teenage protege, Robin.

They have since revealed that they had operated together as a group they dubbed, “the Justice League”, inspired by the Justice Society of the Silver Age, who many of them have modeled themselves after in inspiration. They had been working together behind the scenes to protect the world from unknown threats bigger than any normal group of pros could hope to handle.

When asked if he decided to attend UA in order become officially licensed as a pro unlike his parents, Superboy had this to say;

“I enrolled in UA in order to prepare myself to use my powers to help people. Just because I have great powers now, doesn’t mean that I always had them,” said the Teen of Steel. “My powers didn’t manifest until I was fifteen, and attending UA has helped me learn how to use them just as well as my parents, and in some cases I can use them in more creative ways. I was originally inspired to help people by All Might, since my generation didn’t really learn much about heroes of the past, I never really heard any stories about my parents’, until they told me about it when my powers developed. I want to be a like All Might and my parents, a symbol who can inspire people to be better. To let everyone know that we are ALL created equal!”

Since this major reveal, Principal Nezu of UA has gone on to official support the Justice League and acknowledge them as proper heroes, along with All Might offering his own support as well.

“Today’s society has long since forgotten the original meaning of what it meant to be a hero. When was the last time you’ve seen a hero offer to listen to a jumper’s issues and offer support, reassuring them that things WILL get better like Superman and Flash? Or take the time to talk with little children who idolize them and motivate them to be their own person like Wonder Woman and Green Lantern have? Nowadays, heroes who act to help others without a license is labeled a vigilante and treated like a villain, but the Justice Society didn’t have licenses and they’re still heralded as one of the greatest group of heroes there has ever been! I think it’s about time we go back to simpler times, where a hero could be anyone, even someone assuring a child that everything was going to be fine.” -All Might.

People are beginning to claim that the debut of Superboy to have marked the start of a new Golden Age of heroism, that began when the world looked up into the sky and saw him at the Sports Festival. A young hero determined to live up to a great legacy, with many others soon following in his footsteps. Those who have followed his example include some of his own classmates at UA, the most recent Green Lantern, daughter of the second Emerald Knight, and the newest Batman, the son of Endeavor himself, as well his recently revealed siblings, Shazam and Troy, and his girlfriend Uravity.

Though students currently enrolled in hero course aren’t the only ones following his example, as the world was shocked when a villain attack was stopped by a young 8 year old girl in a Uravity costume with a cape appeared to stop the villain, bearing the legendary “s” emblem upon her chest, introducing herself as “Supergirl; Daughter of Superboy and Uravity”. The young girl went on to later explain that she was adopted by the couple after they saved off the streets when she ran from her captors, the Eight Precepts. Supergirl later awakened a metagene and developed her own telekinetic abilities which she uses to mimic her father and grandfather’s abilities. Since her controversial debut, eye witness accounts claim to have seen the newest Batman aided by a young boy bearing the mantle and colors of “Robin; the Boy Wonder”, as well as reports of a “Shazam Jr.”, and a “Teen Lantern”.

It would appear that the young Superboy has truly brought great change in so little time. Only time will tell if people truly approve of these changes. This reporter for one, is proud of everything this young man has accomplished in his short time as a hero.

[zazzander]

Hi heard you didn't know what to write about, so I have something

What do you think most of the god's thoughts and feelings were in terms of the war? Like, with the whole mix with Roman and Greek that would be interesting for sure!

We kinda know how Apollo feels/felt about it (I think but I'm not sure), but what about the others?

Thanks for the ask! This is an interesting topic.... I've been thinking about something similar and this reminded me of it.

Apollo

I'll start off with Apollo because we get some stuff from him and I think it’s good to mention.

It's hard to pin down how he felt during the war with the Romans, because as far as I can tell, he was working with the Romans up until the last minute. Post-war, I think he's main feeling is regret. A bit of denial and betrayal and self-blame thrown in there for good measure too. Example:

That stupid boy… it was his fault I was here. A voice whispered in the back of my mind. This time I thought it might be my conscience: Who was the stupid boy? It wasn’t Octavian.

But generally, Apollo doesn't talk much about the war. In the same way he doesn't talk much about Octavian. So, we know a lot less than we should about the topic!

Hera

Next up is Hera since she interferes with the Greeks and Romans the most in the series. Her focus is generally: Unite the camps via my chosen heroes, win the day!

We see her a lot in the first two books, as her plan comes together. She pushes both Jason and Percy into the roles of peacemakers.

“Together, you and Jason will unite the camps.”

But her plans go completely awry in Mark of Athena and she's forced to run from Olympus. The person who ultimately leads the parley between the two camps ends up being Annabeth. Not Jason and Percy. I

In many ways, I don’t even think Juno wanted Annabeth on the quest – she had to be included due to the mark of Athena.

That’s not to say Hera’s plan was perfect. I mean, she did vaporise Jason at one point. But the team certainly didn’t follow her plan in Mark of Athena, so we will never know if it would have worked.

Hera doesn’t show up again until Blood of Olympus. And while this was certainly a setback, she doesn’t blame the heroes. She hasn’t been talking to them because:

“I’ve been forced to hide from Jupiter, who searches for me in his misguided wrath, believing that I caused this war with Gaea.”

Ultimately, Hera does succeed through her Seven. And celebrates their victory:

“But my heroes… you have triumphed over the giants as I knew you would. My plan succeeded beautifully.”

For Hera, the war between the Greeks and Romans seems to have been a minor setback, one for her heroes to overcome. In true divine fashion, she does pretend it was all part of the plan and claims credit in the end. Still, I think we can agree that she was the biggest supporter of peace out of all the Olympians.

Ares

The same cannot be said for her son, Ares.

“Juno aims to unite the Greeks and Romans and send them against the giants. She believe it’s the only way to stop Gaia.” Mars shrugged, clearly unconvinced of the plan.

Overall, I think Ares sided with Zeus. We see him operate as Jupiter’s messenger in Son of Neptune, sending specific members on the quest. Mars chose Frank, yes, but not because he believed in Hera’s plan but because Frank is his son.

