Willow by Taylor Swift always reminds me of Nico and Will.

Like it fits them so perfectly!

I'm like the water when your ship rolled in that night

Rough on the surface but you cut through like a knife

Nico and Will first officially meet at Half Blood Hill when Will is scouting the Romans with his friends. Nico had no control over his meet-cute with Will. He was the last thing Nico had been expecting. They were in the middle of a war but Nico stopped to recall how Thalia had called Apollo hot when they first met him. Will was the one of the few people who stubbornly pushed himself into Nico's life which baffled Nico to no end.

And if it was an open-shut case

I never would've known from that look on your face

Lost in your current like a priceless wine

Nico had no idea why the hell Will was always seeking him out. He could not even imagine why this sunshine boy would actively want to hang out with him. Since he had spent so much time crushing on a boy who didn't reciprocate his feelings, he couldn't even fathom that a boy he currently liked would like him back. Being born in the 1930s, Nico didn't even consider the fact that he could have a boyfriend and be with him without any backlash from his loved ones.

As we all know, no one can control who we fall for. Nico couldn't either. Once he fell for Will, he immediately resorted to keeping his crush hidden and suffering in silence like he had did with Percy. Little did he know, Will liked him as well.

The more that you say, the less I know

Wherever you stray, I follow

I'm begging for you to take my hand

Wreck my plans, that's my man

Will definitely wrecked all of Nico's plans. Nico was going to leave Camp Half Blood after the war. Will was one of the reasons why Nico stayed. Will along with Reyna, Jason and Hazel helped Nico to accept himself and give him a proper home.

You know that my train could take you home

Anywhere else is hollow

I'm begging for you to take my hand

Wreck my plans, that's my man

Nico had no place to go outside of Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter. And initially he was accepted in neither. Will gave him a reason to stay and Camp Half Blood became his home.

Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind

They count me out time and time again

Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind

But I come back stronger than a 90's trend

Nico's life was really influenced by Will. He healed Nico and helped him gain acceptance in Camp Half Blood. For a long time Nico might have thought that he didn't deserve happiness; that being gay was wrong and he would never gain the affection of the person he liked but Will changed all that by being the stubborn person he is. There must be people who still might be sceptical about Nico as he is the death kid. But with the help of Will and his friends, Nico would finally get the acceptance he deserves.

Wait for the signal and I'll meet you after dark

Show me the places where the others gave you scars

They are teenagers. They must have obviously snuck around in the dark to hang out. Their relationship is not just about Will healing Nico. Relationships are a two way street. Nico cares about Will and would want to be there for him when Will gets hurt or sad. This is incredibly obvious in TOA when Nico is there for Will when his siblings go missing.

Now this is an open-shut case

Guess I should've known from the look on your face

Every bait and switch was a work of art

Nico would definitely look back at their relationship and think how obvious it was that Will liked him back.

That's it, then! This was just a thought I had when I heard this song and rolled with it. I just love Solangelo so much!

Too Short For Ao3 Fic #3? 4?

SO this is the extended edition of the bonus wip I did with Sally's birthday. The overall fic it belongs to is Extremely Smutty, so I went in and revised out the brief references and I'm posting the family-centric g-rated stuff for anyone who wants that but not the smut! Cough.

Also, I felt bad about missing WIP Wednesday again. Lolsob.

Percy rouses at around eleven PM to a sketch of himself on Jason's pillow. There's a note on the other side. 

I wanted to wake you up to say goodbye, but you looked so comfy I didn't have the heart to. your mom's presents are in the bag by my desk. say hi to everyone for me. I'll call tomorrow anyway.

love you to the moon and back.

-J. ❤

Complete with a little red heart. He doesn't even care that the doodle of him next to it, burritoed in a pile of blankets, includes a little spot of drool— he can tell by the rest of his cartoony, ballpoint features that Jason put it in because he thinks it's cute.

(And by the fact that he's said so, several times.)

Percy gathers up his junk. The cornflower blue sweatshirt he steals goes halfway down his fingers. He's come to accept that at six foot three and counting, Jason is the taller of them and always will be— barring some sort of horrible wood-chipper accident or curse from a grumpy deity. 

Fortunately, there's something about looking up to meet someone's eyes that Percy finds incredibly attractive. He has since Annabeth outgrew him for the first time in eighth grade. 

He heads out in his own jeans and the boxers he packed and the sweatshirt that smells like cinnamon. Once he boards the train, he stands with his arm around a pole and the other holding the bag against his chest, and tries to stay casual and keep the grin off his face.

It's almost midnight when he gets home. His mom, of course, is still awake, so he heads into the living room to greet her.

"My other half says hello."

There's a pile of presents on the coffee table. He puts the bag with the rest of them and sits down, kissing her cheek.

"He didn't have to get me anything." She closes her book and eyes the bag with a fond sigh. "How is he?" 

Percy's the same way she is, always happy to do favors and give gifts, but feeling pretty awkward about receiving them. Jason's even worse, the three of them in an ongoing and circular competition to never let any of it go reciprocated. 

"Working too hard, as always. Pulling As and winning games and barely sleeping to do it. His stepmother's up his ass and his father's a bully, so, you know, news at eleven." He leans his head onto her shoulder. "That's why he gives you stuff. He's trying to show you how much he appreciates you." 

She sighs, and Percy knows it's because she's just as frustrated by the whole thing as he is. 

"He knows I appreciate him too, I hope." 

"Without a doubt." Percy smiles at her, watching as she goes a little pink and smiles back. "You have a talent for making him feel appreciated." 

"He treats my baby like a prince," she says softly. "That's why I appreciate him so much in the first place. How could I do anything else?"

Percy turns his face into her shirt collar, another futile attempt to hide his goofy expression, 

"He really does, doesn't he?"

Holding doors, pulling out chairs, offering an arm on unsteady streets. Jason's never laid his coat over a puddle, but Percy's pretty sure he would, if the option presented itself. 

His mom starts playing with his hair, her fingers light and familiar.

"I'm just happy you're happy, sweetheart."

He knows that feeling too. 

Half asleep from the petting, Percy lets himself be a little babyish. It's after midnight now, which means it's her birthday, and he knows that sometimes she misses when he was Estelle's age and little enough to curl up in her lap. He's way too big for that now, obviously, but he can still slide down the couch and rest his head there. 

"You too, Mama." 

She looks at him, her eyes misty with emotion and almost green in the light.

She's smiling, too. 

She smiles a lot, these days.

—

In the morning, Paul makes coffee while Estelle helps unwrap the avalanche of presents. She's at the age where ripping paper makes her squeal with hysterical laughter, which worms its way into Percy's heart and melts it into pudding. 

Several of them are from Percy's friends, including a handbound book of original recipes from Leo, a lovely silver bracelet inset with mother-of-pearl that Beckendorf made himself, and a huge sheathed knife with a matching decorative handle from Clarisse. The last one makes his mom snort as she gets up to put it on the bookshelf, out of reach of curious toddler hands. 

"Decorative. Sure." 

"I bet she'd teach you how to use it if you asked." 

"I know how to use a bowie knife, dear. Your father and I used to catch and cook our own fish when we went camping."

"Which reminds me, he still hasn't taken me out," Paul cuts in, frowning. "I've been saving up dad jokes and embarrassing stories for four years."

"I'll bug him about it the next time we talk," Percy promises. "It's probably the ADHD." 

"Do you want me to bug you about bugging him?" 

"If you haven't set something up by blueback season, yeah." 

Percy and Paul went in on a pound of jasmine tea, which his mom reaches for next. She immediately asks for a cup— it's one of two days out of the entire year where she lets other people wait on her, for a change, and even that took a lot of cajoling. 

Paul makes the tea, since Percy usually scalds the leaves and it turns out tasting like grass. She probably wouldn't complain anyway, but it's her birthday, and she deserves to have the best tea that can be made in their kitchen. 

"Is the last bag from Jason?" Paul sets the mug on a coaster in the middle of the coffee table, and Percy scoops the baby into his lap so she doesn't try to grab it. She mashes her tiny hand against his cheek.

"And Thalia. I'm not sure if they went in on stuff or he just packed them both in one bag to make it easy." 

Either is a possibility. He watches as his mom reaches in and pulls out a large wrapped frame, Thalia's spiky handwriting answering the question. 

Whatever's inside, it makes her shut her eyes and exhale deeply through her nose. 

"Please pass on that I am absolutely furious."

She turns the frame around. An autographed vinyl EP of Sign O' the Times by Prince— one of the albums Percy grew up on, though she skipped a number of the songs when he was little. Thalia must have spent a fortune on it. 

"That woman is incredible," Paul breathes, lightly touching the glass. "How does she get this stuff?" 

"See!"

"She has friends in high places." Percy grins as Estelle reaches for the album, and holds her over the glass so she can touch it too. "She's also really good at barter chains."

His mother shakes her head, but he can tell how delighted she is— the two of them have spent hours animatedly talking about music, Thalia hanging on every word and groaning with jealousy over the concerts his mom went to in the eighties. 

"I know exactly where I'm going to put it." 

Thalia got her a turntable for her fortieth birthday last year, as well as a full set of replacements for every worn-out record in their collection— and had the originals framed too, since they had sentimental value. They're currently occupying the better part of two walls of his mom's study. 

There's a blank spot by her bookshelf, right underneath the first copy, that the autographed album will fit into perfectly. Percy grins. 

"I'll hang it up for you later."

She doesn't argue. There's only Jason's left, his careful print written out across the same paper Thalia used. The crinkling draws Estelle's attention, and she gleefully reaches over to help tear it off.

Their mom gasps at what's inside and puts a hand to her mouth, her eyes going bright.

It's a watercolor portrait of Percy and Estelle, laughing by the shoreline. She's dressed in a little bucket hat, a ruffled swimsuit patterned to look like a clownfish and the coolest shades in the world— sparkly blue frames shaped like seashells that he kind of wishes he could get in his size. He's in a wetsuit, having spent the morning surfing, and he's holding onto her hands so she can jump at the waves. In the distant background is the Montauk lighthouse.

It's beautifully done, like everything else Jason's ever put to paper, but Percy's never choked up like this over one of them.

"You remember that, Beluga? That was on my birthday, when you came and visited me and Jason at the beach."

"Beach?" she asks, expectant. Paul bursts into laughter, sounding as rough-voiced as Percy feels.

"You're your mother's daughter, sweet pea."

"Beach!" Estelle insists. Percy noses her pudgy cheek.

"It's too cold to swim, baby." His mom's eyes are sparkling, still a little teary. He can see Estelle in the smile on her face. "But we could go for a walk and visit." 

"Brunch first." Paul kisses her— Percy averts his eyes, wrinkling his nose at his sister to make her giggle again— and gets up, heading back into the kitchen. 

It's a lovely way to spend a late morning. Pale blue araucana eggs courtesy of Grover's new hens, a blueberry coffee cake from Nico by a fantastic hole in the wall in Hell's Kitchen, Paul's signature home fries made with blue potatoes and seasoned to perfection; all of it delicious.

Jason calls while Percy's doing the dishes. After his deep, resonant performance of the happy birthday song, the five of them chat on speakerphone for a little while, though he has to excuse himself pretty quickly to keep banging through his reading. 

"Maybe next year," Percy sighs. His mom puts her hand on his hip, then crouches down to help Estelle with her light-up sneakers. 

"He's always welcome for a rain check."

"He's always welcome, period," Paul adds. For the second time, Percy gets dangerously close to sniffling. 

Montauk is a little far for a day trip, so they head to Brighton Beach instead. Estelle's shrimpy legs get tuckered out more quickly than the grownups' do, so Percy ends up carrying her on his hip, snuggled into his jacket to block the chilly breeze. She points at seagulls, shouting triumphantly every time. 

"More bird!"

"That's right. A whole flock of 'em."

They watch for a while as the gulls fight over a discarded pizza crust. Then Percy feels an arm around his back and a head against his shoulder.

"I don't know how I got so lucky," his mother murmurs, barely audible over the rushing of the waves.

Percy's eyes sting. 

For most of his life, her birthdays had been spent without fanfare. He was rarely actually there for them anyway, and Gabe complained so much it was easier to just ignore the day and focus on survival instead. 

She'd been triaging like that since before she even met his dad, keeping herself afloat when nobody seemed to care if she drowned. It would have been easy to lie down and give up. Percy's pretty sure he would have, in her place. 

He turns to hug her with the obligatory proclamation of a Stella Sandwich. He catches Paul's eye over her shoulder, and gets a wide, sentimental grin in response. 

"Luck's got nothing to do with it," Percy tells her, leaning his cheek against the top of her head while his sister wriggles with delight between them. 

"Listen to our son," Paul adds. "He's very wise, as you raised him to be. This is all on you, honey." 

Within moments, she's surrounded by her whole family on all sides, and Percy has another arm around his back, and he's getting a little choked up over it all. 

When she first started dating Paul, back when Percy was still in middle school, she'd spent weeks all aflutter. It was the happiest he'd ever seen her at the time. They'd sit outside and work on her car together, and she'd slip into song like a grease-stained fairytale princess without even thinking about it. 

Seeing them interact is like cool water on a burn, Paul's devoted kindness soothing a lifetime of sitting back and watching people treat her like dirt. He worships her, just like she deserves and long overdue.

"I love you," she says, tearful and muffled in someone's shoulder. "All of you, more than anything." 

"Love Mama," Estelle replies, and that's it— Percy's blubbering.

It'll never undo the damage, but it's about time she got a chance to heal and thrive. 

-here in our bed, chapter 7, ~6200 words

I posted 2,659 times in 2021

235 posts created (9%)

2424 posts reblogged (91%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 10.3 posts.

I added 741 tags in 2021

#pjo - 270 posts

#awareness - 109 posts

#winters rambles - 94 posts

#soc - 83 posts

#pjo fanart - 57 posts

#hoo - 31 posts

#percabeth - 29 posts

#prev tags - 25 posts

#pjo headcanons - 23 posts

#pjo headcanon - 20 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#so you get a insane idea for a character or an idea of another person (like how @/speedytherandom mentioned trans!jason grace and i wrote so

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Nico: Okay okay stop asking me if I'm straight, gay, bi, whatever. I identify as a FUCKING THREAT.

Nico:

Nico: But yeah, I'm gay

105 notes • Posted 2021-10-11 23:02:39 GMT

#4

Riordanverse Character Headcanons P1 Percy Jackson

He is a Person Of Colour, whether, Latino, Black, Desi, Pasfica, you can chose. 

The Bi-est, fucking Bisexual ever to exist.

He’s got really long eyelashes

Right handed, like he can’t do shit with his left hand.

Say it with me everyone This boy has PTSD from fight a war when he was 16, from Gabe, from Tartarus, everyone trying to kill him, just everything tbh

Actually really likes being read to, just hates having to read himself, there is always and audio book on somewhere in the background of Annabeth and his apartment

Cooks so freaking well, this is Sally Jackson’s kid guys, come on

Likes to catch up with Nico and Thalia and mock Jason and Hazel for not fitting the big 2 kids vibe, Emo, Punk and Skater, Then Jason who’s Stereotypical white boy, golden reputation etc and Hazel who is a literally Horse girl. (This was while Jason was alive now they just catch up to share stories and cause chaos)

Low-key had a crush on Beckendorf 

Did not, never did, never will, have/had a crush on Luke. If you need me to justifiably this let me know and I will go on a rant lmao

Studies psychology in uni because he watched a documentary on it and thought it was fascinating

Fucking loves spaghetti bolognese 

Likes the song, Twin Sized Mattress By The Front Bottoms, He couldn’t tell you why, he just does.

Contrary to popular belief Blue isn’t his favourite colour. Blue has a special place in his heart but his favourite colour is Grey, originally it was because his elderly neighbour had a grey cat that he would play with when he was young and the neighbour would let him hang out at their place while Sally was out but then he met Annabeth and now it’s because he’s a simp and could spend hours staring at her eyes.

He was really close with said neighbour and when they died (During the summer before BotL) He was devastated and went to their funeral, He was actually in their will and he got to keep a few things of theirs(I’ll probably write a oneshot of this)

Has played Minecraft since it first came out and gets really excited whenever a new update comes out.

He got Annabeth into it because of the building and now they play together whenever they feel like de-stressing.

He’s a stress baker, Annabeth will come home and the kitchen is full of muffins and cookies.

130 notes • Posted 2021-09-13 22:02:57 GMT

#3

185 notes • Posted 2021-11-01 04:03:05 GMT

#2

Who did you guys think the 7 were going to be before HoO came out?

Because personally I thought it would be Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Clarisse, Thalia, Travis and Connor...

I can't stop thinking about the chaos that would create-

(Extra points for Grover being the protector)

198 notes • Posted 2021-10-21 02:49:14 GMT

#1

Assuming things about you based on your favourite Riordanverse character(s).

NOTE: This is not intended to be offensive, if any of it is genuinely offensive I will remove it.

Percy:

You're a Bisexual who cuffs their jeans.

EDIT: You also are 100% the person who either has to do everything or just everything in a group project.

Annabeth:

You're a Swiftie who cries to way to many songs.

Grover:

OG Fan who was so pissed when he wasn't in HoO

Jason:

You actually like school

Piper:

You're Gay.

Leo:

You really want a group of close friends and you die a bit inside every time you see a group of friends hanging out or when you read a tlh trio fanfic

Frank:

You're either Canadian or want to move to Canada. You also think the lack of fan content for Frank is a criminal offence

Hazel:

You swear all the time but people still think you're really innocent which annoys you.

Reyna:

You're probably aspec or arospec, like the colour purple and need a hug.

Nico:

You're one of those people who liked Greek mythology as a kid and then grew up to discover you were gay.

Thalia:

You're either Non-binary, a Lesbian or a Non-binary Lesbian.

You also kin her to a unhealthy level

Clarisse:

You read tsoa and cried.

Sally:

You're a feminist.

Rachel:

Merida. (Also a feminist and activist)

Calypso:

You're a bitch, or you're a hopeless romantic who is also in love with Leo/Percy

Silena:

Read Clarisse one but you also read the Iliad and other Greek tragedies.

Luke:

You can unfollow me and leave the country now🥰

Will:

Can someone say unresolved childhood trauma. You also just want to hug Nico.

Lester:

You're an older fan whos trying to leech serotonin off content of your favourite childhood series.

Austin:

You like the colour green

Kayla:

Wanted to be Katniss when you were younger.

Meg:

You also need a hug, but you probably also just think she's iconic.

Jo/Emmie:

You want to hug Leo

Chiron:

You're a Draco Malfoy and Dumbledore apologist.

Connor:

You're the younger sibling who is the only one at home and isn't sure what to do with their life.

Travis:

The older sibling who basically became a second parent to all you're siblings.

Magnus:

You're either a guy with long hair, a girl with short hair or a person who can't decide which hairstyle they like the best.

Alex:

You would rather die than break your aesthetic

Samirah:

You kinda wish someone would break you out of physics class but you would also rather die than fail a class.

Mallory:

Mommy issues

Halfborn:

You're a nerd who people always say eats too much food.

TJ:

Either obsessed with Hamilton or video games.

Hearth:

You really like magic as a kid and wanted to go to Hogwarts

Blitz:

You really like fashion but were annoyed when you got Aphrodite in the godly parent test.

Alternately for Blitz/Heath:

Mom friend.

Sadie:

Also Bisexual but this time with finger guns.

Carter:

Was obsessed with some kind of mythology as a kid or loved dinosaurs.

Walt:

You had your midlife crisis like 10 years too early and now don't know what to do with you're self. (Also gifted kid burnout-)

Bast:

Cat person.

Felix:

You love background characters and give them more personality than canon would ever dare to.

Jaz:

You believe in Bi!Sadie supremacy.

Zia:

See Felix's one but include rage that they got not personality.

297 notes • Posted 2021-11-05 23:50:29 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

not so typical love song - ch. 7/13

Chapter Title: Love Me

Words: 3,332

Art by @lizzybizzyo! <3

[ one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight (coming soon)]

read on ao3

—

Thanksgiving came and went, and soon Bianca was on her train back to college, leaving a quiet house in her absence. 

They talked, of course, more than they had talked over the phone. But they never went in deep about anything. Nico never brought up his secret, and Bianca dropped asking about homecoming all together.