After MoA, it’s clear that Ares doesn’t mind the fighting, encourages it even. He’s a war god after all! Perhaps he even sensed that the war between the two camps was inevitable – hence the shrug earlier.

After all, Leo had started the war with Camp Jupiter by firing ballista into the Forum. Sure, he’d been possessed at the time, but still Mars demanded vengeance.

Still, I don't think Ares was on anyone's side in particular. Outside of just towing the party line with the closure of Olympus.

Athena

It’s been a while since I’ve discussed her involvement in the war. Personally, I think she’s super suspicious.

“That was my name,” the goddess said dreamily. “Before they sacked my city, took my identity, made me this.” She looked at her clothes in disgust. “I must return home.” […]

“Yes, my children will avenge me. They must destroy the Romans. Horrible, dishonourable, copycat Romans. Hera argued that we must keep the camps apart. I said, No, let them fight. Let my children destroy the usurpers.” […]

“They wish me to be their goddess? Then let them taste their own evil. Kill them, child.”

Athena / Minerva tells Annabeth these lines before Annabeth sails to New Rome on the Argo II. As you can see, Athena is probably the most pro-war of any of the Olympians.

I’m a child of Athena, she told herself. I have to stick to my plan and not get distracted.

She felt it again – that familiar shiver, as if a psychotic snowman has crept up behind her and was breathing down her neck. She turned, but no one was there. […] Annabeth wished she could pray to her mother for guidance, but that wasn’t possible now. Not after last month, when she’d had that horrible encounter with her mom and got the worst present of her life…

The cold pressed closer. She thought she heard a faint voice in the wind, laughing. Every muscle in her body tensed. Something was about to go terribly wrong.

Now, we could guess that the laughing voice is Gaea, absolutely. But I find it interesting that whenever she thinks of her mother, the presence grows stronger. With the context we have on Athena, it’s even possible that she controlled Leo, disguising her influence as that of an eidolon.

Regardless, Athena pushed Annabeth down a path of vengeance throughout the book.

Kill the Romans, she heard her mother urging. They can never be your allies.

It is only when Athena is returned “to the Greeks” that her presence becomes that of peace. Having been returned, she no longer drives the Greeks and Romans to war. Of course that also implies that she – at minimum – influences that into war in the first place.

Basically, even if Gaea did fire on New Rome, not Athena. It was Athena’s hatred for Rome that enabled such an act to work in the first place. Honestly of all the Olympians to blame – it has to be Athena. But her involvement is notably not addressed by Zeus (because she is the favourite, I presume).

Zeus

The solution that Zeus comes up with when faced with the threat of Gaea is to withdraw into Olympus. We learn in the Lost Hero this was a decision made out of fear. Furthermore, his choice to not aid the heroes is one made out of shame - Percy Jackson embarrassed him not long ago.

Ultimately, I think his hope was that the prophecy wouldn’t come true at all. If the seven don’t “answer the call” then the rest of the prophecy cannot come true.

Zeus turned on his wife. Thunder shook the Acropolis. “Hera, do not dare take the credit! You have caused at least as many problems as you’ve fixed.”

The queen of the heavens blanched. “Husband, surely you see now – this was the only way.”

“There is never only one way!” Zeus bellowed. “That is why there are three Fates, not one. Is this not so?” By the ruins of the giant king’s throne, the three old ladies silently bowed their heads in recognition.

To his credit, I think Zeus is partially right here. Hera orchestrated the seven’s involvement. And while they do succeed in the end, it is a touch-and-go issue. Ultimately, it is Hera who choose for the seven to be a mix of Roman and Greek, it was Hera who decided ‘foes’ meant the two different camps, it was Hera who picked out the ‘fire’ and the ‘storm’. And why? To heal her family, of course.

But by interfering with the status quo, by going behind her husband’s back, she not only gave Gaea the opportunity to start the war – she further strained her relationship with her husband. They were no longer a "united front".

Now, I’m actually pro-Hera when it comes to this situation. I think she deserves more credit than the fandom gives her, but Zeus does make an interesting point regardless!

Those are basically all the gods I can think who are involved and give actual opinions (outside the various minor gods who show up in the series). I’m definitely going to write more about Hera because I think she gets a bad rap.

[arickaandherfictionalothers]

The Lightning Thief Prophecy: How Aricka Jackson changes things

(Aricka and Percy Jackson; Aricka and Annabeth Chase: Aricka and Grover Underwood, Aricka x Casper Manaia)

“You shall go west, and face the god who has turned,

You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned,

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend,

And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end….”

While Percy didn’t trust most of the people at Camp, therefore only telling half the prophecy he’d received in public, he knew his big sister would be the one he could always trust and depend on.

“Percy, our uncle Hades wouldn’t want a war. War means death; meaning he would be even busier than he is now. Prophecies aren’t always clear until afterwards,” his sister says, as she packs up his bag, knowing more about what he would need than he did.

He watches as she packs her weapons- Ocean and Chosen One, twin daggers made by the cyclops under the sea, and strapped her necklace Hurricane around her neck, which would become a trident when in use.

“Okay, so keep an open mind,” he says; as he takes a look around the cabin for what would be the last time for a few weeks. “So, I find the bolt and I’ll see it returned to Olympus. But I don’t like that third line.”

“I know,” Aricka says, “but don’t worry about it right now. Focus on returning the Bolt to our overdramatic and overly paranoid uncle. I believe in you, little hero. We can do this, together. You said you wanted me along for a reason. Annabeth and Grover are good choices as well. We can do this and come home together. And maybe save our mother in the process.”

“And you’re gonna be with me, right?” Percy asks for assurance purposes. Aricka nods, handing him the backpack before hugging him, Percy closing his eyes and letting his big sister comfort him again. “You’re a son of the ocean. I’m a daughter of the sea, we can’t be restrained. Let’s show them why you don’t mess with the wrath of the water.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

@astralshipper @rosieshipper @yeehawselfshipping @letsgofoletsgo @hyperionshipping @tsundere-selfship @callsign-revenge

[withay]

'TIS THE SEA-SUN FOR LOVE!