It felt like she already knew. Nico came so close to telling her just to get that weight off his chest, but every time he was about to bring it up, he didn’t. 

It felt so dangerous with the circumstance he was already under. Technically, he had already come out to two people, but something about telling someone face to face out of his own will terrified him. 

Deep down, he knew Bianca wouldn’t care. So why was he so scared?

The same reason he was scared to tell any of his friends, probably. He didn’t want anything to change, didn’t want their view on him to change. And if word got out, the best thing to ever happen to him would slip away. He couldn’t lose Blue, not now. 

Not ever.

Drew’s voice cut through his thoughts, as she finished her long list of plans for Christmas break, before asking “Anybody else going somewhere for Christmas?” they had been folding programs for the show at this rehearsal as people were getting fitted for costumes.

Nico shrugged as if he had been listening to what she had been saying the entire time. “Staying here. We have a classic di Angelo gingerbread decorating contest.” He said as he folded the program in his hand that he realized he had been clutching, unfolded for a few minutes now.

Piper grinned next to him. “I was the judge last year with Jason. You should have seen Nico’s house! Covered it with red frosting to look like blood with dead gingerbread men and ghosts! Called it his gingerdead house”

Nico tried to ignore the sound of Will laughing across from him, blue eyes squinting as his smile grew. He was there helping out backstage, mainly just to bother Lou Ellen and Cecil. (And to not let Nico get over his crush, apparently.) His gaze moved quickly from Octavian (ew) to Drew, who was rolling her eyes.

“What about you, Piper?” she asked, switching focus.

Piper shifted uncomfortably. “My dad will probably be away on a shoot, so either I’ll fly out to be with him, or I’ll be home alone,” she said, trying to shrug it off, but Nco could see the sadness in her eyes.

He patted her knee. “Come over to my house if you need to. I’m sure my parents would love to have you as a judge again.”

When he looked up, Will was smiling at him again, making Nico’s chest clench. 

“I’m going to a cabin with my mom,” Percy grinned from where he was sitting, not helping them at all. “No WiFi, just me and my mom and the lake.”

“In the middle of the winter?” Piper asked. “Won’t it be frozen?”

“Yup. Prime ice skating conditions.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “I hope you fall in,” her muttered, earning another laugh from Will, making his chest even tighter. 

“We don’t usually go anywhere, but I think my mom is planning a trip for me and my siblings this year. Bonding, or something,” Will says after a moment.

“You have siblings?” Nico asked, surprised. He never recalled Will ever mentioning them. “Do they go here?”

Now it was Will’s turn to look uncomfortable. “Oh, um, yeah. I have a sister and a brother. Kayla and Austin.” His smile was still there, but there was an emotion in his eyes that Nico couldn’t quite read.

“Cool,” he said, softly, not wanting to push Will any further, although it left him with more questions than answers. 

Next to Will, Octavian suddenly sucked in air through his teeth, dramatically dropping the program he had been folding. If that weren’t enough to convince Nico that he wasn’t actually hurt, he grabbed his finger with a dramatic “Owww.”

Nico sighed. Wherever Octavian was going with this, he didn’t like it. “You good?”

“Yeah, paper cut,” he responded, giving Nico a look saying come with me. Nico could see that perfectly clear, but he chose to ignore it. When he did, Octavian continued. “Nico, do you know where the bandages are?”

“Yeah, they’re right back there in the supply closet,” Nico said, still not giving in.

“You mind showing me?”

Nico had to stop himself from groaning. He wanted to scream at Octavian to just leave him alone for once, but there was no way out of this situation he was stuck in. Octavian, always concerned about himself, didn’t know how to take a hint either. He nodded his head towards the closet, and Nico just sighed as he stood up. Worried glances from both Piper and Will followed him, but he shook it off.

“Be right back,” he assured them, which only seemed to settle Piper as he followed Octavian to the back.

When they walked into the closet, Octavian spun on his heel. “I don’t actually have a paper cut.”

“Yeah, I got that,” Nico muttered.

 “I don’t want to have to leak your emails, di Angelo, but-”

“Look, you can’t bring Blue into this,” Nico cut him off angrily. “If he found out my emails got leaked, he would disappear. He’d never talk to me again.” Just the idea of it made tears prick at his eyes. 

One of these days, Octavian is going to push too far, and Nico is going to break. 

Octavian just shrugged. “Yeah, he probably would. Internet’s a freaky place to meet people.”

Just as Nico was about to argue back at him, Piper walked through the door, causing them both to panic.

“..Freaky Friday!” Nico said suddenly, trying to recover from anything she might have overheard.

Octavian nodded along. “Fun movie.” It wasn’t great acting (better than his fake paper cut bit) but Nico appreciated the coverup. Octavian was still far from a decent human being, but at least he didn’t out Nico. Yet.

Piper looked between the two of them, a confused smile growing on her face. “You guys are weird,” he states, before moving to look around the closet. “I just came to get a band-aid. You were right, those programs are a bitch.”

 Octavian elbowed him, signaling Nico to say something. He quickly thought of an idea, bracing himself as he began to talk. Please don’t hate me, Piper. 

“So, um, Octavian was having some trouble with his lines, so we were thinking of going to the Waffle House tonight and go over them, run a few scenes, if you wanna come,” he said quickly, trying his best to seem natural about it. Please don’t hate me, Piper. Please don’t hate me.

For a moment, Piper’s face dropped, as did Nico’s stomach. Please don’t hate him. He messed up. Please don’t hate him.

Then, the smile was back. “Really?” she asked earnestly. “That would be great, actually!” Both relief and guilt flooded Nico.

Octavian patted him on the back the moment Piper was out of sight again. “Good work di Angelo.”

“Go to hell, Octavian.”

—

Nico slipped out of the Waffle House the moment he noticed Leo standing outside, most likely on his break. 

Actually, he was escaping the hell that was his booth with Piper and Octavian, as well as Octavian’s multiple attempts of flirting. He was hurting Piper, not that she realized, and it was hurting him in the process. Leo just happened to be the perfect excuse to get him away from all that.

Leo Valdez is a junior, though Nico’s never really talked to him that much before. They’ve had a few classes together over the years, and Nico knows he’s good friends with Piper and Jason, but for some reason, he’s never really seen him around. He’s also a waiter at Waffle House, apparently, and something about him is setting off bells in Nico’s head.

Nico doesn’t think he’s Blue. Leo is like a ball of fire, while Blue is a calming wave. And yet, there’s more than one side to a person, so he hasn’t ruled him out yet. And besides, maybe he’ll at least be interesting to get to know. 

He shivered, pulling his jacket tighter as he walked over to Leo, who was typing something on his phone. “Were you in my Bio class last year?” Nico asked, and Leo looked up from his phone, surprised.

 “I think so, yeah.”

“Were you there last year when some kid ate the flower we were experimenting on while we had a sub, and she emailed our teacher who had to email the class because it turned out the flower was poisonous?” 

Leo grinned. “Yep. That was me, actually, who ate the flower.”

Not the response Nico was expecting, but he’ll take it. “Wait, really? What happened?”

“Called poison control, got it all sorted out.” Leo was still grinning, sort of mischievously like he was planning it all over again. “Somehow I lived through.”

Nico smiled. “Somehow.”

Leo glanced back at the restaurant. “Nancy’s glaring, that’s my cue to go. See ya, di Angelo,” he said, tapping one last thing on his phone before he walked back inside while Nico just stood there and watched.

He wasn’t completely sure if Leo was Blue or not. Sure, he wouldn’t mind if Leo was Blue. He was funny and charismatic, which was helpful to have in social situations. And he was pretty good looking. (Or maybe Nico just had a thing for curly hair.) At the same time, though, it felt like maybe their personalities were completely different. So was Nico just making it up because he liked the idea of it, or did he actually believe it? He wasn’t really sure.

Until his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Only a second ago had Leo been typing something on his phone. That last tap before he went inside could have been him hitting the send button. If it was that perfectly lined up, could it really be a coincidence?

Leo’s voice echoed in his head as he read the email.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Date: Nov 30 at 5:57 PM

Subject: Holiday Horrors

My mom is currently planning a trip for Hanukkah, which I don’t think we’ve ever done before, but I think she just wants my siblings (still weird to say) to feel okay coming into this family. Obviously, I still don’t really know that much about them, but I really hope they like me and feel as safe here as I do.

It’s also sort of scary because I imagine when I tell my mom, I’ll probably have to tell them too. I just hope that doesn’t change anything/

My dad wanted me to see him, spend a day with him over the holidays, but I passed up. He’s already shown me all that he can give me, I don’t need anything more. On the other hand, though, my mom told me he’s bisexual, so maybe I could get my first real coming out over with him. Or not, I don’t know. Do I trade up my first experience just for it to be easy? I feel like I need to get used to it not being easy.

Maybe I’m just going crazy.

Love, Blue

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Date: Nov 30 at 6:01

Subject: re: Holiday Horrors

I don’t think you’re going crazy Blue. Crazy brave, if that’s what you meant. And crazy caring and compassionate at that. I’m sure your siblings love you for all your efforts. If they haven’t yet, they will. Take it from experience.

Love, Angel. 

Nico grinned to himself all the way through Blue’s email, as well as his own. He might not know who Blue is, but he knows what kind of person he is. Maybe it’s better that way. And something about that email made him consider maybe, maybe coming out to Hazel. She’s the one person Nico knows would love him through anything. 

Oh, and Leo isn’t completely ruled out yet either.

Nico’s got a lot to think about now as he heads back inside to the table from hell.

When he slid back into the booth, Octavian was dramatically leaning over the table, pointing his finger at a smiling Piper. “You, Piper McLean, deserve a goddamn superhero.” Immediately, his good mood is gone as he rolls his eyes. 

Ugh, give him a break.

—

“Octavian used to annoy the crap outta me, but he’s actually kind of...” Piper shrugged, looking out the window. “I don’t know. Not as bad.”

Nico sighed, gripping the steering wheel. There was a pit in his stomach that was weighing him down with guilt. He so desperately wanted to do the right thing, but honestly, he didn’t even know what that would be anymore. Tricking Piper like this, though, he knew that wasn’t right. He wasn’t sure what would make it better by this point, so he brought up something that could distract him.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about your parents,” he said quietly as if he might be waking a monster. He found out pretty quick what was happening inside the restaurant when he got back. Octavian had pushed her, maybe a little too far, about her past. While it sort of hurt that she easily told him over Nico, he assumed it was his fault for never asking. “I just never wanted to make you uncomfortable.”

Piper shrugs, turning away from the window but still not looking at him. “Yeah, I don’t mention them that much. Kind of messes with my image.”

“What image?”

She shrugs again. “The girl who's only been at this school for a year and doesn’t want to be known as the one with the famous dad, or the mom that left them. The girl who's angry and sad all the time and has a history of being a kleptomaniac. A girl who still believes in love.”

Oh. “I didn’t know that.”

“I didn’t know if you wanted to.”

Nico cleared his throat. “You still believe in love?” he attempted to scoff, but his heart was beating so fast he just sounded nervous.

“I don’t know, maybe.” Piper glanced over at him. “Have you ever been in love?”

Nico didn’t say anything for a moment. He didn’t know what to say. What could he say right now? Anything, really. He could tell her everything. But at what cost? 

“I think so,” he said, before he pulled the car over.

Nico could see Piper glancing around in confusion, maybe almost nervous as they slowed to a stop. God, what if she thinks he’s in love with her? There’s no way he’s getting out of this without telling her.

“Piper?” Nico asks, not really sure what he’s asking. He takes a breath.

Piper gave him a look he couldn't read. “Yeah?”

“I’m gay.”

It came out almost like a question like he’s asking for acceptance. The words hung in the air for just a moment, then-

“Oh,” she smiled, and the tension broke. “Okay.”

“You can’t tell anyone though. Nobody really knows, and I don’t really want people to find out yet-”

She shook her head. “I won’t, I promise.”

“Okay,” he whispered. His heart was still beating fast, but warmth filled his chest. 

He did it.

They sat in silence for a moment, not making eye contact, before Nico asked, “You surprised?”

“No.”

“So, you knew?” he asked, fearfully glancing over at her. How many other people knew?

“No,” she assured him. 

“But you’re not surprised?”

Piper smiled again, and any nerves he had left completely drained from his body. “Do you want me to be surprised?” she asked genuinely.

For the first time, Nico smiled softly too. “I don’t know,” he said almost laughing as he looked back out the window. 

“Okay,” she was still looking at him; he could see her smile out of the corner of his eye. “Well, I love you, so…”

He let himself glance over at her, trying to ignore the pegging thoughts in his brain reminding him how much he would be hurting her right now if she knew. The warmth in his chest was gone, and now it was just tight with all the love and the hurt. Maybe he didn’t believe in romantic love (he honestly didn’t know yet) but there was some kind of love in this world, and he was so lucky to have it.

But what if she knew? “I love you too.”

Her smile, softer than before, hurt more than anything else.

Nico let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, turning on his blinker as he began to drive again.

“There’s no one behind us you don’t need to-” Piper started and Nico almost laughed. The moment was over, maybe he could stop thinking about it.

“I know, just being safe.”

“Okay,” she whispered, and Nico could tell she was still smiling at him.

He tried to ignore the tightness that still remained in his chest as they drove away.

—

When Nico got home that night, he went straight to his room. He opened the window that led to a small balcony and climbed through. He sat down, leaning his head against the fence and looked up at the stars.

When he was younger, so much younger that the memories were faint, his mom would take him out here before she died every time he was scared or upset. He could hear her voice in his ear as he stared up at the sky.

“If things are changing-” she would tell him. “Just remember the stars are still there. Even if it's cloudy at night or if the sun is out, they’re still there. Find peace in that.”

What would she think of him now?

He pulled his phone out, wiping away a stray tear that tried to escape, and opened his email.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Date: Nov 30 at 9:05 PM

Subject: You inspired me

You inspired me tonight, Blue. I came out to one of my friends and it went really well, so thank you.

I hope everything goes okay with your mom and your siblings, but I’m pretty sure it will.

Maybe afterward we can ride this bravery train and come out to each other for real? I’m dying to know who you are.

Love, Angel

He sent the email before he could overthink it, and went back inside to do homework, giving the stars one last glance.

Right before he was about to fall asleep later that night, he got a response.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Date: Dec 1 at 12:11 AM

Subject: re: You inspired me

I actually came out to everyone tonight. I thought it would be easier to just air it out now and let them think before we were stuck together with no escape on whatever vacation we’re going on. 

Everything went surprisingly okay. My mom of course was supportive, saying she would make me flag cookies for pride month and everything which was very sweet (literally). And my siblings were also nice about it. I really don’t think they care as much as I thought they would. (I almost made a joke about how I got it from my dad, but I didn’t want to push things.)

And you’ve got it all wrong. It’s you who inspires me.

I’m really glad everything went well with your friend. I’m just not ready yet for you to tell me. The real me. I’m sorry.

Love, Blue

(P.S- if it helps, I can’t stop thinking about who you are either. Someday soon I’ll tell you. Just not yet).

(P.P.S- Happy December! Rabbits Rabbits Rabbits and all that)

Sure, Nico was disappointed, but it was okay. Blue had said someday soon, and all Nico had to do was hold onto that promise.

dew them a l l then pussy 👀👀👀 u wont

yes i WILL

cracking knuckles as we speak to type this all out

ALRIGHT i’m not retyping 1, 20, and 29 i’m too lazy to copy paste

2) have you ever found a writer who thinks just like you? if so, who?

yes yes i have and while i will not be tagging them, xtarmanderx on ao3/tumblr. they write brett so well it knocks me off my feet every time

3) list your fandoms and one character from each that you identify with

goddamn this is going to be so long ok

teen wolf: nolan, percy jackson: nico, the society: grizz, all for the game: neil, my hero academia: shouji

4) do you like your name? is there another name you think would be a better fit?

i do like my name, it took me a while to pick it out. i’ve stuck with grant for like 2ish years now? but sometimes i wonder if it doesn’t fit me all that well. been thinking about changing it to something like mason or mark cause that’s semi close to my deadname

5) this is a long question i’m not typing it out

ngl i stares at it for a solid 2 minutes trying to figure out what it meant,,, and i think i lean more towards human being instead of doing. while i think actions can speak louder than words, sometimes it’s impossible to do actions (if that makes sense)

6) are you religious/spiritual?

nah, i’m atheist. my dads a hardcore catholic but i’ve never felt a connection with god or a higher being. although one time i went to church with a few of my friends when i lived in louisiana and as soon as i walked in, they looked at me and said “i’m surprised you didn’t burst into flames in the doorway” so yah that happened

7) do you care about your ethnicity?

i care about it for other people. because i’m white, so i need to care and be conscious of the privilege i have as to not hurt other people, yknow?

8) what musical artists have you connected with most over your lifetime?

hollywood undead, sleeping with sirens, my chemical romance, and a few others. i look up to kellin and gerard way so much

9) are you an artist?

yes 😼

10) do you have a creed?

had to look that up and the answer is no

11) describe your ideal day

well in the perfect world brett would be alive. but in reality? wake up around 8-9, easy my way through the morning. grab coffee or an energy drink. go to the movies. eat ramen. listen to music all day. probably eat either sour patch kids or ice cream. that would be nice

12) dog person or cat person?

dog! i have a doberman mix named danny whomst i love very much. partial to snakes tho since i also have one

13) indoors or outdoors?

indoors all the way, fuck you bugs and sunburns

14) are you a musician?

i can drum pretty well. been wanting to pick up bass for when school starts. but i wouldn’t consider myself good enough to be a musician

15) 5 most influential books

this kinda ties into 1 answer with what books to read. but for me

percy jackson series, the song reader, lord of the flies, cirque du freak series (think that’s how you spell it...), and a boy called it

16) if you grew up in a different environment, would you be the same?

i think i’d be happier. more content with myself. but i think my main personality would be very similar

17) would you say tumblr is a fair representation of the real you?

in all honestly? it’s probably the MOST fair. i don’t have anyone i know irl on my tumblr, so i’m not thinking about who would be able to see my account. i can be myself, talk about my interests freely, it’s nice. i like tumblr.

18) what’s your patronus?

god i cant remember. i’d have to log into my pottermore to see, but i think it’s a dog breed of some sort.

19) harry potter house? would you be a muggle?

i’m a hufflepuff - to the surprise of absolutely no one

21) do you love easy?

that’s complicated. i think i fall in love with characters, but i don’t think i’ve ever genuinely been in love with a person. so i’m gonna day no

22) list top 5 things you spend doing in order

1. lay in bed

2. read fanfiction

3. listen to music

4. scroll social media (especially tik tok)

5. draw

23) how often do you wanna see your family a year?

as little as possible. maybe once or twice

24) have you ever felt like you had a mind meld with someone?

idk if this counts but sometimes it seems like you and i have the same thoughts in regards to talbotson it’s freaky. aside from that, the only other one i can think of is when my close friend and i figured out we are basically the same person; birthday and all. i’m a year and an hour older than her tho

25) could you live as a hermit?

easily. as long as i have music and a pencil/paper, and my phone? id be happy. food and drink too ofc

26) how would you describe your gender/sexuality?

pretty set in stone. i’ve known my gender since the 4th grade, and it hasn’t changed (feelings wise). i had to do a little self discovery for my sexuality but it didn’t take long to figure out i exclusively like guys

27) do you feel like your outside appearance is a fair representation of the real you?

meh. i guess. obviously being a non-medically transitioned trans person it’s not perfect? but i’m getting there :) and i’m pretty comfortable with myself

28) scale of 1-10 how hard is it for someone to get under your skin?

6 or 7. honestly depends on what the topic is but i’m fairly easy to get agitated i suppose

30) pick one of your favorite quotes

“we are the champions of the world”

MY EYES HURT FROM STARING AT THIS BUT I FUCKIN DID IT! AHA

stay right here (someone out there loves you) (1/1)

summary: As the kid pulled the strap around his shoulders, the body of the guitar hanging well below his waist, he asked, “What do you want me to play?”

“Just a couple of scales would be fine,” Jason told him. “That’ll be enough for us to know whether you can actually play or not.”

He frowned. “Uh, I don’t know any scales. I just know songs.”

word count: 1215

read on ao3

They had been auditioning new guitarists for hours now, but so many of them could hardly even play a scale that the boys had started losing hope. If only Will could have learned how to play well enough to be a rhythm guitarist, then they wouldn’t be in this situation.

Percy started complaining about a headache between auditions, so Frank suggested they stop the search for the day after the next guitarist. Will had wanted to keep trying until they found the perfect addition to the band, but he was outvoted by the other three. With a sigh, he slouched back in his chair, slowly ripping up little pieces of paper while he waited for the next - and last - guitarist to show up.

He only looked up when he heard a voice saying, “Hey, are you guys looking for a guitarist?”

Will knew he’d seen the boy around somewhere, but he didn’t remember his name.

“Yeah, do you play?” Percy asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously - the kid was bouncing on his toes like he had too much pent up energy that he didn’t know what to do with.

“Yeah! I don’t have my guitar with me, but I could play you something if you have one I could borrow.”

Percy looked like he was barely keeping his eyes from rolling into the back of his head. They had specifically asked that people bring their own guitars, so anyone that asked to borrow one was almost immediately tossed into the no pile. Percy pointed to his own guitar against the wall. “Go ahead, but be careful. And don’t mess with the strap.”

As the kid pulled the strap around his shoulders, the body of the guitar hanging well below his waist, he asked, “What do you want me to play?”

“Just a couple of scales would be fine,” Jason told him. “That’ll be enough for us to know whether you can actually play or not.”

He frowned. “Uh, I don’t know any scales. I just know songs.”

Percy huffed in frustration. Will figured his headache was getting worse with every word this kid said. “Just play something then.”

He fitted his fingers to the frets and gave a test strum, nodding his head and then saying, “Cool. How about a Green Day song?”

And then he started playing. Will recognized the song immediately, almost tempted to start singing along, though watching the kid’s fingers move across the fretboard was too mesmerized for Will to remember any of the words.

When the song was finished - the only song that had been played all the way through the entire day - Will exclaimed, “That was great!”

“Yeah, that was pretty good,” Jason agreed, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

“You do have your own guitar, though, right? Because you can’t keep using mine,” Percy said.

The kid’s eyes widened. “Does that mean…?”

Frank stood from his chair. “What’s your name?”

“Nico di Angelo.”

Frank walked around the table and stopped right in front of Nico, holding out a hand to shake. “Welcome to the band, Nico.”

Nico was even more energetic during rehearsals than he had been during his audition, which just pushed the rest of the band to pump up the energy even more. Once they’d played a few local shows and got used to watching Nico throw himself around on stage, bouncing off of the other band members as he played, Jason started calling around to bars and other venues all across New York to schedule more shows.

While they kept playing local shows, Jason built up a short tour schedule for them, Frank worked on budgeting their profits to keep them fed during the tour, and Percy looked around for a cheap van that they could rent or borrow. Will was put in charge of making fliers to post around the towns they would be playing, and enlisted Nico’s help in the design.

Soon enough, the quintet were off to start their tour, driving off in a rusted out van, their guitar cases and suitcases stacked high in the back while the boys were piled in toward the front. Apparently, Nico never learned to drive, which meant that that responsibility rotated between the other four, though whenever Will drove, Nico always called shotgun.

They had just played the fifth show of their tour, and Will was exhausted. Luckily for him, it was Jason’s turn to drive, which meant there would be smooth sailing for Will to sleep in the back row seats - Percy always swerved whenever he was changing lanes, and Frank’s foot was too heavy on the brake for Will to stay asleep long when either of them were driving.

Will collapsed across the seats after they’d loaded up the van, ready to pass out at any second, though someone decided to drape themself across his back, causing Will to grumble. He struggled to roll over with the added weight on his back, and when he was finally able to flip onto his back, he saw Nico smiling down at him.

“Aw, c’mon, Will, you’re not actually going to sleep already, are you?” Nico asked, poking at Will’s stomach and making him laugh. “Aren’t you still pumped up from the show? We were awesometonight, don’t you think?”

Will laughed tiredly, pinching Nico’s side under his shirt to get the other to stop rambling. “I drove all night last night, I’m sure you recall, and somebody didn’t stay awake with me like he said he would.”

“It’s not my fault Percy got me drunk!” Nico argued.

An arm appeared over the back of the seat in front of them, which started swatting at Nico immediately. “Don’t blame me! I wanted to see if you would chill out for once if you had a few drinks in you. We’re trying pot next time, that has to work.”

“No, we’re not buying pot on the road,” Frank piped up from the passenger’s seat. “It’s unfamiliar, and who knows what it might be laced with. Just get it from your usual guy back home.”

“Shouldn’t you all be sleeping?” Jason asked.

“I’m trying,” Will whined, “but Nico won’t get off of me!”

“You promised me last night that you’d let me teach you to play the guitar!” Nico reminded him.

“I’m too tired.” Will reached out and wrapped an arm around Nico’s waist, pulling him down and then rolling them over on the narrow bench seat. “It’s bedtime. You can teach me tomorrow,” Will said before yawning into Nico’s hair.

Nico shoved half-heartedly at Will’s chest. “Hey, get off of me, Solace! You’re crushing me!”

“Hey, you guys had better be keeping it PG back there,” Jason called back to them.

“Jason, make them shut up so I can sleep,” Percy grumbled.

“Shut up and go to bed, guys,” Jason said.

Will shifted so that his weight was no longer smothering Nico, and instead wrapped himself around Nico like a cuddly octopus. “Yeah, no more arguing until the sun is up,” Will mumbled into Nico’s hair. “Then you can teach me to be better than you with a guitar.”

Nico shouted in protest, which only caused Will to laugh while Percy and Frank yelled at him to shut up.

thanks for reading!!

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Book Review: THE TYRANT’S TOMB by Rick Riordan (The Trials of Apollo #4)

“Today, one way or another, the fate of New Rome would be decided.”

THERE ARE NO SPOILERS UNTIL YOU GO BELOW THE CUT!

Reeling from the loss of Jason Grace and the mounting danger of his mission to stop the evil emperors ascendance, Apollo (aka Lester) and Meg arrive disheveled and devastated in New Rome...with a coffin in tow. Getting into Camp Jupiter is tricky enough, and once Apollo and Meg get caught up to speed on the chaos that’s been wreaked in the Bay Area, they realize that the impending battle will be the culmination of everything they’ve been fighting for. Reyna, Frank, and Hazel’s leadership roles put them to the ultimate test as they scramble to prepare for their final stand against Caligula and Commodus. Together, Apollo, Meg, and the inhabitants of New Rome must mourn who they’ve already lost while simultaneously gearing up for the inevitable confrontation that will seal the fate of their home once and for all. 

The penultimate installment of The Trials of Apollo picks up on the heels of The Burning Maze’s tragic conclusion. Through Apollo’s perspective, the reality of what went down in the third book continues to weigh heavily upon the whole cast, but most of their focus is forced forward to an incredibly dangerous confrontation slated for the Blood Moon. Loose ends from the Heroes of Olympus series are tied neatly yet surprisingly, and the continued evolution of Apollo and Meg’s bond shines as the book’s true, gleaming heart. Apollo’s own recognition of his past failings, his father’s abusiveness, and the reality of what his humanity has taught him all come to a head, setting up what’s sure to be an impactful fifth and final book-- not just for Apollo’s journey, but as a capstone for what the whole saga’s implications about what it means to be a hero, and to be a human. 

The Tyrant’s Tomb is consistently entertaining and heartfelt, but the final third of the story proves to be the most deftly-crafted and meaningful. Though not as heavy as its previous installment, this fourth book gives plenty of focus on some lovely development from our main protagonist, priming the series for its finale next fall.

If you click below, there will be spoilers. 

Hello? Okay. You promise you’re good for spoilers...?

All right, just because of who I am as a person I guess, I’ve broken this down into like ten sections. Ooof. Generally, I will say that I was super pleased with how this story went. My only disappointment was that I’d hoped for more of a prolonged or “on-screen” unpacking of the effects of Jason’s death on the Camp Jupiter kids, specifically Reyna. However, I get that that’s kind of hard to do through Apollo’s perspective. I wasn’t totally sold on the idea that he sang a song haha, but I’m glad that Jason’s loss wasn’t just addressed at the beginning and then “moved on” from. It was threaded throughout, showing that grief is not something that you can check off a list. This is something that will always stay with these characters, and alter how they live and feel about things. It ebbs and flows. In addition, I think there could’ve been just a bit more action in the first half of the story, but it was never boring or aimless. And the concluding battle was expertly written and soooooo amazing omfg. Still reeling.

Anyway, let’s go.

FRANKLY, I HAVE NOTHING BUT LOVE

I’m so happy we got the chance to see Frank leading Camp Jupiter as praetor! He did such a good job, but also acknowledged that this is still a new role he’s transitioning into. I was so pleasantly surprised at how he managed to be both authoritative and gentle, and it was gut-wrenching to know that he intended to take Caligula down with him. When I imagined the fallout of Jason’s death, I always pictured Reyna being the one to tear down the emperors in revenge, which was why I was so affected by Frank’s commitment to honoring his friend. Not only did he order Jason’s designs to be built in like thirty hours, but he was so ready to avenge Jason that he was fully prepared to die. 

What. An. Arc. I LOVE HIM. I’m glad he’s finally free of his burden, and that he gets to keep doing an epic job as praetor (though hopefully during more future peaceful times). Camp Jupiter’s lucky to have him. 

SHINE ON HAZEL

Words can’t express how infatuated I was with Hazel in this book. She’s always been one of my favorites, but she really shone in this story. She was already so strong and developed at the end of Heroes of Olympus, but this book still brought her out better and smarter than she was before. She cannot be stopped. Hazel’s determination and grit make her formidable, and she definitely proved to be Rome’s greatest asset throughout the entire story. 

I think it’s great that she gets to step up and take on Jason and Reyna’s former role of praetor...alongside Frank, too! I didn’t expect her to react with anger towards Jason once she found out about his death, but it hit me hard. She initially took Jason’s death to be a reflection of the Seven’s failings as a team. Hazel loved how powerful the bond between them all was, and when Jason took on the burden of TBM’s prophecy alone without confiding in anyone, I can totally see why she felt like that was a betrayal. UGH hit me hard.

REYNA REYNA REYNA!

Reyna is just objectively an amazing character. I’m so so so glad we got to revisit her in this story, and loved where she ended up going. Starting this book, I had literally no idea how she would be handled. She’s always been the quintessential strong leader, which is awesome, but I’m glad we got to unpack the implications behind her very...layered...existence. Leaving Puerto Rico in a traumatic situation, going straight to Circe’s Island, escaping as a pirate, carving out her path in New Rome, getting roped into the Titan then Giant War? Damn. She’s been through a lot, and none of it of her own free will.

Like I mentioned earlier, I wish we’d learned more of how she dealt with Jason’s death. They were obviously really close growing up, and though it was clear she was devastated and things were referenced “off-screen”, I still kind of wish we’d gotten a bit more. Regardless, I liked that the focus of her presence in this book was about HERSELF and nobody else. 

And hello!!!!! She has a red truck!!!! and goes out hiking with her greyhounds??? makes me so glad. 

And yeah-- that ending, huh? I know it got mixed reactions. Personally, it felt pretty natural to me. I’m so glad she stayed in touch with Thalia after the events of HoO, and knowing that they’ll be on eternal adventures with a bunch of other wonderful girls....happy sigh. Reyna’s right-- this is kind of a much-needed vacation by joining Artemis’s team. No matter how long or short she stays with them, it’s important that she’s able to reclaim her destiny and figure out what and who she’d like to be. 

APOLLO & MEG

These two!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy shit. Their bond was so well handled and I loved seeing how it developed in this installment. They can communicate on an instinctual level-- they can call each other out, and recognize the abusive patterns both of their fathers have over them. They have so much in common, but also have so much to teach one another. I loved that they were both able to tell each other “I love you” and ughhhh yes the sibling dynamic is so epic. (Also, the whole Reyna and Meg ganging up on Apollo about Koronis bit was hysterical.) (And the “I thought you loved me?” “I’m multitasking.”) 

WHERE TO NEXT?

Just because I haven’t said this yet, but HOLY MOLY I adored Lavinia. Oh my god. She was amazing-- hilarious, presumptuous, go-getter, kind...what a star!!! What a joy to read!

Anyway, now it’s onto the fifth and final installment...THE TOWER OF NERO. I’m so happy that we’re going back to where this story started (in both Hidden Oracle and The Lightning Thief)....New York! And it sounds like also a potential field trip to Delphi, Greece? I’m down!

I’m assuming we’ll be able to tag up with Annabeth, since she’s the only main-player we haven’t yet revisited in ToA. And probably also Percy, Nico, Will, Austin, Kayla, etc. at Camp Half Blood. 

There’s a lot of ways this could all go down, but I think this book set up a heart-wrenching conclusion. I’m looking forward to Apollo and especially Meg standing up to their fathers and claiming their own lives. I’m not even sure if Apollo will want to be returned to godhood by the time his trials are up. We delved into some really interesting threads in this book-- he mentioned several times that he’d only ever felt comfortable and “at home” when he was human. What will that mean for his final trial? 

In either case, this book was fabulous and I’m so glad we got a chance to learn more about Camp Jupiter and New Rome...and I feel like a lot got resolved, so it felt like a satisfying way to say goodbye to the California crew. I doubt they’ll be in the last book, so it was bittersweet but fitting to leave them as we did!

Now, we wait. One last time! Thanks for reading this if you made it all the way down, haha!

Riordanverse at Hogwarts

1993

Nico is at the platform 9 3/4 with Bianca again, but this year is his own first-year

And he couldn't be more excited

Will Solace is there with his older brother Lester (* Obviously Apollo is Will's dad, but since I added Lester at his mortal age, this is my way of connecting them)

Carter's whole family is there, even his 9 years old sister, who almost managed to sneak onto the Hogwarts Express

But she was caught by Annabeth, who considered letting her stay, but eventually brought her back onto the platform

Carter and his parents were extremely relieved and thanked Annabeth for finding her a thousand times

Zia is at the platform with her adoptive dad Iskandar

She was a muggleborn, but was adopted by onto Iskandar's pureblood family three years ago

She and her parents had lived in a small village in England

A crazy death eater, who didn't believe that Voldemort was truly gone, went on a killing spree in her village, killing everyone there

But Zia's mother hid her when they saw the death eater kill the first muggles

Zia was the only survivor and found by the Ministry of Magic who were covering up the incident for the muggle world

They thought she was just a lucky muggle, but when they approached her, but Zia unwillingly unlashed a burst of magic, in her fear

They took her to the ministry instead unsure of what to do with her

That's where she met Iskandar

He was working at the ministry and when he saw the young frightened girl just sitting around, while no one really knew what to do with her, he approached her

Zia thought he was just another wizard asking the same interrogation questions as the other five before

But Iskandar started to ask unrelated questions like "What is your favourite colour?" or "What is your favourite magical creature?"

When he realized that Zia couldn't answer the magical related questions due to being a muggleborn he decided to take her to different departments

Zia learned a lot about the magical world and for one afternoon she was almost able to forget the horrible incident

And Zia had wrapped Iskandar around her little finger in no time

He knew his wife loved children and they had thought about having children of their own

He offered the Ministry to take her in and as Zia herself didn't know where else to go and had grown fond of Iskandar, she agreed

Zia fit right in with her adoptive family

She was eager to learn and Iskandar liked to teach

She wanted to learn how to fight, so she could stop the remaining death eaters

And Iskandar began to teach her the essentials of the wizarding world

Now it was time for her to go to Hogwarts

The Dementor's presence caused quite some talk between students

When the train stopped especially the younger student's were scared

Bianca was able to calm down Will, as well as Lester, who said he wasn't scared, but was shaking more than Will

Nico wasn't as scared as he probably should have been, but instead spouted every fact that he knew about Dementors

Finally arriving at Hogwarts the sorting ceremony started

Nico was sorted into Slytherin

He was sad to be seperated from Bianca, but he sat next to a second-year, who held up some friendly chatter with him

Next up was Carter who was sorted into Ravenclaw and walked past all the other first- and second-years to sit down next to Annabeth

Next came Zia who was also sorted into Slytherin

She sat next to Nico

And both excitingly exchanged all sort of facts that they learned

Last up came Will who was sorted into Hufflepuff and happily sat next to Lester

Lupin being the new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher was taken very well

In a short span Defence Against The Dark Arts became Percy's, Jason's, Reyna's and Zia's favourite subject

And even if it wasn't their favourite subject, everyone loved Professor Lupin

Especially Reyna seemed to stay behind after his class

But she seemed different this school year anyway

During the summer holidays Reyna had an accident

Her father forbid Jason or Frank from seeing her and for the entire train ride she only exchanged a few words with them

She also spent a significant time in Dumbledore's office on the first evening and returned to the common room after curfew

Jason was determined to not let Reyna push him away

But he didn't force her to tell him what was going on with her either

He kept walking to their shared classes together, sat next to her, gave her his notes when she missed classes once per month and visited her in the infirmary

Reyna soon realized that she could trust Jason and told him

During their summer holidays Reyna was attacked by Fenrir Grayback and even though Hylla found her she was too late

She managed to chase Grayback away, but Reyna had already been bitten

She talked to Dumbledore on how to handle the situation on her first day back

Snape brewed her wolfsbane every month, but she still felt bad enough to sometimes miss classes and end up in the infirmary

She told Jason she talked to Lupin so much was because he, as a Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, knew so much about werewolves

It was not her right to tell Jason about Lupin's secret

After Reyna told Jason he went to ask Lupin how he could help Reyna

Lupin was a little weary, but remembering his own school time and how his friends became Animagi for him, he suggested that Jason could read up on it a little

Jason didn't hesitate at all and pulled an all nighter reading every book in the library about Animagi that he could find

With Lupin's help he became an animagus in no time

His animagus form was an eagle

Grover and Juniper both took Care of Magical Creatures together

They saw each other regularly in class and helped Madam Sprout in the greenhouse after hours

Now they spent even more time together taking care of Magical Creatures in their free time as well

They can't even tell when their relationship went from friends to couple

Percy finds out, when Grover and Juniper come into the Great Hall holding hands

And he almost drops

How feels so oblivious for not noticing his best friends feelings

But he is happy for Grover

When it was rumored that Sirius Black broke into Hogwarts the students were forced to sleep in the Great Hall

Blitzen, Hearthstone and Magnus all slept next to each other and Blitzen and Hearthstone kept talking with Magnus to keep him distracted

Annabeth, Percy, Rachel, Grover and Juniper weren't far away

Annabeth wanted to keep an eye on Magnus and her friends just joined her

Frank used this night to reunite with Jason and Reyna who he had unintentionally distanced himself from

Calypso also stayed with him and both Frank and Calypso met Leo who had decided to stick with Jason

Piper joined Leo a little later when the Slytherins arrived and met the others

She already knew Jason and Reyna from their shared classes, but this was the first time she actually talked to them

Sam used to opportunity to spent the night talking to Alex

And Alex was happy to finally see Sam and Mallory again outside of class

Bianca sat next to Nico and when Lester and Will saw them they also sat close to them

Nico asked Bianca to sing that song their mom always sang to them

And when she did she caught the attention of quite a few students

Some started to gather around her listening to her singing

And when she stopped she was embarrassed by the attention

But this time Nico asked her to tell one of their mother's stories

And Sam, who had heard some of Bianca's stories herself assured her to go on

So when she started Alex sat down next to her

He had never demonstrated his metamorphmagus abilities in public before, but he felt like this was a good time

Along with Bianca's story he morphed into all sorts of different character's, visualizing it and captivating every student listening to them

Even the older students couldn't resist

The night that started as an absolute nightmare ended better than most expected

And when it ended friendships had been formed that had seemed unlikely before

Disclaimer: I was unsure what time period to put our characters in and after trying to write different headcanons I decided to go with putting Percy in the exact time period, that Harry Potter went to school, because it's the time period we know the best. While I know that characters would therefore actually would interfere with the Harry Potter dorms that were established (e.g. Percy would end up in the same dorm as Harry and his friends), I decided to not write my headcanons as a crossover of that art. Harry and his friends are still present at Hogwarts and all of their adventures are taking place at the same time, but I decided to exclude Percy and co. from these adventures. If there are school wide events (like the Triwizard Tournament) I will obviously mention them and include them in my headcanons, but there will be no direct interaction between HP characters and Riordanverse characters, to keep it a little more simple.

the world keeps turning – part 5

aka the ‘oh my god they were roommates’ fem!percy fic prompted from @percyyoulittleshit and turned into a disaster by me

subtitle: the thrilling conclusion of my week-long mental breakdown

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

AO3 Link

five // july

“Thanks, by the way. I needed this.” Annabeth says, gathering the playing cards back into a stack and dropping them into the case, which she tosses into the drawer of her bedside table.