Apollo and Perseus Jackson are officially together! Couple confirms the rumors with the Instagram posts of the century.

By Pheme

Apollo, god of reason, logic, et. al., and Perseus Jackson, twice-hero of Olympus, have confirmed their relationship on Instagram last Wednesday. Posting a picture of himself and Perseus, Apollo wrote, “Honey, when you kill the lights and kiss my eyes I feel like a person for a moment of my life. #i'llgiveyousunsets #wheremyrayskissesyourwaves #eachandeveryday #couple.” Perseus later updated his own Instagram account, created the day before, with a simple “Yeah we’re dating.”

Not much is known about how Apollo and Perseus first met. “I guess the first time we met was when he brought us to camp,” Perseus said, when asked during the previous Winter Solstice. Perseus, alongside Grover Underwood (Lord of the Wild) and Thalia Grace (Lieutenant of Artemis) had retrieved both Nico and Bianca di Angelo (children of Hades). “He drove us and the Hunters in the sun chariot.”

“But we really started talking some time later,” Apollo added. “We bumped into each other on Olympus. It was a private reading. We were preparing for the Second Titanomachy. I noticed him in one of those meetings, and we began talking.” When pressed, the pair refused to answer any more questions.

The couple first made waves when they were seen and photographed by some aurae outside Radio City Music Hall, Manhattan, New York. This sparked rumors of them dating, which only grew as the pair was spotted multiple times together. Apollo has accompanied Perseus to several of his mortal swimming competitions, and Perseus was spotted at the Olympic Beats music festival, where Apollo performed. They’ve also been seen attending Dies Natalis Solis Invicti in New Rome together, and even in the Olympus public gardens during the Summer Solstice.

“I was heading to the Temple of Demeter when I saw them making-out in the gardens,” says an anonymous source. Surrounded by the bougainvillea, the two love birds were caught lip locked in one of the lesser-used groves. “I didn’t dare interrupt, so I left soon after but it was so clearly them. Luckily they didn’t notice me—too lovestruck in each other. It’s adorable,” the source adds.

They’re not the only one who thinks it's adorable. We reached out to several gods to ask them what they think of the relationship.

“It’s the relationship we didn’t know we needed,” Aphrodite says. “But when you see them together, you realize how perfect they are for each other.”

Even Artemis approves. “My brother deserves some good in his life,” she says. “Perseus is an honorable man. I wish them both the best.”

Poseidon refused to comment at first, however Amphitrite says “we’re very happy for them.” “I’m watching him though,” Poseidon remarks. “He better treat my son well.”

Rumor has it that Apollo's latest hit single, "Would You Be So Kind?", is about Perseus. With the rumors of their relationship confirmed, we can all safely assume that this is definitely the case here. "Oh I like you but that's not enough," go the lyrics. "So if you will, please fall in love with me." Nothing like good music to help you get the guy, huh?

Notes:

This was made for Day 5 of Perpollo Week with the prompt “Honey, when you kill the lights and kiss my eyes I feel like a person for a moment of my life."

My face claim for Percy is Younes Kahlaoui, a French model, while Apollo is Charles Bilgrien, an American model. Seriously, go look them up. They look pretty much how I envision the characters. All the men shown in the pictures are Kahlaoui and Bilgrien except for the two in Apollo's IG post. Those two are Emilio Osorio and Joaquín Bondoni, actors from Mi Marido tiene más familia, a Mexican telenovela. I chose them because the picture looked nice.

The title is the best pun I will ever come up with in my entire life.

The article was written by Pheme, goddess of gossip. To quote Theoi.com, "PHEME (also known as OSSA) was the goddess or personified spirit (daimona) of rumour, report and gossip. She was also by extension the spirit of fame and good repute in a positive sense and infamy and scandal in the bad." I like to imagine that the goddess of rumor and gossip would be the editor-in-chief of Olympus' main tabloid.

Apollo's hashtags form a haiku, which I'm particularly proud of.

The private reading on Olympus mentioned in Apollo's interview is a reference to Lorixjake's "Reading Percy Jackson" series. Lorixjake was one of the first writer's to get me into shipping Perpollo. You can read it on ao3.

The song I mentioned, "Would You Be So Kind?", is by dodie. You can listen to it on YouTube, it's really sweet and I was obsessed with it for like 3 weeks straight.

[sodamnbored]

Jason and Juno

I just want to talk about them. I have so many feelings and I can’t find anyone else that cares about them. But, like, why not?

Because Rick ignored Jason in HoO and I still haven’t got my Roman prequels, that’s why.

I freaking love Jason anyway and I always have. And I admit, reading original PJO, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Hera, but we weren’t really supposed to be I don’t think. But Juno? Nah man, Juno is cool.

Everybody seems to write her off because she’s Hera and we all know Hera sucks, and obviously Percy and Annabeth don’t like Hera so makes sense that we kinda subconsciously take their lead. But Juno is cool - and I will absolutely fight that corner forever. It’s like, Ares was kinda a dick in many regards, but Mars was a good dad to Frank, Mars was cool too.

Juno was one of the only gods interested in actively helping demigods, particularly her favoured ones, sure, but she still tried to help. And she obviously cared about them too. Not just Jason, it was very evident she liked Leo a lot too (and I love that too). And we know - at least from ToA - that she had a soft spot for Frank too (and honestly who can blame her).

But yeah, so I actually dig Juno in HoO. She helped out, she was awesome, she was actively nice at least to Jason.

So that’s the first thing to get over. Hate Hera if you want to - but let me convince you that Juno is better. Re-read the books and look for her being nice and cool. Because it’s there.

On top of that though, the relationship between Juno and Jason just makes me so happy and warm. I love it so much, even though I haven’t seen anyone else that seems to care.