“Anything for the birthday girl.”

“You remembered.”

“Yeah, I uh... I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to get you anything.” Birthdays were never a big affair for Annabeth, so she's not offended. She'd actually almost forgotten today was her birthday.

She vaguely gestures to the scene around them, “This is enough.” She really means it. She would take a quiet day with Percy over the chaos Camp could be any day.

“Are you sure everything’s okay?” It wasn’t like Annabeth to skip out on archery, let alone be the one to suggest it. Percy had managed to convince her to play hooky with her once or twice, but it had never been out of Annabeth’s own volition. She wasn't the type.

Annabeth weighs her options. It's irrational, she knows, but the fear of losing Percy is too much to bear; she made a promise to herself that she would never be left behind again. The other half of her  wants to tell Percy how her smile makes her stomach turn and her heart beat out of her chest; how she wants to kiss her until she forgets her own name. “Do you remember when... in the Labyrinth. Mount St. Helens.” She treads carefully, not wanting to be too direct.

Percy’s internal monologue runs about a million words a minute: She can’t be talking about that, can she? “I— uh.” she stutters.

Annabeth takes another steady, deep breath. She needs to know, and that means she's about to either have the best or worst birthday ever. “Right before I left. I—”

Despite her misgivings, Percy thought about that moment a lot. More than she should, really. “You kissed me.” She lets the words hang in the air for a second, “Why did you do that?”

It’s something she’s struggled with since it happened. She initially had no clue why Annabeth did it, because she thought she was straight, so she justified it as some heat-of-the-moment instinct that she'd never really understand, but ever since she told Percy otherwise... she wondered — hoped — that maybe, she liked her too. No matter how unrealistic that was; Percy hadn’t exactly been subtle with her attraction to her. If Annabeth felt the same way, she would’ve said something by now, right? Unfortunately for Percy, Annabeth's mind worked a lot different than hers did.

“Well,” she looks down into her lap, “I didn’t know, and that’s what I’ve been thinking about. For a while.”

Percy doesn’t respond, letting the silence hang in the air for a moment before Annabeth breaks it: “Thinking about... what that meant for me.” She hates this tension. The idea of just... leaving crosses her mind briefly. She could just run out of the cabin. Act like it never happened. She pushes the thought away (1. because she's stronger than that, and 2. she doesn't ever want to leave anyone feeling like she's felt half her life), quickly blurting out, “Did you think about it? About me?”

“Annabeth I...” Is she asking what Percy thinks she's asking? She’s too stunned to answer, and she considers pinching herself to make sure it's real. She’s thought and over-thought that kiss more times than she can count. “I mean, I have thought about... us.”

“Us?” Annabeth inquires, pushing the topic (she hopes not too far). As desperate as she is to talk about this — them — with Percy, she can't bring herself to be the one to say it. If she does, then it's her fault if something goes wrong.

After a moment of contemplation, Percy seemingly changes direction: “Annabeth, I scare myself sometimes. Some of the things that I can do? They scare me. Someday I’m going to hurt someone, and I don’t want that to be you.” For Percy, the thought of this actually being real is terrifying. It was one thing to daydream and pine over Annabeth, to imagine how soft her skin would feel against hers; what kissing her would be like; how she might lace her fingers into Percy's; wondering if holding her in her arms would be like home. The real thing? It makes her sick to her stomach, because that means she has to face the reality of herself — the things that eat away at her confidence and tell her she's dangerous; the things she's starting to believe. Annabeth thinks about what Sally said to her at the end of the school year, and it’s never been as evident as it is now. Percy's state is delicate, and she can't risk upsetting her right now, so she lets her talk. “When I was up on Olympus... when they wanted to make me a god,” she starts, “I thought about it. I really did.” She feels horrible saying it out loud. “Because I wondered if everyone would be better off without me putting them in danger all the time.”

“Percy.” It’s not like Annabeth didn’t know this was how Percy felt. She could see it in her eyes at times, just how tired she was. It was different hearing it from directly from her, and it sunk deep into the pit of her stomach.

If it was possible to hear pain, Percy was sure that’s what it would sound like. She doubles back, fighting off tears, “But I couldn’t do that to—“ She breathes deeply, trying to regain composure. Without thinking, Annabeth takes her hand, tracing small circles around her knuckles with her thumb. It’s okay. You’re okay. I’m here.

“And at the River Styx,” Percy pivots again, “Nico said I had to focus on something that kept me tethered to the mortal world.” She tries to continue, tries to tell Annabeth that she’s the one person she can’t leave behind, but her voice is paralyzed. Percy practically prays that Annabeth saves her from this embarrassment and takes the reins of the conversation. She doesn't, mostly because she has no clue what to say; doesn't know how to process the fact that she's Percy's anchor — but also because she’s holding Percy’s hand and wow, she could just kiss her right now.

“You know, you’re not making this easy for me,” Percy forces a laugh through her now-scratchy voice.

Annabeth smiles, some of her confidence returning, though her stomach continues doing flips. She tilts her head towards Percy, “Did you think I would ever make things easy for you?” Her voice, soft and light, flows through Percy’s ears like a song she knows every single word to.

It’s then that her eyes meet Percy’s for the first time in a few minutes, their avoidance becoming clear. The smile falls from Annabeth’s face; letting go of her hand, she tentatively reaches out to sweep Percy’s hair behind her ear, lingering on her chin as she traces down her freckled face. Percy desperately wants to — despite Annabeth’s insistence she not mess with it — run her fingers through her hair and close the gap between them but she’s frozen in place with the new, intimate way her fingers are trailing along her jaw. She studies Annabeth's parted lips and curious gaze; she's looking at Percy like she would one of her architecture books: wonder, and infinite thought.

And she is — thinking, that is, but the only thing she seems to be able to think about is kissing Percy. Screw it. Her lips meet Percy’s, slowly, but only briefly, before she pulls away, not sure if it's okay. She soon realizes it is, and mentally scolds herself for not doing this sooner, when Percy kisses her again, like it’s all she’s ever wanted (it is); like she could kiss her forever and never stop (she could). Percy threads her fingers through her curls, and for once, she doesn't mind.

Her lips are soft, and salty like the sea; Annabeth almost laughs, because she feels like she should’ve expected that from the daughter of Poseidon. Percy, hesitating for only a moment, takes a hold of Annabeth’s waist and easily pulls her into her lap. For once, Annabeth isn't irked with their size difference, because they fit perfectly together. She drapes her arms over Percy’s shoulders without breaking away. Annabeth kisses her, softly, not quite sure of herself or what to do, only confident in the fact that she doesn’t want it to end anytime soon. Her mind races; because gods, she’s kissing Percy Jackson — and Percy Jackson is kissing her. With that thought, her body betrays her; and she mentally berates the smile involuntarily spreading across her face.

“What?” Percy laughs, leaning back to get a clearer picture of her. She's never been more beautiful, she thinks, than she looks right now.

Annabeth, at the sight of Percy's disheveled bangs and flushed face, feels a blush rising to her cheeks. Instead of answering her question, she takes her thumb to wipe off her tinted lip balm, now smeared on the side of Percy’s mouth. “Sorry.”

“Do I look like I’m complaining?” To be perfectly clear, she's absolutely not; if a little bit of lip gloss is the price she has to pay for kissing Annabeth, so be it.

“I don’t think so.”

“So can I kiss you again?” 

Annabeth nods. Percy’s eyes, all crystalline seafoam, look into hers, and she swears she can see the entire ocean in them. 

“Jackson! Chase! You two better be in here, ‘cause I did not just haul ass halfway across camp to—” Clarisse’s booming voice comes from around the corner into Cabin 6. Annabeth tries to pull herself off of Percy’s lap; she's only half-successful, bumping her head on the bunk bed and falling back into her pillow, because her legs are entwined with Percy's. Judging by the smirk now plastered on Clarisse’s face, it’s clear she managed a pretty good picture of what was going on. “About time,” she mutters, crossing her arms and turning on her heels to leave the cabin. “If you're not at dueling, I’m telling Mr. D! One hour!”

“Did that really just...” Annabeth untangles herself from Percy, and buries her head in her palms.

“That happened.”

Clarisse will never let them live this down, that much is evident, but Percy figures she better get used to it, because she knows they're going to be one of those couples. Mostly because Percy never wants to stop kissing her — and she doesn't think Annabeth has any objections to that, because she responds to the silence by practically flinging herself into her arms (and Percy feels so lucky for it).

“Why didn't you tell me?” Annabeth asks as soon as their collective laughter dies down, even though she knows the answer.

“We’ve been through so much together, and you’re one of the most important people in my life... I couldn’t mess that up.”

“Seaweed Brain, you’re never getting rid of me.” Maybe falling, Annabeth thinks, is okay, as long as she can get back up at the end.

She kisses Percy again. Because she can.

All of them? For the identity ask thing? Ty!

1.      ifsomeone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, andlisten to?

 Oh man this is hard….. um probably Looking for Alaska/An Abundance of Katherine’sfor reading, Supernatural/Call of The Midwife for watching and for listeningwhich I would assume is music probably Two Feet or The 1975.

2.     have you ever found a writer who thinks justlike you? if so, who?

 Not really, but I hope to find one.

3.     list your fandoms and one character from eachthat you identify with.

Percy Jackson and The Olympians/Heroesof Olympus – Leo Valdez, cause I really like making stuff and Nico de Anglo,cause I’m a small gay emo boi. Lol

Supernatural - Castiel because weboth have no concept of gender.

Harry Potter – Hermione Granger causewe both love books

Beautiful Creatures – Ethan Wadealso because we both love books

And that’s currently what I canthink of.

4.     do you like your name?  is there another name you think would fit youbetter?

I do like my name actually and I definitelywouldn’t change it.

5.     do you think of yourself as a human being or ahuman doing? do you identify yourself by the things you do?

Nah.

6.     are you religious/spiritual?

 I’m not religious but I suppose you could say I’m spiritual. I believe inghosts and spirts and what not.  

7.     do you care about your ethnicity?

 Well I’m Swedish/German but no. I do like the food tho.

8.     what musical artists have you most feltconnected to over your lifetime?

 Oh man…. Uh probably Halsey, lorde, And Jaymes Young

9.     are you an artist?

 Yes, I paint and draw and I’m currently learning the guitar.

10.  do you have a creed?

 Uh no.

11.  describe your ideal day.

 Oooooh. Hmm well it would rainy, but not too cold. Basically the perfectweather to either read a book by the fire place or to walk around an art museum.

12.  dog person or cat person?

 Both.

13.  inside or outdoors?

 Both.

14.  are you a musician?

 Well I’m currently learning the guitar so I guess? Lol

15.  five most influential books over your lifetime.

 Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns by John Green.

Harry Potter

The Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen

And Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

16.  if you’d grown up in a different environment, doyou think you’d have turned out the same?

 Probably not.

17.  would you say your tumblr is a fairrepresentation of the “real you”?

 Definitely.

18.  what’s your patronus?

 Well I took the quiz and it said Kingfisher but in my opinion it would bea ferret.

19.  which Harry Potter house would you be in? or areyou a muggle?

 HUFFLEPUFF FOR LIFE YO

20.  would you rather be in Middle Earth, Narnia,Hogwarts, or somewhere else?

 Hogwarts most definitely Hogwarts

21.  do you love easily?

 Uh……. Good question but I don’t know

22.  list the top five things you spend the most timedoing, in order.

 Being gayyyyyyyy as hell

Sleeping

Reading

Sleeping

And being even more gayyyyyyyyyy as hell

23.  how often would you want to see your familyevery year?

 Uh….. like maybe 12 times. Idk

24.  have you ever felt like you had a “mind-meld”with someone?

 Uh I don’t think I have.

25.  could you live as a hermit?

 Uh nah.

26.  how would you describe your gender/sexuality?

 Gay as fuckkkkkk also I’m a small trans boy.

27.  do you feel like your outside appearance is afair representation of the “real you”?

 no

28.  on a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it forsomeone to get under your skin?

 A 6,7 maybe? Idk

29.  three songs that you connect with right now.

 Go Fuck Yourself – Two Feet

Love Is a Bitch – Two Feet

Had Some Drinks – Two Feet

30.  pick one of your favorite quotes.

 “Weare the music makers. We are the dreamers of dreams.”

Can I tag people to do this? If so then @angusbeefs and @aloha-hele

Thank you for the ask Anon. :D

Attrition of Peace

Seventeen: Leo

I Descend on a Disco Ball

             Leo figured people would get mad if he crashed the party with several tons of bronze dragon, so he parked Festus in sleep mode on the roof. He, Felix, and Calypso had an easy time breaking in through the roof entrance. He and Calypso talked about going through the front, but Felix seemed intent that the roof was the most direct route. That, and there were about a dozen monsters outside the front. Not the kind of place he’d want to charge in fists blazing.

           Felix, his other “dragon,”  tugged ahead on her leash. Well, she didn’t really look like Felix. Felix was supposed to be a silver dragon companion to Festus, and Calypso’s emergency search-and-ride if he and she ever got separated. Felix had been a beauty: all silver circuitry, with sapphire eyes, and lovely metal. Then Felix got blasted out of the sky by a discus and a Roman ballista when she was out on a rebellious stroll.

           Now Felix was a small, silvery work table. A bit of a downsizing, but Leo figured they’d manage until he could get her original body. It was all he had on hand to immediately insert her control disk into.

Turns out, when Leo programmed her, he hadn’t been specific enough. Who would have known search-and-rescue would be so close to search-and-destroy in the language of programming? And, he didn’t specify Calypso of Ogygia. So, Felix flew off from Calypso and Leo’s Garage and found Kalypso Cassand, the daughter of Apollo who happened to now be traveling with Kronos’s scythe.

As he predicted, as soon as Felix’s disc was inserted into one of the replacement Buford prototypes, Felix continued her last command: find Kalypso Cassand. Leo would worry about the destroy part later. However, he kinda hoped a demigod could take a work table if things got messy.

When they were flying to find Kally and the group that trashed their shack with a party, Felix had suddenly jerked her attention away from California and towards the East.

“You better hope she hasn’t completely malfunctioned,” Calypso had muttered at the sudden change in direction. Calypso had been jumpy since she’d found out about Kronos’s scythe two weeks ago, and—Leo suspected—since she realized their search would lead them towards New Rome or Camp Half-Blood. It worried Leo that Felix detected these people so close to his friends.

Leo didn’t want his friends to be attacked by a jerk wielding Backbiter, but he couldn’t hide his disappointment when they landed in a different part of the Big City other than Long Island or Manhattan. He could really go for some of Sally Jackson’s blue cookies, or for some dryad served brisket, or Coach Gleeson telling him to eat some beef to beef up his arms. Not the most conventional satyr wisdom.

When they landed on this rooftop, he could tell—his friends were close. And that wasn’t just because he heard a hoard of people shout, “Percy Jackson!” somewhere in the floors under him. He knew before he even entered. He liked to think his demigod senses were tingling.

That’s why he asked Calypso to wait on the roof to guard Festus. She seemed to get agitated every time he mentioned his old pals. Besides, several thousand years of isolation didn't make a great formula for an avid club go-er.

He opened the shockingly unlocked roof access and let Felix drag him forward. There was no way Leo could sneak in with Felix. The walking table sounded less like someone on a stealth mission and more like someone wearing rollerblades that tripped into his dad's tool shed. But, with how loud the music was, the noise didn't seem to matter.

The club's set up was weird--or at least Leo thought it was. He was sure Annabeth could say if it was up to code for a monster jam bar. He and Felix went through the doorway, almost fell down a ladder, and onto a metal catwalk. The hanging walkway swung violently as Felix thrashed to jump over the hand railing.

“Wow! Felix, I know you’re excited to search-and-destroy, but cool your jets! I haven’t even installed jets in you yet!” Leo struggled to keep both of them from plummeting to a demigod's-lamest-death: splat onto the disco floor of a monster club, or at least that’s what he guessed was under him.

Felix whined and creaked in protest. Leo could hear it now, But I want to kill nooowwwww.

The ceiling was bizarre. Either Hephaestus set up a Talos sized fog-machine and engineered a hundred tiny fireflies to dart around, or someone took a piece of the sky and tucked it into the top of this building.

Leo couldn't fully appreciate it. He was struggling too much not to fall to his death. He slipped to the floor grate when Felix next jolted forward, apparently thinking a suicidal hop off this catwalk was the fastest route for both of them. Leo skidded forward on his butt with Felix’s tugs and would have flipped right down to splat onto the dance floor had he not slammed his feet into the railing.  He dragged Felix back and restrained her. As quickly as he could, he jury-rigged a locking mechanism for Felix's chain leash. Normally, the average sentient table wouldn't pose too much of a threat of escaping, but Felix was a feisty one.

He just hoped Felix wouldn't bend the railing he tied her to.

From what Leo could see... well, he couldn't really see much. Just the dark fog, flashing lights below, and a few shapes fluttering through the mist. He was pretty sure there was a wall ten feet to his side, and—though he was disoriented—he'd guess this area would be on the right side of the club.

There wasn't much to work with up here. The catwalk made a solid square around a huge cage that dangled from four chains, one at each corner. There was a hole at the top of the cage, so—Leo assumed—the massive disco ball above could descend through the cage.

Leo was shocked Felix's clanking didn't attract any security guards. The music below was so loud though, Leo figured he could drop a screaming Coach Gleeson down there and no one would flinch.

Despite feeling an adrenaline rush at possibly seeing his pals for the first time in forever and getting totally pumped for a potential battle, Leo felt himself sway to the music. It was a club remix of some weird comedy song, and Leo could swear he recognized it, something with two guys singing, And I jizz in my pants, far too seriously.[1]    

Before he did anything else, he needed to take care of that cage. Those metal bars looked like bad news for a demigod—or a T-Rex, based off how big the cage was. Leo patrolled along the exterior, making quick locks to jam the pulley system to avoid any lowering.

Next, Leo needed to figure out how to get down. From the looks of Felix, Kalypso and her group must have been right under—

Someone, that sounded a suspicious amount like Annabeth, shouted in pain.

Leo needed to get down there now.

He made a quick remote for the last non-jammed pulley. "Sorry girl! I'll come back for you! And I promise to bring you a souvenir fit for your search and destroy setting," Leo said to Felix.

The table squirmed and creaked in protest.

Leo lunged at the wires above the disco ball, barely catching it. From his tinkering with the pulley, he knew the metal cords could hold him, but balancing on a shiny, reflective sphere? Not quite as much like riding a metal dragon as he hoped. Maybe he should complain to management to make a disco ball seatbelt.

One button click and he was descending through the fog and into the unknown. The further he got, the more lightheaded he felt. An odd sense of euphoria hit him. He was going to see his friends. He hadn't seen them since—

The fog broke and Leo realized riding a disco ball into the unknown might not have been the best idea. Kinda like riding a reflective shoot here sign. There were monsters everywhere. None of them seemed to pay him mind. Winged ones flapped past him in a crazed dance. One even waved a giant foam hand at him that read I love Eating Romans.

He really wished he could have Festus in here. Having a several ton dragon burst through the roof might have been safer.

But he was already halfway down. As he descended, he saw a small patio balcony lining the second story appear out of the Mist. He quickly recognized two people standing on it from his earlier security footage: a tall African boy with a black and red beanie and a black scarf and an Asian girl with a video camera recording something under him.

The tall boy with ebony skin had a golden bow in his hands. He looked horrified and leaned heavily on the railing of the patio, like he'd just shot Chiron in the butt before remembering that Chiron didn't always have the best sense of humor about being shot in the horsehind.

While the ball lowered, Leo nodded his head to the club beat of Jizz in my Pants and made eye contact with the girl. He could feel the presence of Kronos's blade on her belt. He couldn't remember her name, but gave her his best wait-until-I-get-off-this-disco-ball-look that he could muster.

Leo glanced down to see what she was recording.

What he saw underneath him made his jaw drop. "Holy Toledo..." Leo muttered.

More monsters were dancing below. What he assumed was Annabeth's frizzy, blond hair bobbed in and out of the monsters in a manic search for something she must have dropped on the ground. She didn't appear physically injured, but he had to wonder why she'd shouted in pain. Annabeth didn’t strike him as the type to freak out over losing a hair tie or something, but whatever it was must have been important for her to be sweeping the room in such a meticulous grid pattern.

His heart did a double thud. Piper and Hazel were standing nearby, seeming not to notice Annabeth's wondering. They cheered and danced. Something about their actions looked familiar. It kinda reminded him of when he'd met Dionysus' crazed fangirls, the Maenads.

Although he couldn't be sure, since the boy was half-covering his face, Leo thought Nico Di Angelo was standing beside Piper and Hazel. The boy looked gloomy and annoyed enough to be their resident goth.

There was a small stage directly under the disco ball's path, ending beside Hazel, Piper, and Nico. That's what made his jaw drop.

Excitement made him even more lightheaded. All his friends were here. Percy, Jason, Frank, and Will were on the stage, doing the electric slide and leading the monsters to clap to the beat.

When Jason spotted him, a cheer went up. The four boys jumped up and down. Percy pointed at Leo and shouted, "A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THE RETURN OF LEO VALDEZ!" Leo couldn't really hear him over the throbbing subwoofers, but was able to read it off Percy's lips.

Leo didn't know how they knew he'd be here, but he felt honored that they'd prepared a dance number and a little confused why they'd planned it in a club full of monsters.

The disco ball touched the stage and Leo hopped off. This was definitely not what he'd expected to find. Before he could glance around to see if Kalypso or her other friends were in the crowd, or if the Asian girl had dashed off with Kronos's blade, the four boys were patting his back. Jason punched him in the shoulder.

Everyone was smiling. Some part of Leo whined to let this continue. They did care about him. He was important to the group, not just some junky mechanic comic relief. After months of being away, he missed these guys!

Leo tried to play it cool, but had trouble when Jason and Percy picked him up and threw him in the air. Once they caught him, Leo tried to shout, "Woo! Guys! We can party extreme later—we need to catch a person first!"

But no one seemed to hear him. To be fair, no one probably could over the music. He had to wonder where the sound booth was so he could mute it.

The monsters were shouting, "Dance! Dance!" in a throbbing beat of itself. Will motioned for him to take the center of the stage. Leo wasn't used to dancing like this, but—if one dance would get these guys to focus on their quest at hand—he figured he had to oblige.

The five male heroes of Olympus lined up on stage in just enough time to sing to the song's bridge: I jizz right in my pants every time you're next to me. Will and Jason were perfectly lined up with their significant others. Piper shouted out a giggled laugh as Jason winked at her and mouthed the words, And when we're holding hands, it's like having sex with me.

Nico looked like he wanted to kill someone, but what else was new? Or really, that he’d just resigned himself to the fact that the rest of the guys were being awesome.

Though… Jason’s behavior seemed a little… off? Leo hoped it was just because Jason was glad he was here, and not because he’d had another amnesia session.

Leo didn't care if he looked stupid while dancing. All five of them did. He kinda wished Calypso would be able to see this. She'd find it hilarious. He got giddy when he saw her walk up alongside Nico in the crowd. She must have found a way to come through the front.

Nico looked about ready to smash his face in with one of the nearby Scytherian Drycean's tails. He sighed and motioned to where Will had taken off his shirt and was swinging it around. Leo didn't care. That kid needed to learn to chill out anyway.

You say I'm premature? I just call it ecstasy. I wear a rubber around--all times it's a necessity.

Calypso, of course, also looked annoyed. Then paled upon noticing everyone else on stage.

Once the song came to an end, the five of them burst into laughter. Percy stumbled, knocking Will and he to the ground. They both giggled.

Nico visibly flinched and looked away. Calypso sighed and pointed at the floor offstage in a come right here Mister motion.

Then it hit Leo how bizarre it was that they were able to convince Frank to do this. Percy and Will? Definitely. Jason? Probably with enough coaxing. Frank...?

Frank seemed to snap out of his revelry. He glanced down at his feet in concern and confusion. Dread coated his expression as he scanned their surroundings.

The song melted into another one by the Chainsmokers. With this song, Leo could see Frank's look of horror spread. Hazel suddenly grabbed Piper, forcing her to stop dancing. Jason's eyes went wide with realization.

Maybe they hadn't planned a dance number for his arrival.

Frank and Jason nodded at each other. Jason grabbed Percy and Frank grabbed Will to drag them off stage. Leo figured he'd better follow close behind. The monsters and some stray demigods cleared space by the stairs for them. Hazel, Piper, Calypso, and Nico made their way to the stage’s exit.

The music clogged for a second and restarted, like it was changing stations. Everything quieted down to appropriate screaming level. As they hopped off stage, Leo could hear Piper gasp, "Oh gods. What just happened?!"

"Nice break dance," a Cyclops laughed, patting Frank on the shoulder. Frank winced, trying to keep his eyes down.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"Yea, that was the best performance since the one with the goats!" a ghoul cheered and winked at Will.

Will fumbled to get his shirt back on. Nico walked over and broke the ghoul's hand. The ghoul whined but didn't dare raise a hand to the son of Hades. He crept away, sulking.

Nico gave Leo a weird grin. "Welcome back. I told everyone you weren't dead. And now you got to see the world’s dumbest stage performance."

As though no one had seen his grand entrance with the disco ball, a wave of excitement washed over the others.

"Leo!" Piper gasped. She wrapped him up in a hug. Over his shoulder, he could see Calypso scowl. Leo gave her a helpless shrug, then tightened his arms around Piper.

"Hey Beauty Queen. I missed you!"

Hazel hopped in to join the hug with a laugh and a quick peck on the cheek. "Leo! We're glad to see you're okay!"

Calypso would kill him for this later.

"You're really here!" Jason said. Once Piper and Hazel released Leo, Jason punched Leo's shoulder, like he didn't remember punching it the first time. "That's for freaking us out."

Jason, miraculously, hit him in the same spot as before. Leo grabbed his arm, scared it might fall off if his amnesiac friend forgot again.

Percy grinned broadly until he caught sight of Calypso. Both their faces fell. She looked away awkwardly and hugged herself.

He mouthed the word, "Oh," softly, having a hard time not staring.

Leo's heart sank a few hundred feet through the floor, maybe stopping close to Tartarus.

"You must have all been enchanted to dance," Calylpso shouted, breaking up their reunion revelry. "A child of Dionysus maybe?"

"Yea... enchanted..." Leo muttered. "That's the only way we could have all been dancing on stage."

"Shut up," Calypso snapped at him. He could tell that she knew he'd done that of his own free will. She looked so tense. Leo wanted to give her a hug, but—after all that hugging he'd done with Hazel and Piper—now might not be the time.

Will put an arm around Nico, seeming to want comfort more for himself than his... was Nico his boyfriend now? They looked kinda boyfriendish..? "Why weren't you affected?" Will asked.

"I don't dance," Nico growled with a blush. "But this girl is right. Calypso, I assume? Merry and her group disappeared. And I think we might want to leave now."

Leo remembered all the monsters around them. None looked ready to attack them. Most continued to dance with the music. Regardless, Frank and Hazel checked the weapons at their belts.

A Cyclops with a XXXXXXXL biker jacket put a large hand over Frank and Jason's shoulder, making both Romans jump in consternation. But the Cyclops just chuckled like they were old buddies. "We have orders not to attack you. Great dance. Can't wait to see it on Hephaestus TV."

"Hephasteus TV?" Frank repeated in horror. "You mean—”

"Yea, that'll broadcast at some point. We aren't killing you in exchange for the video footage. It's already downloaded onto the magical intersnar—”

"Internet," Piper supplied, looking queasy at the thought.

“Yes, the internet. Now this way, little demigods and Cyclops hugger,” he said. He ruffled Jason’s hair at the last part.

Leo glanced at Jason. “Cyclops hugger?”

Jason sighed, “Don’t ask.”

Percy glanced away from Calypso, touching his hands to his pockets like he didn’t know what to do with them. He jumped when he realized someone was missing. “Where’s Annabeth?” he asked, his eyes darting around.

He relaxed when he saw his blonde girlfriend crouched on the ground beside a harpy, scanning for something.

“Hey, Wise Girl—”

She raised her head, eyes distractingly searching the floor until she noticed Leo. “Oh! Leo, thank the gods you’re okay.” Annabeth stood up and stepped over to them. She tried to smile at him and look excited, but she looked agitated.

“Did you like Leo’s welcome home performance?” Percy asked. He still looked shaken by the sight of Calypso. He went to put an arm over Annabeth’s shoulder.

Annabeth stepped out of his reach. “Percy, I’m leaving you for a weasel. As soon as I can catch it.”

Leo coughed on a laugh. She’d said it so seriously. Everyone glanced at her, including the biker Cyclops.

“I didn’t think we danced that poorly,” Percy said lightheartedly.

“Don’t try to convince me otherwise. I know we’ve been through a lot, and I promise we’ll still be great friends—”

“Uh, Wise Girl—”

“But, I’ve made up my mind. I know this is sudden, but you can’t sway me from my new found love of this creature—”

Percy grabbed Annabeth’s arms, the pallor returning to his face. “Oh gods, you’re serious.” He searched the faces of everyone else in their group, most of which were holding off laughs, before landing on Piper. “What’s wrong with her?!” he demanded.

“Calex must have gotten her,” Piper said, mystified. She had a hand over her mouth to contain a smile. “I wonder if one of the others thought Merry’s powers wouldn’t work on Annabeth for some reason.”

“Whatever,” Percy said. “Fix it, Piper.”

Annabeth removed Percy’s hands with calm determination. “There’s nothing to fix, Percy. We’re through. That’s just that.”

Piper shrugged helplessly. “I… don’t think I can. Eros’ powers of love tend to be more powerful than Aphrodite’s. From what Calex said, I think you just need to wait for it to wear off.”

“And get teasing material for months in the meantime,” Leo cheered. He fumbled in his tool belt to see if he had a recorder. “Annabeth, in your most romantic words, can you describe this weasel to me?”

Annabeth and Percy both scowled at him.

Annabeth lifted her nose. “This is serious, Valdez.”

He was shocked Percy couldn’t find the humor in this. Everyone else looked ready to burst into giggles, even Frank. Well, one other person didn’t seem mirthful. Leo’s heart crumbled again when he noticed Calypso. She seemed near tears, still avoiding eye contact with any of them. Occasionally though, her gaze would slip up to Annabeth with a hateful sneer.

What would happen if Annabeth and Percy broke up? Not necessarily over a weasel, but—

“This way, little demigods,” the biker Cyclops cheered.

He rounded their whole group up, Hazel, Frank, Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Will, Piper, Jason, Calypso, and Leo, and directed them towards the exit. Leo stepped to be beside Calypso, but she wouldn’t look at him. He wanted to introduce her properly, but she didn’t seem to want that right now. Maybe it would be better outside of the club, where there was less imminent danger.

“Well…” Hazel said with a little blush, “That was… um… I didn’t know you could dance, Frank.”

Frank blushed. “Let’s never talk about this again.”

“Until it shows up on Hephaestus TV,” Jason groaned. “I wonder if we can find out when it’s airing and get the Stoll brothers to steal Dionysus’ TV that day.”

“I kinda wanna know how we looked,” Will said with a laugh.            Nico’s cheeks went a dark red. Leo had a feeling their son of Hades rather enjoyed how Will had looked while dancing. “Whatever, now we’ve lost our main lead on Kronos’s blade and the others. Unless Frank can sniff them out, they’re gone.”

Leo forced his mind away from what must have happened when Percy was on the island with Calypso, and gave everyone a broad grin. Everything would be fine. Annabeth wouldn’t really leave Percy. And Calypso loved him, right?

Besides, they had a job to do. “It’s okay, guys. The Leoman has that covered! Once Superman here flies me to the roof, we can catch a ride on Festus and, I can introduce you to Felix.”

“The dragon?” Frank asked hopefully.

“No,” Leo said with gusto, “The table.”

As they went into the night air, and the Cyclops demanded Jason give him a hug goodbye, Leo calmed down and genuinely smiled. All his friends started asking him the typical questions he’d guess they would ask. Where have you been? What have you been doing? Did you send a silver dragon to attack our camp?

They were excited to meet Calypso, though she seemed really reserved. Leo understood. This was a lot of new people at once. And Percy, but he was trying not to think about that. And the girl Percy left Calypso for that happened to be madly in love with a weasel at the moment.

Leo paused before Jason sky lifted him. “Wait—what weasel did Annabeth see?”

This scene was one of the reasons I wrote this book, s I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it XD Thanks for reading!

Footnote:

[1] I know Lonely Island put this song out eight years ago at this point… but it was still the most appropriate song for this scene.  Though “I just had sex” came as a close second.

Not to overburden you with a huge post, but the Seven Halfbloods (who must answer the call)? Specifically Percy/Jason/Nico. I am prepared to fight you if you are certain enough in your opinion if it differs from mine.

haha sure! (sorry this is a few days late) here are the seven + nico:

(as poseidon told percy, BRACE YOURSELF: long post)

ANNABETH CHASEhouse: gryffindor | hufflepuff | ravenclaw | slytherinsurety: ehhh could be anything | don’t know the character well enough | not 100% | my mind might be changed | I’m certain | FIGHT ME ON THIS 

Annabeth, my favorite, my childhood hero, my current hero, is such a Slytherin (as am I. no wonder I love her so much). She’s smart, yes, but the way she is described is more cunning/clever. Her plans 99% of the time involve manipulating the adversary through trickery. Also, she’s ambitious: in TLT, she wants so badly to prove herself to everyone. And if we delve into the musical canon, her song ‘my grand plan’ tells about how legacy is important to her, and her ambition, etc: “my grand plan is thaT I WILL BE REMEMBERED…I’LL RISE UP…MY FRIENDS/THE WORLD/MY MOM WILL NOTICE ME”

JASON GRACEhouse: gryffindor | hufflepuff | ravenclaw | slytherinsurety: ehhh could be anything | don’t know the character well enough | not 100% | my mind might be changed | I’m certain | FIGHT ME ON THIS

I try to choose just one house for each character, but for jason I’m torn. I don’t particularly think he has the passion and recklessness of a gryffindor or the ambition of a slytherin (no way a slytherin would give up his praetor position so easily!) One of the reasons he feels more Greek than Roman is that he doesn’t value power as much, he seems more like a thoughtful ravenclaw to me. At the same time, his leadership style and peacemaking point to hufflepuff.

NICO DI ANGELOhouse: gryffindor | hufflepuff | ravenclaw | slytherinsurety: ehhh could be anything | don’t know the character well enough | not 100% | my mind might be changed | I’m certain | FIGHT ME ON THIS

Hadn’t really thought about nico before. He strikes me as someone who doesn’t necessarily fight for a cause, he doesn’t particularly strive to be a hero, eliminating gryffindor. He doesn’t seem slytherin, either: he doesn’t manipulate others or want power (his ghost king powers weren’t a goal of his, he just claimed them for the sake of good). I say ravenclaw because he seems to be motivated more by logic and reason, doing what he does to help the heroes for the sake of saving the world (and eventually because they’re his friends of course). He also gains a decent knowledge of Greek mythology and uses it to help - Achilles curse anyone?

FRANK ZHANGhouse: gryffindor | hufflepuff | ravenclaw | slytherinsurety: ehhh could be anything | don’t know the character well enough | not 100% | my mind might be changed | I’m certain | FIGHT ME ON THIS

Frank’s laid-back, friendly hufflepuff nature kinda makes him stick out at Camp Jupiter and in his heroic pursuits. Everyone sees him as just a nice (clumsy) guy, but as he learns to control his powers and become a leader, he doesn’t lose his hufflepuff nature. He’s naturally a peacemaker, somewhat like Jason (maybe that’s why he so easily replaces him as praetor), but is better at talking to people (think about when jason could’ve been more tactful when he was being suspicious of nico in MoA - I think it was MoA anyway)

HAZEL LEVESQUEhouse: gryffindor | hufflepuff | ravenclaw | slytherinsurety: ehhh could be anything | don’t know the character well enough | not 100% | my mind might be changed | I’m certain | FIGHT ME ON THIS

Hazel’s pretty quiet and kind, like Frank, but I think she’s more of a hero type - one who is brave because that’s their nature, not for the sake of duty or protecting others (though that’s a motivation for her too). She’s daring when she doesn’t have to be - remember her telling Hecate how she’ll create her own path? Hazel definitely strikes me as a naturally heroic demigod.

PIPER MCLEANhouse: gryffindor | hufflepuff | ravenclaw | slytherinsurety: ehhh could be anything | don’t know the character well enough | not 100% | my mind might be changed | I’m certain | FIGHT ME ON THIS

ahh I’m stuck between gryfindor and slytherinPiper’s definitely daring and aggressive in the way gryffindor and slytherin are. She stands up for herself and others, and isn’t afraid to be in the spotlight (by the end of TLH) - as in when she took the counselor position from drew. I get more ‘fight me’ vibes from her than slytherins would usually have, but then again, she plays the charming diplomat in many situations (with Boreas, Aeolus, the Romans, the Kekropes). This could be read either as a gryffindor having to hold their tongue to keep the peace or a slytherin doing what comes naturally to them. Altogether I don’t know which one I’d go with.

LEO VALDEZhouse: gryffindor | hufflepuff | ravenclaw | slytherinsurety: ehhh could be anything | don’t know the character well enough | not 100% | my mind might be changed | I’m certain | FIGHT ME ON THIS

hmm Leo is an interesting character because he comes off as very gryffindor, or possibly hufflepuff? from his dialogue, but internally, he is pretty guarded and more logical/mechanical? I could see him as any of the houses, but ravenclaw seems like the best fit because of his wit combined with his reliance on his brain and tools to fix problems.

PERCY JACKSONhouse: gryffindor | hufflepuff | ravenclaw | slytherinsurety: ehhh could be anything | don’t know the character well enough | not 100% | my mind might be changed | I’m certain | FIGHT ME ON THIS

I saved this for last because I know there is Discourse and I wasn’t even really sure where I stood on the topic?But I’m pretty solidly on the hufflepuff percy train nowyes, percy is heroic and brave and daring, but he is really motivated by his friends. there’s a reason his fatal flaw is loyalty: he might risk the world to save a friend. literally, the reason he goes on his first three quests are: to save his mom (and not be turned into a dolphin), to find grover, and to rescue annabeth. And his motivations for other things, while they might be less direct, usually relate to him wanting to save his friends and the world at large. I see the case for slytherin percy - he does use trickery just as much as annabeth, but also just as much as any other character, that’s just how greek mythology/rick riordan’s writing is. And the moments where percy goes dark, esp in tartarus, do show cold/calculating tendencies. But each time he’s like that, it’s because a friend of his is in danger. Percy has NO ambition. He didn’t WANT to be a half-blood, particularly a child of the Big Three, he didn’t want that power. He was devastated when he found out in TLT and had to go to the poseidon cabin. Percy is the glue in the 7. He’s for sure a hufflepuff, FIGHT ME.

hopefully this isn’t too incoherent! feel free to talk to me about any of these! :)

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An invitation.

 Percy leans in.

 It’s just the barest brush of lips, initially. Will’s feel very different from Percy’s own – softer, plusher – but they fit well together nevertheless. It’s sweet and warm, and Percy thinks he tastes syrup from the pancakes Will’s brought for breakfast.

Percy knows his face is burning, and that his ears are on fire, but he can feel the warmth of Will’s own cheeks underneath his palm and that makes it okay. His heart is beating painfully fast, as if trying to break out of Percy’s ribcage, but that is okay, too. Percy knows Will’s pulse isn’t much slower.

 This kiss doesn’t feel like the one he and Nico shared not too long ago, the one that ended with Nico hurt and Percy ridden with guilt.

 The same tenderness is there now, too, and that warmth that had spread through Percy back then. Something that soothes the yearning, the longing inside his chest, that makes him feel at peace, if only for a short moment.