Jupiter was at least as much of a dick as Zeus was - that’s something everyone agrees on I think. And I think a lot of us if not everyone can agree that he was a worse dad to Jason than he was to Thalia. And maybe that’s because he washed his hands of responsibility for him after he gifted Jason to Juno. (Dick move btw.) but either way, he basically ignored Jason his entire life and throughout HoO. He was hands down one of the most distant godly parents of the seven and of a lot of main heroes we’ve followed in the series’. So Jason couldn’t really depend on him for help or guidance an awful lot and basically felt like he didn’t have a father. But at least he had Juno.

Juno was a good patron to him. She helped him where she could. She actively and genuinely cared about him. She tried to make herself available for chats when he needed them as much as she could. Gave him presents (his gladius) and praise when he did well, pep talks for what was ahead. As pseudo foster mothers go, she really wasn’t bad. Closest thing Jason had to a parent, and yeah, he could’ve had worse. He did have worse with his alcoholic slightly off the rails actual mother who gave him away, and had worse in a dad who never spoke to him or saw him or lifted a finger to help him until the very last second and who also gave him away. I kinda gotta figure after that kind of treatment from both your actual parents, getting what he got from his patron was probably very appreciated.

And Juno/Hera is the goddess of marriage and family among other things. Throughout the series it’s pretty much her biggest hang up. And obviously she wasn’t always the best mother (poor Hephaestus) to her actual kids, but she kinda held Olympus together. Stopped them all tearing each other apart. Family was important to her and something she valued. Obviously she hated when her husband cheated on her and had someone else’s kids. Honestly? That’s pretty reasonable to be unhappy about. But she watched the rest of her family, literally forever, having kids willy nilly when they wanted to. Obviously Artemis didn’t, but she didn’t want kids and she had the hunters so that’s fine. For someone that loves family so much, it’s very possible she could’ve been a little envious of everyone else having huge families. She still had her Olympian family, but maybe she would’ve liked to have some demigods of her own, if it didn’t involve cheating which she just won’t do. She favoured original Jason and was his patron too, so she was happy enough to adopt them, but it still wasn’t something she did often. So she didn’t get a lot of mortal kids and might’ve felt like she was missing out. But at least she had Jason.

So, being given another little adopted demigod, hell yeah she probably loved mothering him. He was totally her kid. He didn’t have any parent or family to be there for him, she didn’t have any demigod kids of her own and knew she never will. That’s hella cute that they can adopt each other.

Everyone loves found families lately - well this is basically that. Kinda forced at first but doesn’t mean they wouldn’t grow to love each other. They helped each other, could depend on each other. Juno is literally the patron of Rome as well. So even if Jason hadn’t known from the off that he’d been given to Juno, he’d have still had the sense that she had his back along with the rest of Rome, so he might’ve asked for a little help or guidance before HoO, maybe while he was Praetor too. And Juno being New Rome’s patron would’ve probably kept an eye over Camp Jupiter and especially when Jason rose to Praetor she could’ve been paying more attention to him from then. Watched out for him during the Titan War.

I want to know more about them. Especially if Jason was fully aware that she was his patron the whole time before HoO. I want them to have had some sort of relationship. I want them to like each other at least a little. Nico and Hades got closer eventually. Percy and Poseidon (and honestly a bunch of the gods) got on well. Mars adored Frank. Aphrodite seems pretty cuddly with her kids in general. I don’t think it’d be a terrible stretch for Juno and Jason to have each other’s backs.

I want to know if Jason ever made offerings for her along with Jupiter. Burnt food at CHB for her as well as his dad.

I want to know if Juno ever helped him out on earlier quests at all, whether he knew it or not. If she ever gave him and maybe Reyna too, sort of a Praetor deal, counsel.

I want to see Juno fully lean into having Jason as her favourite, as her chosen hero. I want to see her lend some power to him when he needs it. I want to see Jason with the Blessing of Juno. How many demigods would’ve ever gotten that? That’s unheard of. I want it for him. I want to see him marching on Mount Othrys to take down Krios and topple the throne, not with the blessing of Jupiter (although I would also love to see him with that, that would be so cool!) but with the blessing of Juno, patron of Rome. I wanna see him monologuing Krios into intimidation like he did to the giants: I'm the son of Jupiter, I'm a child of Rome, consul to demigods, praetor of the First Legion. I slew the Trojan sea monster, I have the blessing of Juno: Patron of Rome. And she also happens to be my stepmom, dick.

I talked about it in another post before, him getting her blessing. Supposedly with her Roman counterpart she’s supposed to be militaristic, strategic, etc. A blessing from his dad would be like an explosion of power, don’t get me wrong. It’d be like Thor in Infinity War. Magnificent. He could totally burst into the palace and fry Krios and destroy the throne. But I think it’d also be pretty damn awesome if he got zapped with her blessing and became like the ultimate military leader (kind of like Frank with Mars’ blessing I suppose, but more strategic instead of hitting the protein shakes), leading the troops in the invasion and being a total Praetor before he even became Praetor.

Side note: It’s probably not possible but can you imagine if he got blessings from both of them?? I doubt you can have two at a time, but that would be spectacular if he did. Especially from Jupiter and Juno. He would be incredibly powerful, no wonder the Legion made a big deal out of him in the early part of the series. Always was a little disappointed we never got to see cool Roman Jason. I love Jason, I do, but he wasn’t exactly what we heard about in The Lost Hero and Son of Neptune. It never felt like we saw his full potential. So I’m just gonna sit in my corner and dream it up instead lol.

Anyway, this was purely for me because I have a lot of feelings about these two and I couldn’t find anything about them at all or not anything positive. But if anyone else likes them or has ideas or there is stuff you can point me to, please do, I want to get involved in it and find people that are into this so bad!

[thebigqueer]

Ok, here we go. Dark!Bianca idea. Shortly after the events in the desert, a severely injured Bianca is found by agents of the Titans who were shadowing the quest party off-page. She is brought back to Titan HQ and is convinced to join their crusade against the gods while her friends and family think she's dead. Jump ahead to BotL, instead of Kelli the Empousa, it is a mysterious masked assassin who attacks Percy and Rachel at Goode. The events mostly play out unchanged until Geryon's (1/8)

ranch, where instead of Bianca, it is the ghost of Maria di Angelo who is revealed to be sending Iris messages to Percy about Nico, while also strongly hinting that Bianca's still alive. Jump ahead to Mt St. Helens, Percy fights the assassin again, and during his stint on Ogygia, Percy begins to put two and two together after the assassin demonstrated skills similar to the Hunters. At Antaeus' Arena, the assassin is finally unmasked to reveal a still-alive but scarred Bianca, replacing (2/8)

Ethan Nakamura as the demigod enforcer. Percy is convinced that Bianca is being mind-controlled and goes to Mt Tam to rescue her as well as stop Kronos. However, when he confronts her, Bianca reveals that she's operating of her own free will, feeling vengeful against the gods for robbing her of her life and having pledged her loyalty to her new Titan master. Kronos intends to make Bianca the prophesy kid, promising her the free will she craves so badly as well as promising not to hurt (3/8)

Nico. Going into the Last Olympian, Percy and Nico are both determined to convince Bianca that she's making a mistake, and this time Nico's duplicity is not to simply learn about his mother but to try and summon her spirit to get through to Bianca. At the same time, Kronos gradually starts treating Bianca as less of an ally and more of a tool, and the Titans' actions cause her to have doubts even though she dosen't know what else to do. It all comes to a head in the final battle.(4/8)

Nico returns from the Underworld by himself early, giving Hades an ultimatum to come and fight or hide. Just before the final attack, Kronos sends Bianca to infiltrate Olympus to disable the magic defenses, but Nico arrives to intercept her and make one last bid to save her. They fight, with both begging the other to stand down even as they slug it out. Finally, just as Percy arrives to chase Kronos, the battered siblings' duel ends when Nico gives another ultimatum. He throws down his (5/8)

sword and gives Bianca, now reduced to fear and frustration-induced tears, the choice between perusing her grudge and allowing herself to continue being Kronos’s slave or doing the right thing. Finally able to make a legitimate choice of her own, Bianca chooses to turn her back on the Titans. She still ends up wounded, but unlike Ethan in canon, Nico manages to save his sister while Percy and Kronos have their final battle. After everything ends, Percy petitions for Bianca’s pardon along (6/8)

with the rest of his list, though Bianca turns it down, realizing the harm she almost caused to the person she loved more than anybody else. She is given a reduced sentence in service to her father, and though she does not properly forgive any of the gods that hurt her, she does recognize that the spite and anger she felt would only lead to more death. Nico gets to visit her occasionally, and she starts a road to redemption that Luke never got the chance to take. In HoO, Bianca is (7/8)

more of a background character, but it is she that finds Hazel in Asphodel and alerts Nico to her. Overall, dark!Bianca is an anti-villain who’s affiliation with Kronos is clearly drawn from her pain and grief over the gods’ interference in her life, but her saving grace is her brother. Nico manages to pull her out of the darkness and save her from becoming the same monster Luke became. What do you think? (bear in mind, this is my rough draft) (8/8)

Okay, WOW. Anon, I am actually going to start a petition to make you the new Percy Jackson author because that was such an interesting plot to read.

First of all, I love that you replaced Bianca with Ethan. As interesting as he was in the series, and as much as I loved his character, after reading through your rough draft, I feel like Bianca would have been a much better character to use throughout PJO. Her arc could have been expanded upon and completed thoroughly, and it could have made a lot of sense. Ethan felt more like a representation of "demigods turned to the other side," which I get is the point, but I loved the way you used Bianca because with your plot, her character could have been used so well to properly show how easily the Titan army manipulated kids.

Furthermore, I feel like your plot with Bianca could have been a much better way to use her character throughout the series. From my interpretation, in canon she seemed more like a stand-in tool just to enhance Nico's own character arc and his motives, but your plot for her would have actually given her some kind of foundation and an actual arc for her to go through. You've given her such an interesting character and I think it really provides more justice to what she could have been.

I also love the way that not only did you give her a better arc, but you also enhanced Nico's own arc and the plot, too. Her death in the books seemed more symbolic to him and a turning point in his character, but with her character in your AU, it's both important to Nico and Bianca. You've given her an actual character, and you've set up such an interesting conflict between Nico and Bianca.

Additionally, I love the divide you've created between them. I think that - based on what we know about her in the books - as much as she loves her brother, Bianca also feels very limited with him because of how she's been forced to grow up and be his savior. She understands that he's only a child, though, which I think could also play into her own hatred for the gods - they've not only destroyed her family, but now they're forcing her to take the role of an adult when she's a mere child, too? She was never angry at Nico - she was only ever mad with the gods.

Maybe that's something that Nico also feels bad about, and maybe he tells her about it when they're standing each other down. Maybe she lets him know that she never hated him or felt that he was bringing her down.

Also, I want to add that I adore the way you put them on opposite sides. It sets up such an interesting dynamic to their relationship because here you have two people who love each other so much, but they're on two different sides of a large war. They're both too stubborn to go onto each other's sides, and Nico knows Bianca's only going to get herself into more danger. I just love the potential that has for both of their characters.

I know Percy had a large fear about Nico being another kid to join Kronos' army, so I bet Bianca being on his team would have left Percy incredibly terrified for Nico, too, because he knew how much Nico loved Bianca. Would he have been nervous for Nico's ability to change his mind? Nico knows he'd never join Kronos, but would Percy have known?

And, knowing that Bianca's now on the Kronos side, how would Percy react? Because he felt pretty guilty about her death in TTC, right? Would he feel guilty that she's on the other side now, too? Would he try to reason with her, only to push her further away? I'd love to see how Percy would deal with knowing that Bianca - an important child of the Big Three - would react to her being there. He was already nervous about Nico joining sides, but having Bianca there would have really scared him.

And the part about Bianca finding Hazel instead of Nico? That was mind-blowing. I love everything about that situation because now that introduces Hazel into the narrative of Nico and Bianca's story. My question for you would be how does Hazel's character change now? How does she fit in with Nico and Bianca? Because in Heroes of Olympus she's clearly very insecure about her relationship with Nico and how he views her, but if she actually knew Bianca, how would she feel? Would she feel more left out (knowing that Bianca and Nico have known each other much longer and have a stronger connection with each other)? Would she be distrustful? And how would the three of them adapt to this additional family member? I have high hopes that by the end they would all love each other very much, but I'm just really curious into how Hazel's addition would influence the dynamic of all three.