This time, however, Percy is not afraid. There is no one around to see them, to judge them, no one here who will hurt Will simply because Percy has come too close. He has no reason to push him away like he has pushed Nico, he is allowed to give in to this, if only once.

 And Percy has wanted to do this for so long. It hasn’t registered before, not really, that this is what he’s been needing - but now that he has it, Percy knows that it’s what’s been missing too.

 Will kisses him back, lips moving tentatively against Percy’s.

It’s slow and it’s sweet, and Percy’s making a low sound deep in his chest – akin to a hum, almost a purr, really - it’s pleased and happy and Percy feels giddy with all the feelings spreading through him.

 The spark he feels is hard to put into words, but there is one thought dominant in his mind: Why has he not done this sooner? Why has he been watching, aching, thinking he would not be allowed the same kind of affection that the others clearly share?

 They part, somewhat reluctantly, and Will runs his fingers first over Percy’s cheek and then through his hair. Percy’s eyelids flutter and he leans into the touch, Will’s fingers lightly scratch over his scalp before tangling in the dark strands of hair at the nape of Percy’s neck.

Will pulls Percy forward again, Percy’s eyes close before their lips meet once more and his tummy tingles in anticipation.

 That’s when the screaming starts.

 They startle apart and at first, Percy thinks it’s the repercussion of what they’ve just done – that it was wrong, that of course it wasn’t allowed, and that he, or worse, that Will, is going to pay the price. It’s an old and an irrational panic, left over from the pain he’s experienced every time he dared show affection at the rescue centre. It’s the same fear that has made him push away Nico.

 Will almost falls over as he scrambles away, eyes wide and cheeks still red. A pang of hurt shoots through Percy’s chest before he realises Will is not trying to get away from Percy, but trying to get to the laptop – the source of the noise. His knees scuff over the floor and then he’s close enough to the couch to grab it where they rested it on a cushion.

 The stream is still running, but the camera is knocked askew. Percy doesn’t know what is happening, can hardly see what is going on with the way that Will clutches the laptop in his hands, worried frown on his face and eyes skitting around to take everything in.

Percy makes a small sound, reaches out but can only stretch far enough to brush his fingers against Will’s arm now.

Will shoots a glance toward Percy at the touch, then shifts closer to him again so both of them can watch the screen.

 “I don't know what's going on, I think I heard a shot.”  Will says and his voice shakes with every word. “I can't see either of them.”

 The crowd is in panic, running across the plaza, jostling the camera that miraculously is still running, taking everything in and broadcasting it live. There is a siren wailing in the distance, but Percy cannot tell if it is a cause or the source of the panic.

 Percy catches sight of Jason, standing up from behind the podium where he must have ducked, then running across the stage. He doesn’t get far, Nico is coming toward him from the other side.

 The second their hands touch, darkness bursts around them and swallows both men whole, then implodes just as quickly, leaving nothing in the spot Nico and Jason had just been in. They’re gone, they disappeared.

Panic grips Percy’s heart. He knows he should trust Nico, but his first instinct is to harshly grip Will’s arm and hiss in distress. There are no words coming out of his mouth, Percy doubts he could speak even if he tried.

 Will is shaking and silent, his eyes wide in fear when they turn toward Percy – he is as scared for the two men as Percy is.

 “I told him not to go.” He protests weakly, even though it’s clearly too late for that now. Percy wants to pull Will closer, hug and comfort him, but he is shaking too much himself to even think about doing so.

 What is happening?

 Then shadows explode next to Will, drowning the entire room in a chilling darkness for a few seconds before retreating rapidly and leaving behind the two heaving figures of Jason and Nico.

Nico’s leaning on Jason, standing on shaky legs, hands slowly uncurling from where they are fisted into Jason’s jacket. They both look just as panicked as Percy feels, but neither of them shows any signs of being hurt.

 “Thank God!” Will cries as he scrambles toward them, practically tackling Jason with a hug the second he gets up from the floor.

 Jason manages to catch Will in his arms, only stumbling for a step. He seems well enough, a little shaken maybe, but definitely unharmed. Percy finds it somewhat easier to breathe again.

 Nico, however, is clinging to Jason’s side, pale and trembling. He is swaying on his feet and neither Jason nor Will seems to notice. He’s going to fall, Percy realises.

 Percy doesn’t hesitate – he heaves himself over the kiddie pool’s plastic outer barrier, splashing some of the little water left inside over the floor. He really can’t bring himself to care about making a mess now.

 It’s hard to move, but somehow Percy manages just in time: When Nico’s legs give out, Percy is there and catches Nico against his chest.

 It only cushions the impact – Percy is not tall enough when crawling on the floor to stop Nico’s fall entirely, but he takes most of the blow himself instead of having Nico feel the full impact of hitting the floor.

 Nico is wheezing, gasping – similarly to the night when he’d rescued Percy out of the wildlife centre. It’s the price Nico pays for the shadows. Percy isn’t sure how it works, but they seem to draw from Nico’s very life force whenever he calls for their aid.

This extraction has taken a lot of his energy, maybe too much, even. Percy is afraid Nico has overestimated his ability, that going this far and going this far with another person was too much for him to handle.

Percy hates Nico in that moment, hates that he would sacrifice or risk himself like that, and part of him hates Jason too for allowing Nico to do so in the first place.

 Percy cradles Nico carefully and holds him close to his chest. Tremors go through Nico’s body, and his breathing is ragged, and there is only so much Percy can do to help.

He is caressing Nico’s face with the softest touch, and then he is humming the same small melody which soothed Nico’s pains the last time.

 Percy’s ability to heal is abysmal, if anyone would even call it healing in the first place. Nevertheless, Percy pours all he has into helping his friend right now, into singing his siren’s song and quietly begging the gods of his people to help.

He wants to cry, but he refuses to let any tears fall even though he can feel his eyes burn.

 Percy only notices that Jason and Will have joined him on the floor when Jason – carefully but determinedly – eases Percy’s grip on Nico. Will is there too, worried gaze fixed on Nico and one hand reaching out to cover Jason’s on Percy’s arm.

 “Give him room to breathe.” Jason says gently.

 It is not reprimanding, just reminding, and Percy relaxes his steel hold. Nico’s breaths are not as choked now, but they still sound a little ragged with every in and out.

Percy scowls at Jason when he moves closer, suppressing the instinct to bare is fangs at the other. Kneeling across from where Percy is half sitting, half lying on the floor, Jason carefully eases one of Percy’s arms away, then checks Nico’s pulse.

“He’s already coming down.” Jason says to both Percy and Will, the latter having knelt down next to Percy by Nico’s head now. His fingers thread to Nico’s dark hair and rub little circles along his scalp and temples. It looks soothing, and Percy hopes it helps Nico focus on something other than the pain.

 Then, Jason turns to Nico.

“I’m so sorry.” He says quietly and Nico’s face turns toward him slowly. “I panicked, we should have tried taking the car first.” Jason runs his fingers over Nico’s cheek as he says so, incredibly gently, as if he is just as afraid as Percy is that Nico might break.“I shouldn't rely on using something that hurts you like this.”

 Nico gives a weak groan in reply, and manages a small shake of his head. “‘s okay.”

It's slurred, and Jason clearly doesn't believe it, but Nico doesn't give him a chance to say anything more. He curls onto his side, into Percy and away from Jason. Instantly, Percy’s arms wind around him again, but this time he doesn’t feel the need to bare his teeth in Jason’s direction.

“You're comfy.” Nico whispers weakly, then something about sleepy time, but Percy can't make out the words.

 A small smile tugs at Percy’s lips and he turns onto his side, lying more on the floor so he can allow Nico to crowd close. A warm nose buries itself against Percy’s cold, damp chest, and Percy wonders how exactly this position is supposed to be comfy for Nico.

He doesn't mind, happy about being the one who’s allowed to hold Nico close when he feels this fragile. Will still cards his fingers through Nico’s hair and Percy starts up humming his song again, hoping it'll lend Nico some of his energy to recover.

 Jason watches with a strange expression on his face, almost a smile, but Percy pays him little attention – it’s his fault Nico is being like this in the first place and Percy would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little angry at the man.

“The couch might have been a better idea.” Jason says after a moment, and Percy raises his head to cock an eyebrow at Jason as if to challenge him and ask: ‘I’m not good enough?’

Will laughs, and Percy’s attention snaps back to him. He won’t mind Percy holding Nico, will he?

Percy isn’t sure… after their – their kiss… maybe things have changed. It’s not like Percy has been in a situation like this before, has anything to compare it to. And Will must know that Nico… well… that Percy cares for Nico deeply, in a similar, maybe the same way he cares for Will - even if Percy doesn’t know how to put it into words.

Instead of saying anything about it, or demanding Percy let Nico go, Will scoots closer to them until he can raise both Nico’s and Percy’s head into his lap.

It takes some shuffling around;, the position is awkward at first, but once they settle and Percy can actually lie down all the way, it’s much more comfortable than before.

 “I think this works just fine.” Will says, looking cheeky with his smile directed toward Jason, who is sitting a little further away and looking like he doesn’t really know what to do with himself.

 Nico is already dozing off, his breathing coming easier and more even with every moment passing, and he looks peaceful resting against Percy and Will.

 Jason stands up, and Percy follows him with his eyes narrowed as Jason picks up a blanket from the couch. He hesitates for a moment, but Will is nodding encouragingly, so Jason comes back to them to drape the blanket over Nico’s body.

“Come here.” Will says when it looks like Jason wants to back off again. He pats the space next to him on the floor. “I think we all need some rest now. And you owe Percy and myself an explanation for worrying us like that.”

Jason’s tells Percy and Will everything that’s happened while Nico sleeps between them.

His appearance at the rally had attracted the press. Not a bad thing, per se, Jason had expected as much, and had prepared for the questions he’d been sure they’d ask. With Percy’s disappearance still all over the news, having someone labeled as close to him as Jason on camera sold well to tv stations, and any questions he’s answered will surely be discussed in talk shows and the radio over the next hours to come.

 The flipside, however, was that it hadn’t just brought positive attention. There are extremists on both sides - Jason has mentioned that before but he takes time to explain it again - and even though the organisers had taken precautions to keep both sides separated, allowing the media in meant being unable to stop the crowds from mingling. Fights had broken out in the crowd while Jason was still trying his best to answer to the press, to make sure to promote the cause without giving anything away.

Jason admits he was stupid staying this long even though chaos was clearly on the verge of breaking out. Will takes the moment to remind Jason that was the very reason he didn’t like the idea of Jason going in the first place.

Jason has no idea where the shot came from, he hopes no one got hurt. He still feels bad for running toward Nico, rather than thinking rationally and running with Nico to the car. They’d have to pick it up tomorrow.

 Percy doesn’t remember falling asleep, but when he wakes up, he is back in his pool and Nico is back on his couch. He’s turned toward Percy this time, slumbering peacefully tucked in his blankets.

He looks quite beautiful like this, Percy muses, before turning his gaze away from Nico.

 There is more water in the pool now, which Percy’s skin is grateful for, but it also means he won’t be able to leave the pool again without making a huge mess. He’s not sure exactly how they managed to get him back into the pool to begin with, especially without waking him up – he’s heavy and his tail makes him hard to pick up – but evidently Jason and Will must have found a way or he would still be snoozing on the floor.

Percy doubts Nico, given he is still out cold, had much to do with his relocation.

From further down the hall, the bathroom, Percy realises, he can hear water running. It’s already dark in the room, so Percy would have assumed Jason and Will left – but they are the only ones who could be the possible source of the noise. They are no where else to be seen, the kitchen is dark and the hallway empty, and aside from the bathroom, Nico’s apartment doesn’t have any other room they could be hiding out in.

The shower is running, and Percy’s mind wrecks itself for a solution other than that they are in it together. Percy frowns. It would be cramped, wouldn’t it? Inconvenient.

He can’t imagine anyone sharing the tub when he is in it, but then again, Percy does take up much more space than Will or Jason, respectively.

Percy doesn’t get to dwell on the thought much, since next to him, Nico groans quietly and stirs in his sleep. When Percy turns toward him, Nico is waking, slowly opening his eyes, then rubbing at them as if to chase sleep away.

“What time is it?” Nico croaks, voice scratchy from sleep. “How long have I been out?”

Percy can only shrug.

He has no clock, and no way of telling time. He isn’t even sure if it’s the night or very early morning, or if maybe the sun has just gone down.

 Nico sits up on his make-shift bed and the blankets fall away. Percy’s eyes instinctively find Nico’s legs, remembering the scars, but this time they are covered by long pyjama pants. Percy snaps his eyes back up, grateful when he finds that Nico hasn’t noticed Percy trying to sneak a peek.

Nico yawns as he stands up, ruffling through Percy’s hair as he walks by. It makes Percy blush, and his eyes trail after Nico on the man’s way to the kitchen. For a moment, Nico fumbles with what Percy thinks is the coffee machine, then Nico groans - probably having seen the time.

“It’s morning. I was out the entire day and night.” Nico complains and Percy gives him a sympathetic smile.

Nico doesn’t seem to be in pain or close to passing out anymore, and for Percy, that is the most important part - not how long the two of them have slept recovering.

Nico looks around then, frowns and cocks his head to the side.

“Is that…the shower?”  Nico asks, eyebrows drawn together.

 The coffee machine gurgles, but sure enough, there is still the distinctive sound of water running in the background. Percy nods. Nico’s frown deepens, then his face clears up in understanding.

He huffs and mumbles “Fuckers.” (which Percy is fairly sure he was not supposed to hear) and turns away from the coffee machine.

Nico goes from the kitchen to the hallway, then stops outside the bathroom. He doesn’t try the door, just knocks against it harshly. Percy thinks he hears Will squeak.

 “Stop jerking each other off and wasting my water!” Nico shouts, bangs the door again, and this time Percy definitely hears Jason laugh.

 He flushes – they are in there together.

Percy doesn’t know what Nico’s words have meant, but he has a feeling it’s not as innocent as the simple shower Percy had thought of when he’d noticed the sound earlier.

Percy must look mortified – when Nico turns back toward him, he laughs and winks at him. If anything, that only makes Percy’s face heat up more.

 “They’ll be done in a moment, then I’ll send them out to get some food for you.” Nico says as he goes back to the kitchen and pours himself a cup from the machine.

 He cradles it in his hands as he walks back over to Percy, then sits down in front of the pool.

 Percy wills his cheeks to stop burning and turns over in his pool so he can prop himself up on his elbows on the plastic border and face Nico.

 “You sang to me again.” Nico says then, his tone much softer now. “I think it helped. Healed, kinda. Gave me my strength back. Seems to have knocked you out as well though.”

Percy bites his lip. He doesn’t really understand how it works, other than that it’s his instinct telling him to do so and that he’s remembering songs he thinks his mother used to sing. It has worked weeks back, when Will hurt himself falling into the pool, and it has worked a few days ago when Nico saved him from the centre.

“I wanted to help you.” Percy murmurs quietly, then reaches out to take on of Nico’s hand, warm and soft in his own. He doesn’t look at Nico, feeling shy when he speaks about this. “I don’t know any other way.”

Nico smiles softly at that, turning his hand over in Percy’s to give his palm a little squeeze.

 “You helped.” He reassures quietly and smiles at Percy. It makes warmth spread all through Percy’s chest and when he looks up, Nico is looking back at him fondly. “Thank you.”

 Percy shrugs, face warming, but not with embarrassment this time.

Nico takes a little sip of his coffee and shakes his head.

 “Many of o-other mermen,” Nico stumbles over his words. Percy frowns, he doesn’t know what Nico meant to say, but other mermen isn’t it. “Have a knack for those kinds of things. Magic, if you will.”

 Percy is still frowning a little, but he nods slowly.

 “Like your shadows.” He says. Nico pales and Percy shakes his head. “But you’re not a merman.”

 Nico doesn’t get a chance to reply. Behind them, the bathroom door opens, and a red-faced Will steps out. His hair is damp and he is wearing the same clothes as yesterday, so Percy is guessing he and Jason stayed the night.

 “Nico.” Will says, voice a little higher than Percy thinks it normally is. “I’m gonna go buy us all some breakfast, you wanna come?”

 Percy has a feeling it’s not as much of a question as it is a request, but Nico nods and stands up without any protest.

 “Let me grab my coat, lover boy.” Nico says with a clearly teasing edge to his voice.

 Percy watches with amusement as Will stands there with his cheeks pink while Nico walks around him and finds his coat on the hallway hangers. Will gives a little wave to Percy, who waves back, before Nico grabs him by the elbow and takes him out the front door.

Their chatter starts up before the door falls shut and muffles them, and Percy wonders what they have to talk about… if they’ll talk about him.

 “That was quick.”

Jason’s voice makes Percy’s head snap up. He’s out of the bathroom, just like Will with damp hair and yesterday’s clothes.

 Maybe, Percy thinks, this should make him jealous. There has never been a doubt that there is something between Jason and Will; Percy has known for a while now.

He’s envied Jason and Will before, at the rescue centre, watching their casual touches. That was for being allowed something Percy thought he’d never have, though.

While Percy still isn’t entirely sure what that kiss meant, or if it meant anything at all, he’s fairly sure it wouldn’t change things between Will and Jason. After the excitement yesterday, Percy didn’t get a chance to ask Will what it meant for them, though…

 Percy doesn’t feel jealous, he thinks. Will has kissed Jason, most likely, and not for the first time this morning. Other things, too, that Percy pointedly decides not to think about too much, especially now when Jason is coming closer.

 “You helped Nico a lot yesterday.” Jason says now. “Normally, he isn’t back on his feet so quickly.”

 His voice is gentler than before as he sits down where Nico has sat not a minute ago. He picks up Nico’s discarded coffee cup with an amused expression, and after testing it hasn’t gone cold, takes a sip. Somehow, that little gesture makes Percy smile.

 “Normally?” Percy manages to ask.

 He isn’t sure yet how he feels about Jason today.

Percy was angry most of yesterday, but in hindsight, he hadn’t been fair on Jason. Jason hadn’t made the choice to use the shadows for Nico, he hadn’t even asked him to. Blaming Jason for what happened was not right. Even so… Percy can’t help feeling a little strange around Jason still.

 It’s been some time now since he and Jason talked, alone or about anything but Percy’s escape and future. Percy hasn’t realised how much he’s been missing Jason, deep down, missing the conversations they used to have at the rescue centre via morse and waterproof paper.

Percy has missed the way Jason used to make him feel.

 “He doesn’t do it as much anymore, but in the beginning he used to pop in and out of shadows all the time. He’d be out of it for days, sometimes.” Jason bites his lip and stops himself, brow drawn together in concern.

 Maybe, this isn’t Jason’s story to tell, or maybe he doesn’t like the memory of seeing Nico so fragile and vulnerable. Either way, Percy realises, not for the first time, that there is so much he doesn’t know about their lives outside the rescue centre and before all this trouble began.

 “Where did you learn the song you sang for him?” Jason asks, a much more innocent topic of conversation now.

 “My mum. I think.” Percy replies says softly, sadly. He hardly remembers her these days, and if he had had another parent around, Percy has no recollection of them anymore. It’s been so long…

 “Maybe… maybe you’ll find her again.” Jason says quietly. Percy looks up at him, and Jason’s smile is a little sad as well. “Once we get you back to the ocean, maybe… you’ll find your family. Your home.”

 It’s a careful statement. Percy knows Jason doesn’t want to promise Percy things that might not happen, but it’s a sweet thought nevertheless.

Seeing his mother again sounds like a dream he hasn’t dared to think about even in his sleep… Percy wonders if he’d recognise her - if she’d recognise him. He doesn’t even know where he’d start looking… he doesn’t know where he was taken from, or how to find his way home.

 “Maybe.” He echoes quietly.

 They sit in silence for a little while. Jason sips Nico’s coffee, Percy slouches against the plastic barrier and watches him absentmindedly. Maybe Jason, Will and Nico will be his family; they certainly feel like it now. They make Percy feel less alone in the world, and that is all he needs when it comes down to it.

 “Will is very fond of you.” Jason says after a while so quietly he might as well have said nothing at all.

 Percy perks up at that.