And, essentially, it all ends into a somewhat win-win situation. Bianca's still living; Nico's got two new sisters; Hazel now has a new family.

I think this is such an interesting concept, and I'd love to read it. If you ever post it anywhere, please do share the link! This was such an intriguing plot to go through and, again, I think this could have been a much better use of Bianca's character.

Thank you so much for sharing it with me.

[scuotitrice-di-parole]

If you search "Percy Jackson analysis" on tumblr, one of the first post to appear will be about a very interesting topic. They say that with Hereos of Olympus, instead of creating a new conflict Rick Riordan undid the Last Olympian ending (the gods becoming better). Also I've always preferred the first series, because HOO has many problem. I also love the new characters, so what could Riordan possibly have wrote instead?

Then I got an Idea. STAY WITH ME PLEASE

While I was still reading the first five books, Mark of Athena was published. Being not bothered by spoilers when I was little (I don't know how) I used to go to the bookshop and read the plot written on the cover. Just from the summery and the cover art I had imagined the plot. I was sure it was gonna be something all about the two camps facing each other, having actual beef and fights. From an art cover I had also imagined some sort of games between the camp to decided who had the best demigods. BUT NOW I GOT A EVEN BETTER IDEA.

The plot in my opinion should have started with someone from camp halfblood finding camp jupiter or the romans (I like to imagine it was the Stoll brothers. It would also make sense since Herms is the good of travel and messages). During that time for some reasons Chiron is away from camp.

The demigods comes back to camp and tell everyone what they found. Here we have two options.

1. Hera makes the change BUT between Jason and Annabeth. (Not my favourite one).

2. Hera, who hates Annabeth, kidnapps Annabeth and sends her to Camp Jupiter (I don't know what to do about her memories). Meanwhile the Romans now know too about the Greeks, and they send some demigod to find CHB. Jason is on the quest, and gets kidnapped by the greeks, because they think Annabeth also got kidnapped by the romans.

Now Jason has still his memories and it's stuck at camp as an hostage (inserts funny scenes about chaotic demigods not knowing what to do with him because "they never had and hostage before". Also Jason being outraged because "You don't know who I am, I'm the preator..") . Chiron comes back and get angry at everyone, and insists to treat Jason as an human being. Jason at the beginning can't stand anyone ESPECIALLY Percy, but in the end of the book they have formed a delicate and difficult to acknowledge bond.

Know I don't know exactly how the story would proceed, but for sure Leo, Piper, Frank and Hazel stay as characters.

Changes:

1. Leo stays himself expect he doesn't fall for every girl he sees, and isn't obsessed about finding love too. Actually he doesn't really care, it's more interested in his passion as a mechanic. (Or you can make him mlm, I think it would suit him)

2. Piper has not all of that "I'm not feminine and dumb like my siblings going on". Instead she grows confidence thanks to her powers, and learns to appreciate her beauty not like something that other people sexualize her for (which is a problem that POC women ACTUALLY HAVE, WHY RIORDAN DIDN'T YOU DO THIS INSTEAD), but like a gift from her mother and a good part of her.

3. Frank doesn't get the random glow up, because in this version we teach kids that you can be a great person, having a girlfriend, and being a powerful hero even if you don't have an ideal body. (Litterally what was the point)

4. Nico is actually around and at the begging he likes to make fun of Jason with Percy (or in a second moment he appears at camp and gets what probably it's going on in reality). He's not appreciated by everyone but he learns how to not care. Also solangelo actually has a relationship building here.

5. I don't know if I would age up Hazel, or make her stay just friends with Frank, but many people would like that. For sure she would get more space because she's amazing.

6. JEYNA ACTUALLY EXISTS HERE. I don't care in what form. They can be together and being a power couples, or eventually break up and create drama. I just need this plot point to not be wasted.

7. No one falld into tartarus. Because Tartarus is a mysterious and scary element in the series. Discovering what's the big mistery ruins everything. (Or if someone like a secondary character fall in it, they die that way, end of discussion). The danger of someone falling into Tartarus is still there tho.

For the plot I don't know. I just know that at some point it would be cool to see where the demigods of Krono's army are now. Actually seeing demigods of the minor gods would be cool. The prophecy is still there but it takes more time to start. (ALSO. I don't think the seven are actually the greatest demigods around. So I think that maybe they end up being the seven after accidentally winning a sort of competition like I said before)

I would cut out the part of the statue of Athena. I don't know how but I would love to still see tha quest to Alaska (maybe with Hazel, Frank, and Jason and Percy?) and the House of Hades.

There would actually be a fight between camps, but the book ends with them team up to have the goods mentally sane again. The moral is that basically they learn to understand theri cultural differences

Basically having Gaeia as the villain isn't necessary, the villain instead should be the gods who are tied to Tarturus and the danger of the door's of death would still be there. And this would give more space for Nico in the plot

I wrote this at 3:00 AM. There are probably so many mistakes. But in my mind it was too cool to not write it down.

[lifeofroos]

A/N: FINALLY a PROPER TITLE in THIS HOUSE. Anyway Hera has some words about and for Clarisse.

AO3 - KoFi

The Queen

Hera stood by her throne. It was devastating to see her home the way it was right now. There was rubble everywhere. Gods were fussing around, trying to fix what could still be fixed. Heroes were laying around everywhere, most of them wounded, all of them trying to keep a brave face. At the entrance of the throne room lay her statue, smashed to pieces.

Zeus took his place on the throne next to her. His gaze drifted around the room, as the other gods took walked to their thrones. It was time to address the heroes who had defended Olympus.

It was always the same. The demigods thought for the gods, they got a pat on the back, and then they got send away until next time. And there would always be a next time.

Zeus held his head high, as always dreading the moment where he had to thank his heroes. Poseidon looked smug, Hades uncomfortably out of place. Demeter was worried, Aphrodite entertained, Apollo and Hermes glad that it was over. Artemis and Dionysus had a certain pride over them, as if they were glad that their campers and hunters showed the titans what for. Hephaestus stayed in the background. As always it was unclear what he was thinking.

Then there was Ares. He was enthusiastically talking to a girl, clearly one of his daughters: She was bulky, muscled and mean. Quite probably Clarisse. Hera had heard of that girl before.

Clarisse was forcing a smile, yet Hera could see right through it. The girl was sad, afraid and exhausted. She must be the one Ares had insisted on blessing, halfway through their fight with Typhon.

Ares was the last one to sit down. He sent his daughter to the side of the throne room, where she waited with the other demigods.

Zeus began his speech, his long, long speech, which bored everyone after the first five sentences. Yet, it gave Hera the time to study Ares’ daughter.

The queen had seen enough broken people to recognise when someone had lost a loved one in battle. Perhaps a boyfriend, but it could also be a best friend, or a brother. It made her feel pity, yet curiousity at the same time. She knew how passionately her son could love the people close to him, under the violent demeanor. Perhaps this girl had gotten some of that nature.

After Zeus was done, the nature spirits, heroes and others had been rewarded, and promises had been made, Hera made her way out of the throne room, to a group of Ares’ children. A grand deal of them were boys, with only two or three girls. Still, Clarisse was clearly the leader of the bunch.

The queen coughed. ‘Excuse me?’

Some of them glanced at her, yet they kept chattering on. Hera clenched her teeth. She couldn’t have expected the children of Ares to be well-behaved, yet it still bugged her.

‘I’d like to speak to you.’ She pointed at Clarisse, who pulled a face.

‘Speak to me, ma’am? May I ask why?’

‘You’ll find out.’

For a second, the young woman (It was more of a young woman then a girl) was clearly debating whether to actually go. Then she took a look around her group and followed.

‘What is it, your majesty?’ She asked, when they entered one of the many secret rooms Olympus had hidden away.

‘I wanted to see you for a moment.’ Hera decided to ignore the sarcastic manner in which the young woman had spoken to her.

‘Why?’

‘Be quiet.’ Clarise had large bags under her eyes, eyes which betrayed how tired she really was. ‘You lost someone.’

‘I appreciate that it isn’t a question, at least.’

‘Who was it?’

Clarisse wanted to give a sassy remark. She just didn’t have the energy for it any longer. ‘My best friend,’ she sighed. She tried to push down the tears that welled up in her eyes. ‘Her boyfriend died a few days ago. At least they are back together now.’

‘Only your best friend?’

‘How little do you value friendship?’ Clarisse clenched her fist. She knew that she shouldn’t tick the goddess off, but boundaries were difficult to see right now. She hoped Hera would have some compassion for the situation.

The goddess forced a smile. ‘It’s not that…’

‘I wasn’t trying to be a homewrecker, or anything. I’ve got a boyfriend.’

Hera pushed her hand to her temples. ‘I do not care if…’

‘But you do. It is bright and clear that you do.’

Hera clenched her fists. ‘Give me a moment.’ This girl was absolutely out of line. Yet, when the goddess looked her in the eyes again, she once again saw that sadness, that absolute fatigue.

The hero looked away. ‘Ma’am, I am not feeling so well right now.’

‘...no. No, I reckon you do not.’

She had seen demigods like this before. Ones that were worn and tired and done with fighting. And every single time, she had sworn to herself that she would remember it. Perhaps now was the time to show she did.

Carefully, she placed her hand on Clarisse’s forehead. The demigod violently smacked it away. ‘What in Hades are you doing?’

‘Don’t use his name against me. I only want to bless you. Perhaps then your life will be easier, from now on.’

Clarisse shook her head. Hera narrowed her eyes. ‘What are you-’

‘Because that would fix everything, of course.’

‘...What?’

‘Because if you’d bless me, that would fix anything. That would make me forget the horrible past and happily move on, la-dee-da, wonderful. Then you gods won’t have to feel guilty any longer.’

‘Young lady-.’

‘I’d rather you didn’t bless me. I’m an Ares kid, we fight for ourselves. If you want to give me anything, just… I mean, promise me you’ll get me off of what I said just now without consequence, okay?’

Hera could only stand there, mouth agape. She collected herself. ‘Very well. Go back to your life, then. Exactly the way it was. Make the best of it.’

Clarisse looked like she regretted her outburst, yet she held her head high. ‘Thanks, your majesty.’ She bowed her head, before running out of the room, back to her siblings, who were already being driven to the elevator. It was time to go back to camp.

Hera held her gaze fixed on a point just above the elevator. Next time, she’d begin before it was already too late, before they were already disillusioned. No matter what, she’d have to try again. A queen didn’t give up, not when she had a plan so clear she could almost, álmost, grasp it.

A/N: I feel like this work has a slower pace than my work usually has. I like it though, and it fits Hera

[bipercabeth]

48 for percabeth! I hope u feel better about the show

Annabeth has known that Percy was going to die from the moment she met him. Four summers. Best case scenario. 

Twelve-year-old Annabeth wasn’t particularly concerned about falling in love with the trouble-making son of Poseidon who drooled in his sleep. Freshly sixteen Annabeth sometimes wishes she had opted for the quiet life some children of Athena prefer: strategize, keep your head down, live a comfortable and unremarkable life. She hardly would’ve crossed paths with Percy outside of the occasional class or Capture the Flag. He and Grover could’ve found someone else to be their best friend, or maybe they would’ve bonded as a pair. And Annabeth would have kept her distance from Percy in the name of self-preservation, knowing they would only have four bittersweet summers together at best. 

The summer before the Titan War is not the best case scenario. Percy is hardly ever at camp except for quests and Kronos-related meetings. He chooses to spend what they both know is his last of their four measly summers away from Annabeth. Grover is nowhere to be found, Thalia is with the Hunters, Luke is hosting the Titan Lord, and Annabeth feels more like a scared little girl than she has in a long time. At least she isn’t the runaway. That title fell to Percy. 