 “I’m… I…” Jason starts, frowns, shakes his head. Whatever he meant to say, Percy knows it’s not what comes out when Jason continues. “I don’t want either of you to hurt in the end - this here isn’t forever.”

 Percy cocks his head to the side, watches Jason carefully. He has found out so much more about all three of them in the last few days already, but Percy thinks he’s only just beginning to piece this puzzle together.

 “I know.” He says quietly, then, with a small smile quirking his lip he adds: “Do you think I want to lie around in this pool for the rest of my life?”

 Jason actually cracks a little smile at that, but doesn’t say anything else. Percy wants to ask what he really wanted to say, but can’t bring himself to work up the nerve. Instead, he bites his lip and looks at the floor.

 “You don’t mean I won’t see you anymore once we reach the reserve, right?” Percy asks in a small voice. That place, the reserve, feels more like a concept than reality. Something far away, but not quite in reach.

 Jason is silent for a long moment. When Percy looks up to search his face, to try and guess what Jason is thinking, Percy is surprised by the sadness he finds there.

 “No, that’s not what I mean. But you won’t need us anymore, you’ll be able to start your life - finally.”

 It’s a happy thought, Percy thinks, but Jason says it like the very idea pains him. Before Percy can ask more, ask why,  Jason finishes Nico’s coffee and stands up.

Percy’s eyes follow him when he walks to the kitchen, taking more time than Percy thinks necessary to rinse and put away the cup.

 There’s a little table, pushed against the back of the sidearm of the couch, where Jason stops on his way back. If it’s another excuse to avoid conversation, Percy doesn’t know.

 Percy stretches up a little to see what Jason is doing, but he is too even sitting up to spy anything behind the backrest of the couch.

Jason looks up as if he can feel the eyes on him.

 Percy blushes, but Jason doesn’t seem to notice the way his face warms after Percy’s been caught staring. Jason picks up the thing he’s been fumbling with - his laptop as it turns out - and brings it back over to Percy.

 “I wanted to see if there was anything about yesterday in the news. And if we’re making any progress with the reserve.” Jason explains and sits down again, the mini computer on his lap so Percy can see the screen too.

 It’s nothing but a search website open on the screen. Jason must have scrolling through headlines when he caught Percy staring.

Percy catches sight of a few words as Jason scrolls through them again now- his name, gunshots, rally, merfolk rights - but Jason moves too fast for Percy to read anything concrete.

 “No one was hurt, it seems.” Jason says. There is relief in his voice. Percy wonders if he blames himself for the extremists clashing and fighting the day before. “And your name is on everyone’s tongue today. Which is good for us, it adds public pressure. We’ve been waiting for a final decision so long now, maybe that’s the push we needed.”

 Percy nods, although he isn’t entirely sure what Jason means, and Jason stops now to show Percy some headlines. Most of them quote the words he’s spoken in the video, some call for the rights of his kind in their own words. Jason looks proud, and Percy nudges him lightly to get his attention back from the screen.

 “Thank you.” Percy says softly, then rests his cheek against Jason’s arm, nuzzling him lightly.

 When Jason looks down at him, clearly surprised at Percy’s display of affection, Percy smiles.

 “You do so much for me. I never thank you enough.” Percy adds, but Jason still seems at a loss for words. His mouth opens, closes again, and then he turns away, cheeks tinting pink.

 “Anything for you.” He says quietly, and Percy believes that he means it.

Add to Dream Journal

2016 I was in a doctor's office room thing and there was a male nurse who told me to pick up the phone when it rang. The guy on the phone told me to go get something called Flux. I left the office and I was walking past a fitness class on a mezzanine floor and then I went down to the ground floor. Everything looked like a fancy hotel and there were lots of shops that I walked past. I also walked past a spa which had leather chairs with mini waterfalls on either side of them. In the middle of all the shops was a large fountain pond where lots of cosplayers were. Apparently I was cosplaying Armin. Then a bell rang for lunch or something and I woke up. 28th August Hannah was apparently going to start teaching music classes and she showed me an instrument which was long and white and futuristic looking. It had strings in different colours that played different notes when you touched them. I tried to play welcome to the black parade on it. Suddenly there was a weird anime band playing a song with the instrument. Then suddenly it switched to a scene where Cloud from FFVII was stuck in a weird toilet room with another version of himself with slightly different hair. They talked for a while. Then I was in a room outside of the loos which had food on the table and different types of plates and bowls at one end. Edie was there too. I tried to get food for Cloud for some reason but I kept losing my plate. I tried to get sushi and salami. Then I was in a weird toilet myself and I was trying to pee but people kept getting into the room somehow. No privacy! Then I was back in the food table room and I was about to get more food when suddenly some teachers came along and packed the food all away. I watched as they filled a cupboard with the leftover food and plates. Then the teachers told us to sit down at a table in another room. Hannah and Rachel were there and a bunch of people who I didn't know. Everyone was saying how Hannah was the youngest. And everyone asked me what Emma-chan ment. It was odd. Then i asked if anyone was Japanese and could explain it but then I woke up. 11th of September A boy was imprisoned on some kind of island and he was almost thrown into the sea but then they traveled to a country to meet their owners. The group where going to travel underground but the boy didn't want to so my graphics teacher who was for some reason the leader of them, said he could walk to the house he'd be serving in. He told him to take two left and two right to get there. A friend of his came with him. They went to a food shop on the way. It sold big slices of fruit like oranges and watermelon, sushi rolls with salmon and prawn and lots of colourful cakes looking like macaroons but with white cream inside. Then suddenly a woman asked a shop assistant if one was allowed to mix the ingredients that the shop sold. The assistant was confused and the woman got a mixing bowl and demonstrated what she meant. The shop assistant said yes, she could do that when she bought them. Suddenly it was me and Rachel walking around in the shop. I said "what kind of world is so oppressing that people have to ask what they can do with the things they buy?" Then we went and looked at a pair of dungarees for some reason and Rachel was telling me about a book she read where a maths teacher's favourite student died but her death inspired him to do good things like simplify the way maths was taught so that students could understand it better. Then I woke up. 12th October I Annabeth, Grover and Percy were walking across a rope bridge thing and then someone told them to go to these cabin things one of which had a big library and a dock were a boat would be but there was no boat. Then I was in a different library and I ordered sweets on a machine and it said I had to pick them up in half an hour. Then I explored some Americans cafe things and all of the workers were on lunch breaks. It had a dull grey carpet and white blocks for tables and smaller ones for chairs. Then I was performing a dance in assembly at school as part of an audition for something. I hadn't planned a dance so I made it up as I went along. I didn't do very well and I could hear people laugh at me. Then Miss Mackie made pancakes for some reason and while another teacher was talking, I talked to her about Disney movies. I posted our conversation on Tumblr while watching a video Jesse made on an ipad. 18th October I was doing some sort of quest where there was a challenge in each room. I failed the first one but i succeeded in the others. Then i was allowed another go on the first one and it worked. 27th October It was in some sort of movie and a boy who looked like Link wanted to steal a harp from somewhere so he got a bunch of kids to do it. They made a thieves gang and one a girl called Willow was made the leader. Then the scene changed and I was reading a book while reading manga version of the book at the same time. There was something about yuri in the book I think and something about eggs being not allowed? Then i was in animal crossing and I wanted to visit a dog's house cuz it was huge but it was locked and the password was 90 letters long! I tried to get in using a walkthrough but it didn't work. Then me and Hannah were drinking cans of fizzy drinks in the car because apparently there was a prize on one can. Mum wheeled the cans away in a weird trolly thing but i was like 'no we haven't checked the cans!' But apparently it didn't matter cuz we were going to KFC for some reason??? 23rd December I was in Spain or somewhere and we went to a cafe and then a gift shop. I didn't buy anything but then I regretted not buying hair pin things cuz they looked cool. Then the scene switched to Florian in a train and he was in a tiny compartment bit of the train with this weird guy who was like "do you do weed?" And for some reason Florian said "no but I used to." even though Florian would never do weed. Suddenly time seemed to slow down as the guy started to smoke weed and the room filled with smoke. Florian ran for the door and then I woke up for a split second and went back to sleep. Then there was a lady talking to some men who were also doing weed and they said it was so they would look at life negatively which would apparently give them a more peaceful transition to the after life. They tried to get her to smoke the weed but she pretended she got a urgent call and had to go. somehow me and my family realised something was wrong on the train so we jumped on and tried to get to the last cabin. We run past tons of people who were now doing weed and trying to pass us bunts but we kept running past them and in each carriage these mini air bag things fell from the roof of the train which I think contained extra oxygen to breathe out the weed smoke. That's all I remember though. 30th December Hannah was reading a bunch of textbooks about religion in different cultures for school. I read one about Ancient Greece and I thought about stealing it for some reason but I didn't. Then I was at school and I was in a computer room at lunch and the bell rang but I couldn't pack up in time and the class for last lesson started walking in. Mrs Steward was teaching the class and she went and talked to me. I was wearing lots of gold rings which apparently meant I'd taken a lot of humanity subjects. She seemed very pleased with me. Then I tried to go to my lesson which was maths but we were all waiting outside the door because a different class was in the room. We decided to go home even though we weren't allowed. For some reason I was walking home in bare feet and I wanted to run so that I could get home quickly before anyone came after me. Then I saw a van drive past with a mirror on it and Mr.Banam was in it along with another teacher i didn't know. I assumed they were looking for us but they didn't seem to notice me. Then I was running down the road that leads to my house from the park on which is the smaller entrance to Victoria Nurseries. I was now running with Nico di Angelo and a bunch of smaller kids and we could all run faster than before. Then we went to a sushi restaurant for some reason but they wouldn't give us sushi. They gave us mochi in soup even though we hadn't ordered it and then they sat and ate it with us??? That's all I recall. 2017 15th of January I was in Graphics and there was a microwave where I put a pie to eat later. It started playing music which I remember really liking but I can't remember how it sounded. Then Emily was in my graphics class for some reason and she wanted me to make up a dance for her to learn. She said I had to use the song Shake It by Metro Station but I didn't have to use the whole thing. Then my pie was ready but apparently other people had put stuff in the microwave so a lady from the canteen went round with a tray of the things that were in there and we had to take our ones. Then it was the second day of the summer holidays and I was dancing to a lazy town song on TV in pijamas. Then mum came in and told me to get dressed because we were going somewhere. I asked her where and she said the zoo and she got a bit annoyed because she wanted it to be a surprise. We waited for Hannah to get home because she was out with friends and for some reason there was a little stream thing in our kitchen with steaps leading into it. Then Hannah got in and I got dressed but I took my clothes out of the draw where we keep tin foil and cooking utensils. I wore my dark purple shorts and green and white top with green patterns on. When we got to the zoo everyone was dressed up in ball gowns and mum said it was because it was Cinderella day or something. Then it turned to and animated scene where a prince walked past some steaps where two peasants were standing and suddenly they started throthing at the mouth which in my dream didn't surprise me but now I wonder why. Then it cut back to a realistic scene and me and mum were walking up to a while tower thing with a reddish brown roof which reminded me of a tower we saw in Crete. Then mum asked me if I was looking forward to going to Hulbis tomorrow. I said yes but I don't know what or where Hulbis is. I've googled it and appart from being an anagram of bluish, I can't find anything that relates to it. 22nd January It was a dressing up day at school and I don't know what I was wearing but suddenly I was in this mosaic covered room which was very dark blue, red and green and apparently I knew it was part of the school and a bit oriental looking where there was a swimming pool type thing which I swam through but then my clothes were all wet so I took them off despite there being security cameras around. Then I pulled myself up onto this step thing where there were some doors. I opened one and there was a dressing room inside with a huge brown wardrobe with draws. I decided I needed to borrow some clothes from there so I looked in the draws and all the clothes were Victorian or 1920's looking. I was deciding what to wear when a woman who looked a bit like Marilyn Monroe came in but at first she didn't seem to notice me then she talked to her friend in the doorway about me and asked her who I was but she didn't know. I shut the door on them and then somehow I was wearing purple leggings and my blue and white stripe dress which I haven't worn since I was like 10. Then I was at school again in the area outside the library. My maths class were there and then we went to the computer room. Then I was in PE and talking to Lauren who said she was pregnant for some reason because she got a new boyfriend. I talked to Tia who also had a new boyfriend which I was glad about because I don't like Robin and she deserves better. Then I was staying the night at grandpa's house except grandma was still there. Everyone else who is usually there was there as well including Romec. I was staying in the room I used to stay in with the fairy lights and the big wardrobe. I went down stairs to get some food but every one else was there too but they were also getting food so I was allowed. I made a cup of tea and I looked for some cake. Everyone was having a really nice chocolate cake but it had nuts in. I looked in all the cupboards and bread bins for some nut free cake and eventually I got a fruit flan thing with cream. I carried it up to my room with the tea and I dipped the spoon that I used for the cake in my tea so that my tea would be more creamy. That's about all I think. 21st February For some reason I decided it was the Magnus Chase books only different they were in a dorm room with lots of beds with animal skulls hanging overhead. Someone was announcing names of the characters and saying things like "the skull of the goat no less!" But he said "no less" too often and I thought it was a bit repetitive. I was under the skull of the fish and someone else was under the head of a really big animal and was apparently the most important. Then they all tried to get to sleep but in the morning they look a trip to Canada but suddenly they were in the north pole. Percy Jackson was there and he kept getting trapped in these huge structures made of lasers which were red and purple. Then he escaped and went down a hill to a town and suddenly I was on a school trip and some important guy was there who we had to salute to but I just did a peace sign. Then we went into the museum and we had to draw leaves using the shitty crayons they provided. And that's all I remember I think. 25th March There was an assembly in the gym at school and some Spanish people came to visit and they performed a play for us then we had to talk to them at tables and one asked me what day it was and I think I answered in French. Then I was at home and looking out of the front door at stars but my eyes hurt when I looked at them. Then I could see them more clearly and I saw the Plough and "The Daedalus Constellation" which was just a Delta in the sky??? Then there were what looked like anime characters in this white room and they had gold and glass blenders for torsos or something. There was fruit inside them and when they ran around it blended into smoothie which was weird AF but it happened. 24th March A Japanese girl came to stay at our school and since I knew the most Japanese, I had to look after her. She knew quite a lot of English tho which was good. I can't remember much of that bit of the dream though. Then Grandpa Jooshek wanted me to draw some pictures and he got a box of seasonings like herbs and spices and stuff. I didn't want to draw them so I went into the living room but there were scorpions everywhere. Then dad took me and Hannah to a weird shop and for some reason Mrs.Hallet was there and she was going through everything I was trying to buy and we had an argument about Oreo's or something. Then I was in Cambridge town with mum, Hannah and grandma Sheila. We tried to get up a slope but it was very steep and then we were in a house and Hannah was making us get to the top room of the house by climbing up to the next room though an airing cupboard of the previous room. We climbed loads and somehow grandma did too. Then after we got to the top, Hannah made us do a different room. Then there was a thing of Taylor Swift writing a message on a mirror in lipstick. She wrote 2012 at the bottom but then realised she'd written 2013 at the top. Then I was reading through my marked poetry homework but in my dream I hadn't done enough and for some reason I'd written about a poem about a broken car. 2nd April Mum was playing a dark videogame with witches who had to fight giant rats. The entire house was very dark and she kept giving us different things for dessert for dinner. One dessert was like an Oreo ice cream cake thing but it was thinner and there were two in a pack. Then there was a thing called "The Council of Williams" and I wasn't supposed to be in there but I went anyway for some reason and it was just a bunch of old guys who all looked like that inspector guy from Kuroshitsuji sitting around and talking. I don't know why I went but yeah. I don't remember much of it but I think I got kicked out. Then I was in town with Ben and I really needed to buy a new sketchbook. We went to a sketchbook shop but I couldn't find the type I needed as they were either all too small or they had lines in. Then we were apparently going to be late for school if we didn't leave so we left. Then I was in a bigger version of Damnation which I dreamed I was in before. I was looking at shorts that could attach to suspenders as I really wanted some for sixth form. None of them were wide enough to fit me though and Ashley was getting annoyed at me as I wouldn't accept that. Eventually she found some men's ones my size so I went into the changing room and it turned into a bathroom stall in another room which I couldn't lock. Sera kept telling me to keep it shut but the door kept flying open. Eventually I just peed with the door open but then a man came along and made a mean comment but I forgot what he said. Then I left the shop and I was following Olivia and her brother into a drama studio room where Miss Morgan was for some reason. She told us to wear French costumes and I wore a historical-looking frilly shirt and we just kind of mucked about in costume rather than acted. I was in a movie where everyone was at this holiday trip thing in America and the dinners were eaten at the bottom of a really steep cliff thing. People ate in groups and I suggested we help serve the food for the other group. It was porkpie for main course and cheesecake for dessert. People helped me up the cliff but then I got stuck at the top. I kept trying to put a piece of paper at the top with some information on and I put a piece of stone over it so it wouldn't get blown away by the wind. Then I was in the movie opening song and I was flying over a city singing the song. There were other characters carrying balloons shaped like letters that spelled out words. Some spelled out the characters names and one was a woman called Lana. 3rd April Rachel and I were singing Any Dream Will Do from Joseph's Amazing Technicoloured Dream Coat and apparently we disrupted some of the lessons and yet no one said anything while we were actually singing. Miss Mackie got the police in to find out who it was who was singing and it was nighttime so me and Rachel tried to run home as it was last lesson but Miss Mackie was by the gate and she caught me and asked me if I knew anything about it. I had to tell her the truth but I told her not to tell Rachel off because I didn't want her to be upset. Then Miss Mackie and another teacher went round with buckets and they were trying to fit stuff into them for some reason. 5th April We had to bring roller skates to PE and an Asian lady was teaching us how to skate but she kept trying to speak Spanish to me and I didn't know enough to understand her. I was carrying around an art book and some people looked at it but when I left it on a table, Mr Fisher threw it downstairs because he didn't like it or something. The Asian lady asked if we wanted to go help the old people that lived next door to the school so we had to skate over to a place called Light Behind Your Eyes which confused me as that is an MCR song, not a location. I also got a blister on my foot at a house that I didn't recognise but Matt and Dan where there so I guess it was their house. I sorted it out though and then I was ok. 9th April I was walking with a horse around some kind of range and there where chocolate bars everywhere that people could pick up. Some of them you had to pay for but others you didn't. I was also watching YouTube videos at school and I accidentally turned the sound up on one. The supply teacher in art told me off but I made an excuse which I got away with. 19th June I was at some sort of school event at which someone said something homophobic and I got annoyed and used rainbow chalk to write something on the pavement outside the drama block but apparently it counted as graffiti and the police were called to investigate it so I went home to hide. Everyone else was still at the party and I used a weird app on my phone to see who was there from year 11. Hannah and her friends came back to our house later and gave me some food. 23rd July I was on a bus with a bunch of comedians from WILTY and the Gorillaz. I can't remember what the context was but I told David Mitchell he was posh and he showed me some flowers he bought for someone. They were purple, pink and white flowers wrapped in pink tissue paper. I had some flowers too but they were less impressive. Then we ended up in a supermarket or something but I don't remember anything from there. Then I was talking to 2D from the Gorillaz about Noodle for some reason. Then we were in some kind of prison place and I didn't know why but we had to line up and type information about ourselves into a screen like what level of education we had and a box about our intrests. I put that I love to listen to music and my favourite song was Sleepyhead by Passion Pit but a guard person came over and told me it was a bad idea to write that sort of thing in the box. I didn't know why. I was anxious to finish it and move on because I was holding up the rest of the queue. Then the guard mentioned Cuchulain which I was confused about as there was no way he could have known about my fictional horse character. Later I was riding Cuchulain through an underground forest thing under the prison. The guard caught me and held his gun out but then a bunch of other inmates and guards emerged and it looked like there would be a fight but then I woke up although I also remember being in a car with my family singing No Promises into a mini speaker thing and then Hannah asked for a different song while I quietly played back my recording. 30th July We were in some sort of holiday home and I was looking online at a painting of Aphrodite surrounded by her children. In the corner of the painting, Eros could be seen with his bow and he was walking out a small stoney house/shack. I somehow went inside the shack. There were lots of weapons lying around but then Eros came back in and got angry I was in his house. He tried to kill me but then the scene changed. I just had a shower in the bathroom of our real house but somehow we were still in the holiday house. I was singing Let It Go from Frozen and I thought it was appropriate because Christmas was soon even though in real life, it's not. Then my family and I were in the car including Grandpa and Romec. Dad had to drive down some very windy roads to get there with rivers either side but no barriers. Luckily we got there after driving up some very steep hills but after we got out, the car exploded. We ran down the hill to avoid the blast and Hannah and I were trying to make dad feel sorry for us for talking us on the walk we didn't want to go on by telling him our laptops were in the car. He just said "that's ok," like he does when he doesn't really care. Then we were in a green painted area with lots of shops and Hannah, me and Romec wanted to get something in the bakery's but dad wouldn't let us. We past a more supermarket-looking shop with an ice lolly stall and dad said we could have an ice lolly. Mum asked why couldn't we go to the bakery if we could have a lolly and dad sighed and let us go there. I took ages to decide what I wanted because nothing looked that good. There were some ok doughnuts, lots of cans of fizzy drinks which were all brands I didn't recognise and some small packets of vegetables. Some European kids who were eating chocolate and cherry strudel asked me if we have pop tarts in America. I explained this was the UK but in America, they did indeed have pop tarts. I finally chose a chocolate and cherry strudel. Then I woke up. 31st July I was cleaning my room as there were bits of eraser fluff everywhere and Amy was there for some reason and we were listening to Coheed and Cambria music. There was a strange version of Evagria the Faithful which I'd never heard before and another song about a submarine. Amy said she was reading the books of The Afterman which I didn't know existed but she showed me the cover of one which looked like the man from The Hard Sell artwork dressed as a pirate. There was also something about going to a party but I don't remember much about it. 2nd August Boarding school with people from Northgate. Scary teacher. Scary nun ladies with leapord print uniforms like Spsnish inquisition uniforms. Pale white faces with red lips. They carried around knifes along with one security guard who also had a flip up knife. 7th August I went with friends to a Japanese shop like Wasabi but I spent ages choosing what food I wanted. The shop also sold Pokémon merch but I didn't want any. I explained to the lady who made it that the edges of all the merch were too soft where as pokemen actually has quite solid edges. She drew me a picture of a Pokémon and gave it to me. Then I was walking around town at night for some reason and i bumped into the Gorillaz. They were all buying drinks and I bought a cherry blossom flavor drink and when the sun came up, somehow we were in London and there was this amazing hotel thing designed really futuristic looking. 30th August Zoe and Jack came round for a sleepover and we were trying to find something to cook for dinner but we didn't have enough ingredients. While we were waiting for rice to cook, Jack and I played Breath of the Wild only it was a weird version where you had to tell Link what to do by saying it to the screen. There was also a game with Merida from Brave where she went on a zip wire but kept falling off. You had to tell her when to let go but we kept getting it wrong. Then we ended up the the bathrooms of a resterant somehow. There was going to be some sort of talent show which I apparently had to sing at and I was nervous as I didn't know all the words of the song. I was looking through a bag of nail varnish which belonged to Lydia and I was about to use one but I accidentally got it on Emilija's bag somehow. Luckily I had baby wipes to clean it with. Then we had to sit through some performances and I don't remember many but there was one with Dominic and David and some boys from my English class doing a weird ukeulele rap thing. It was about to be my turn and I was thinking about changing my song. I wanted to sing Hope Has Wings at first but then I thought about my fedora and my general dress sense and decided it wouldn't seem "me" to sing that. Then I thought about Best Friend by Foster The People but I didn't know all of it and I didn't have a backing track to sing to. Then I woke up and thought how if I had my ukeulele, I could have sung one of my own songs. 3rd September Mattie and I were in my garden at midnight for some reason and we were doing something when we saw a huge firework explosion in the sky. Then we went inside and for some reason Tia was talking to Courtney and Kelsie there. It was still dark but they told me it was 6am. Then I was in the school library and some artists were going to draw our faces for some reason and Mrs Calway was there as an artist and she asked me why I left St.Margrets. Before I replied, the scene changed to a girl asking another girl to marry her but she bought loads of rings instead of just one. She said yes and then they went to a supermarket and bought loads of post-it notes for some reason. I was suddenly the girl who had been asked to be married and I asked the other girl if she could by me a highlighter which could overlap with other highlights. She said no and I got upset about it. Then I was at self-service check-outs with them and one asked if I would marry her instead. Then I was cleaning my room suddenly and putting clothes away in my cupboard and i was singing about our wedding. Then the scene changed again and I was in some sort of video game with cowboys and there was a really nice Life is Strange style country song playing in the background. There were also lots of lemon trees and some lemons which fell to the ground were all around the area. There was also an area blocked off by a metal grid fence thing which was only for cowboys or something. Then I heard one of them say "there's a spring to the west of here" I said thanks and then I woke up. 24th September I had a dream that it was almost Christmas and Mrs Asher set up a room where we could get free presents and take as any as we wanted but we only had a certain amount of time. There were also games you could play against her to win prizes like some people played ping pong but I didn't bother with that. First there were small buffet tables, one sweet and one savory. I ate some tiny pizza things which were in tiny pie cases for some reason and also fairly big versions of those circular chocolates with sprinkles on. Then in the next room there was a pick and mix set up and I filled a bag of sweets. Next to it was a Yankee candle stand and I tried to put candles in the sweets bag but they wouldn't fit so I took them out and decided to make another bag of them later. I went round the corner to the next room where there were many folders you could have and dividers in different colours. The folders were a bit hard to reach and we had to climb on a desk to get them. Then Mrs Asher said time was up and the next group started arriving. Rachel came in and sat on a table and was looking at scanned copies she had of her dream catcher designs. Some of them were mine apparently but I spent so long trying to find mine that Mrs Asher saw I was still there and told me off. I sneaked around into the pick and mix room again and took three candles. One was called Orlando Forests and one was white and shimmery with pink glitter. I don't remember the other one though. I think that's all I remember although there was another part of the dream about a ghost house or something with Mae from night in the woods but I don't really remember it. 23rd October There were these two girls who had to be measured outside a convent as they were going to be hidden there cuz it was the war or something? I went inside and then it was a modern house and characters from SU were there. I had to throw a frisbee onto a circle and it grew into Steven's shield. Then Miss Morgan was there and some of my old class and she set us off on a task of some sort and we ended up in a sunny field with Miss Hornet and Miss Scarlett. I was in the middle of a circle of students and we had to build a society in groups or and they asked me to explain what I thought mine would be like. Miss Hornet said something like "this is like what we did in year 7, do you remember?" And I said something like "I think this is like art in general" and for some reason, everyone laughed. Then we had to go off into groups and I was drawing a poster of some sort with makers. Lydia had 3D Copic Markers and I asked if I could use them. She let me. Then we were in the living room of my house and I told her something like "did you know gamers can control their dreams?" Which is interesting as I was in a dream myself. I can't remember much else apart from seeing Rachel and Edie and telling them about how our SNK video had over 1k views. 24th October Disco party at school, I was in charge of making the playlist because the music teacher said I was a good singer. Chinwe said "I think we should hear her first" and everyone expected me to sing but I said I couldn't as my right ear was blocked. Anna brought Pringles to the party and I took them outside to find a bowl for them. She chased after me, thinking I stole them. I explained that I wasn't stealing them. Then there were three cowboys with guns in the playground and I tried to avoid them but got into a fight with one of them. I managed to avoid getting shot and somehow playing the music around the pond made the water turn pink and rise up. One of the cowboys walked through the water and it outfit turned back to normal clothes. He hugged one of the other cowboys and it seemed like they were no longer evil. 25th October Mum takes her daughter to city and they sit on big terese roof and see swimming pools below. Daughter jumps from roof onto safe lily pad. Something happens and sister/friend of daughter makes friends with the mum's crazy sister who no one likes because they both like the same book character who's different from the character the mum and daughter like. In the end they have to land on the lily pad in skydive to survive. Whole dream was in a Disney Pixar animation style.

Attrition of Peace

Three: Reyna

Who Ordered the Trojan Mario?

             When Reyna first received the report, she thought it was a prank. Had it been from anyone other than Michael Kahale, she would have sent the messenger to help shovel their war elephant’s, Hannibal’s, pen or scribe for their local chatty harpy, Ella. She’d been told that was an unbearable task.

           But as Reyna stood on the banks of the Little Tiber River, the military barracks at her back and Michael Kahale at her side, she could see he hadn’t been joking.

           There was indeed a twenty foot tall, wooden statue of Nintendo’s Mario in their valley. 

He stood—one foot up for a jump—on the opposite bank of the Little Tiber. The statue was on wheels, ropes already bolted into Mario’s black shoe for dragging. The red and blue paint of his overalls and shirt gleamed brilliantly in the California sun, contrasting sharply with the green grass along the road to New Rome. The whole sight looked like it had been screenshot out of that game that Will made she and Nico play: Super Mario Sunshine.

           This had Greek written all over it. Not literally since there was no writing on the plumber, but Reyna could imagine her Greek friends, Piper and Percy, thinking this was an ingenious idea and Annabeth sighing along.

           Reyna wondered if it was in fact Annabeth’s idea, and if there were Greek troops inside to continue their little “rivalry.”

           How many troops could you fit inside a wooden Mario? There was probably a ladder extending from Mario’s grounded foot to his torso, where you could fit the most soldiers. Depending on how close the campers would get to each other, she would guess at least a dozen.

           “And it just appeared?” Reyna asked, gripping her pilum. There was a subtle, December breeze blowing through the valley, tussling her long black braid and purple cloak. Today was warm, even for California standards.

           “Yes,” Michael said, clearing his throat. He wasn’t in his armor, but wore a work out tank top and athletic shorts. For being a son of Venus, he looked more prepared to beat someone to death than flirt with them.

           “Nathan and Bobby were guarding the tunnel?” Reyna asked. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to make sure she had everything in as much detail as possible.

           “Yes, they were found unconscious at the entrance, mumbling—mumbling about nightmares,” Michael added the last part hesitantly.

           Reyna frowned. Lou Ellen and the other children of Hecate could easily use the Mist to mask their own approach towards the camp, but could they mask a twenty foot statue?

And one of the children of Hypno or even Nico might be able to put Nathan and Bobby to sleep. But she didn’t think Nico was back to full power. Although communication between the camps had been sparse recently, she’d heard the child of Hades was still struggling after that summer’s shadow traveling.

Something didn’t feel right here.

“Call over the First and Fifth Cohort and alert those on probation they need to haul in a large statue,” she said. “We’re going to give the Greeks a warm welcome.”

  The First and Fifth Cohort were assembled and armed within ten minutes. Although there were some grumbles about this infringing on lunch time, most were too excited about the giant Mario statue and the prospect of getting another win for their Greco-Roman skirmishes. They were already talking about hauling the statue to Temple Hill as a sacrifice to the gods.

Frank was supposed to arrive any moment to discuss what to do. The lower ranks were lining up to grab the statue’s ropes and roll it across the Little Tiber. The First and Fifth Cohorts waited on the other side, ready to escort the statue further into camp and defend if the Greeks decided to strike.

The troop’s excitement was infectious until one member on probatio, Ellie Atmadja, found a note on the Mario statue. She raced it up to Reyna.

This recruit was fresh from Lupa. She was short, had a deep tan, and had the grace of Dakota after three pitchers of Kool-Aid. So very little.

Ellie almost fell over when she skidded to a stop in front of Reyna. She couldn’t seem to decide if she should bow or grovel. “Praetor—for you,” she finally said and shoved the note to Reyna.

“Thank you, Atmadja. You may return to the others,” Reyna said, hoping the girl wouldn’t have an aneurism from the conversation.  

As Ellie fumbled over another bow and dashed back to help the others with the ropes, Reyna examined the paper. It was composed of four colorful pieces of construction paper, taped together. Her name was written in sloppy red cursive across the front. She flipped it open, wondering if Thalia was involved in this.

 Dear Reyna Ramirez-Arelllllano,

           I got you a present, something you know you desperately desire and don’t know that you already hate. Enjoy!

                                                                                     --From the Darkest

 PS: I do not accept returns on damaged merchandise. Merchandise is likely damaged. Packaging is fragile and will shatter in the vengeful waters of the Bitty Tibbr. XO XO

             That didn’t sound like something from anyone at Camp Half-Blood, although maybe from a Huntress.

           The Bitty Tibbr. The Little Tiber.

           Reyna dropped the note, opening her mouth to shout at those on probatio to stop pulling the Mario statue into the river. Before she could inhale, the water surged.

           The ripple started forty feet upstream, but roared into an eight foot wave within seconds. Ellie and those on propatio panicked, taking their last step towards the shore.

           Although the wave was nothing compared to what Percy had conjured this past summer, it was large enough to smash the leg off of Mario. The blast knocked the lower ranking soldiers into the muck before splashing them back onto shore, unharmed.

           The legless plumber crashed onto his side. The wooden frame cracked. She could barely hear a male with a British accent scream from inside, “We’re tied up—we can’t swim—”

           Then the river whisked the wreckage into a raging swirl.

           There were people in those rapids.  

           Reyna had only ever seen the Little Tiber protect New Rome from monsters. These must have been enemies.

           But you won’t know why they’re here or who they are if you don’t interrogate them.

           Reyna pointed to the Fifth Cohort, all of which were prepared with nets to catch some Greeks. “Fish them out!” she commanded.

           There was a pause, then Dakota lead the Cohort towards the shore.

           Before they could reach it, a thick vine snaked out of the water, digging into dry land. A moment later, two figures emerged. One, an Asian girl with shoulder length hair, gripped the vine as it snaked further inland. She must have been a daughter of Demeter. Her other hand was wrapped around the waist of an enormous boy.

           Reyna immediately recognized him. That was Piper McLean’s favorite cousin, an Afro-Brit son of Eros named Calex Rupin McKenzie. That would make the girl either Euna or Joey Song. These were two of the new Seven that had arrived at Camp Half-Blood in early October. Reyna had run into them on a recon mission last month.

           Once they were solidly on ground, the girl released the vine and went still. The boy struggled against some ropes around his arms.

           That left five members still in the water.

           The river smashed two more bodies onto shore. Dakota and the others helped to drag them out. One was a tall girl with honey colored skin wearing a burgundy parka that matched her hair. Dakota scrambled to help her up. If Reyna remembered properly, that was one of his half-sisters, Merry.

           Near them, the other member coughed up some water. Although Reyna couldn’t remember the pale girl’s name, Reyna thought she was a child of Apollo. “Axel and Pax are still in the water!” the girl choked out, struggling to get out of her binding.

           Reyna flinched.

           Unlike the other four, the Little Tiber didn’t seem willing to release the Pax brothers. Through the vortex of water, Reyna thought she could see two figures struggling to break the surface. When the Fifth Cohort cast their nets to drag them ashore, the ropes snapped under the force of the current.

           Reyna scrambled for a plan. She wished Percy was here. She could hear herself shouting for some chains—that they could harpoon the Pax brothers and drag them to shore with something less breakable.

They’d be injured, but they would be able to breathe, assuming she didn’t hit a lung.

           At least the Little Tiber decided to drown them in a whirlpool right in front of camp, instead of dragging them downstream.

           Someone shoved a javelin with an attached chain into her hand. Reyna dashed to the edge of the water, taking aim. She hoped she wouldn’t hit a vital organ.

           Before she could throw, an eagle the size of a golf cart swooped over the water.

           “Hold!” Reyna shouted at her troops.

           The eagle snapped its claws into the water, snatching two people up.

           As soon as they were out, the Little Tiber swirled back to its peaceful course. Like it hadn’t tried to kill two demigods. But that left Reyna wondering two questions: why had the Little Tiber so desperately tried to murder Axel and Pax? And where was the seventh member of their group?

             When the eagle landed with the Pax brothers and morphed back into Frank, Reyna was surprised to find that she was shaking. She stepped towards the other praetor and the presumed Pax brothers.

The two figures had black canvas bags tied over their heads. Both wore dark dress shirts that the Little Tiber had nearly shredded. Their hands were bound behind their backs, proving they never had a chance to swim.

           They choked, gagged, and coughed. The smaller of the two threw up some water.

           Frank knelt down beside the smaller to untie the black canvas. “What happened?” he asked, his eyes wide as he helped hold up the tinier boy.

           Reyna knelt beside Axel. Even with the bag over his head, she could easily recognize him by the scar on his hip. With the way the Little Tiber had destroyed his shirt, she could see it extend from below his pant-line halfway up his side.

           Frank tugged off Pax’s black bag. The young Hispanic’s dark hair stuck out wildly. Pax’s yellow and black eyes darted about the soldiers and his gagging changed into a startled gasp. In Spanish, he babbled in a panic. “Holy Titans! New Rome?! She sent us to New Rome?!”

           Reyna scowled at Pax, but decided it would be better to ask why New Rome made him so nervous in private. And why he saw it proper to call upon the Titans.

“I’m going to remove the bag over your head,” she informed Axel.

           He muttered in a language she didn’t understand, likely Mayan from what he’d said about himself previously.

           Reyna’s ears popped. For half a second, she felt like there was an air vacuum around Axel. Magic¸ she realized and tore the black bag away.

           Reyna almost forgot about the magic when she saw the leather muzzle strapped around Axel’s jaw.

           His dark eyes searched around in alarm. Once he saw Pax crawling closer to cower beside him and the Fifth Cohort helping the rest of his team over, he relaxed slightly. Despite his usual deep tan, he was sickly pale, making the systematic scars along his face more prominent. Judging from how scruffy his normally-neat goatee was, they must have been held captive for at least two weeks.  

           “Reyna,” he whispered, then clenched his jaw in what she readily recognized as humiliation.

           Reyna unbuckled the muzzle from his face. Some of the skin on his cheeks had rubbed off with the straps. When she withdrew her knife and cut the binding around his arms, she could see some blood oozing from his chest. Nudging the scarps of material to the side revealed a puncture wound through his shoulder. Like someone had shot him and the river had reopened the wound.

           Reyna wished her hands would stop shaking as she put away her knife. She didn’t register that Frank and some of the other soldiers had asked her a question. Or that Pax was whining to Axel in Spanish.

           Axel tried to stand and wavered. Reyna caught his good shoulder, knowing someone like him would find it unforgivable to collapse in front of her, her troops, or his friends. Before she knew what she was doing, her tattoo burned and she could sense Axel’s panic, helplessness, and overwhelming guilt. The guilt of a leader who failed.

In that instant, Reyna knew the seventh member of their group was dead.  

           He frowned at the glowing symbol of Bellona on her forearm. Gently but firmly, he removed her hand. Reyna could feel some of her strength ebb into Axel, just enough to help him stand. Her symbol returned to a dull black.    

           “I think I’m going to owe you more than a cup of hot chocolate and a circus performance after this,” he said, his voice hoarse. By now, Pax had crawled over to hide behind Axel’s leg. Axel leaned carefully so he wouldn’t fall over as he ruffled his brother’s hair. Although she knew how twisted he felt inside, his dark gaze remained calm as he said, “Please help my troops.”

           Reyna felt the gaze of the First and Fifth Cohort’s on her. Even Frank, still too self-conscious about his new role as praetor, was waiting for her verdict.

           As far as the River Tiber was concerned, Axel and his friends were enemies of New Rome. She thought about what she’d discovered last time she met him—that he wasn’t a demigod. She considered the words on the note as well: something you know you desperately desire and don’t know that you already hate.

           “Dakota, Michael, take a few guards and bring them inside,” she said, briskly turning towards her centurions. They snapped to attention. “Summon a healer while you take them in. Frank and I will question them to find out if we should help them or kill them.”

           “We will?” Frank asked. He stood up from kneeling beside Pax. Upon seeing her glare, he also snapped to attention. “I mean, yes Reyna—er—of course we will.”

           One day, Frank would remember they were the same rank when she gave an order.

           As the legionnaires moved, Reyna withheld a frown. This was uncomfortably close to what happened with Percy last summer. And like last summer, she could tell the new arrivals were a bad omen.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Our two teams finally cross, and I am giddy to see how you react to it!

And how are you liking The Dark Prophecy that just came out-I know I just started reading it :D

Now, assuming I'm not lazy and not distracted devouring that book (so... highly unlikely. I excel at the art of laziness) I'll get another double release with Reyna's The Scent of a Liar later this weekend!