It feels like an insult to Annabeth’s love for Percy to wish they hadn’t met. She is so much better for having loved him. For loving him—present tense. But she says this while he’s still here. His smile may not be directed at her that often, but he still smiles. Sometimes Annabeth can even stomach the jealousy of Rachel being the cause of that smile, because at least someone is giving him joy before this all goes to shit. When it does, maybe Annabeth will understand what it means to wish him away, if only to end the pain of having known and lost a person like Percy Jackson. 

The feeling isn’t new. Annabeth’s gut has twisted in previous conversations where someone would bring up high school and college plans. Percy would talk animatedly about getting his license at sixteen, and Annabeth was left with a dry mouth she could not twist into a smile. He would beam at Beckendorf’s plans to attend NYU in the fall and make the older boy promise to swing by Sally’s sometime. Even Beckendorf, who had never heard the full Great Prophecy, could not stop the microexpression of pity. 

When Annabeth first heard the prophecy, it was too much for her ten year old mind. There was no face to connect to the doomed fate, no cursed blade to reap the hero’s soul. Sometimes her young brain conjured an image of Thalia, but that was a nightmare of its own. Every night, Annabeth would watch Olympus fall at the hands of someone she hoped never to know. 

She still gets those nightmares, only the visuals have improved. Percy is in every single one of them, saving or razing Olympus depending on the night. He never survives. You cannot outrun fate. Annabeth has tried. 

Still, she is a daughter of Athena, and Athena always has a plan. When Percy dies, Annabeth will fall to pieces. In a lucky string of events, she might fall alongside him. It’s a war, after all. But she has a sneaking suspicion that she will outlive him. She has a plan for this as well. The shroud they made when he was stranded on Calypso’s island was nice and communal, leagues ahead of the one the Ares cabin shroud that still makes Annabeth’s blood boil. But deep in her soul, Annabeth knows that she alone will make his shroud. Just as she’ll burn it; just as she’ll care for Sally in his stead; just as she will lay blue roses on his headstone every time she’s in the neighborhood; just as she’ll be there for Grover, for Clarisse, for all of camp when he’s gone. She will do it alone. Annabeth held the sky, once. She will shoulder this as well. How much heavier could losing her best friend be than the weight of the world? In her anticipation, they feel the same. 

She will build a monument for him, something to last the ages as he was supposed to, as permanent as the love he has given her. It will overlook the gods on Olympus, a reminder of the boy they failed. The boy who was too good for them all. Regardless of how the war goes, this will always be true. 

He was never built to last. Nothing good ever can, and he’s been burning the candle at both ends for a while now. He was meant to burn bright, not long. 

Annabeth sits in the dark of the Big House rec room, the only quiet space now that camp is in full war preparation. Well, the only quiet space apart from the beach, but Annabeth knows the smell of salt air and the sound of waves will be her undoing. That is another key feature of her plan: never go to the ocean again. 

She curls her knees into her chest, feeling every inch the child that she is. But children are not supposed to have plans for their best friend dying. Children are not supposed to have their first kiss out of fear that said best friend will die before their four summers are up. 

The door opens, throwing the room into harsh shadows and blinding light. 

“Um.” Annabeth can’t see who’s talking, but she’d know his voice anywhere. “Chiron said there was a war council meeting today.” 

She raises a hand to block out the light and give her eyes time to adjust. “Yeah, later.” To Annabeth’s horror, her voice is hoarse. Her throat is clogged with tears. 

Percy’s sneakers stop shifting in the carpet. “Are, uh... are you okay?” 

He sounds hesitant to ask, like he’s expecting vitriol to spew from Annabeth’s mouth. And, in fairness, sometimes it does. But Annabeth doesn’t have vitriol in her right now. The awareness that she does not have many days left with Percy is painfully acute. To spend them angry feels like a waste. 

“No, I’m not.” By now her eyes have adjusted to the light, and she looks at him through bleary eyes. 

Percy stills when he sees her face, looking ready to bolt. He points to the door. “Do you want me to...?”

Annabeth sniffles. “I don’t want to be alone.” 

What breaks her is how quickly he is by her side. For all their faults, it is the one thing she can count on. As long as she lets him, Percy will come to Annabeth when she’s hurting.

She doesn’t tell him how deeply that statement is carved into her, that she is carved from loneliness the same way he is carved from guilt—the pitfalls of pride and loyalty. 

A kid carved from loneliness cannot plan to be held the way that Percy holds Annabeth. Such a selfless love was unfathomable as a little girl; how could she ever have accounted for it? He just... holds her. He doesn’t try to talk or look at her face. He’s just there, unwaveringly. It kills Annabeth to know he won’t always be. It hurts to be with him, but it will hurt so much more to be without him. 

The dam breaks, and Annabeth sobs into Percy’s shoulder. He’s taller than her now, grown only to be cut down young. Still, he is steadfast, grounded, secure in his roots. The way a towering oak has no reason to fear a chainsaw until the cutting has already begun. 

“You’re my best friend,” she tells him, because she’s not sure she’s ever said it and it’s something he deserves to hear. “No matter what, you’re my best friend.” 

Percy strokes a gentle hand along the back of Annabeth’s head. “And you’re mine,” he assures her. He doesn’t say you’re my best friend too. Just you’re mine. As if the fact doesn’t haunt her. She is his, irrevocably. 

A gentle knock at the door interrupts them. Annabeth recognizes Silena’s quiet footfalls and almost withdraws from Percy, but he makes no move to. 

Silena’s voice is soft, not smug like Annabeth expects. “War council in fifteen. Figured I’d give you two a heads up.” 

Annabeth meets her eyes over Percy’s shoulder. “Thanks.” 

The older girl ducks her head in something resembling shame. “It’s the least I can do.” She leaves. 

“How much longer?” Percy asks when the door clicks shut. It isn’t an impatient question. In fact, Annabeth doesn’t know exactly what he’s asking. 

She gives an honest answer. “However long we have left.” And the sun begins to set on the fourth summer.