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#reyna: Wait what?
yonemurishiroku · 10 months
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Whoever wrote this 11kw of platonic Jasico PLEASE MY FINAL COMES IN LESS THAN 2 HOURS I'M DYING RIGHT HERE HELLO----
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sylkhi · 3 months
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Rooting For You by London Grammar but it’s a Nico-Ethan duet about their quiet, undying, support for those they love
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Me because the Percy Jackson series is actually about the different cycles of abuse, which include abuse within romantic partners (Sally and Gabe), abuse between “family” (Percy and Gabe, Meg and Nero), abuse from people in positions of power (the gods over the demigods), and so on, oppression than ranges from having adhd in the public educational system to being forced to perform quests for your entire life for people who could not care less about your well-being, how camp is both somewhere safe but also the bittersweet taste of arriving there and realizing you can never escape, you can never be normal your life will never be the same. There’s no turning back. How Luke was right on theory but not on acts, how these kids got around the idea to never make it to 18, and how there was nothing they could do about that. How many of them sat in their cabins, counting down the days until their sibling/friend/partner came back, only for them to not come back at all. Was it ever their turn to leave someone waiting behind? Annabeth, Percy, Grover, Thalia, the whole deal with Nico, Bianca, Silena, and every single demigod. Children of Apollo were the camp healers, was it a choice? A moral obligation? In camp Jupiter there’s Jason, there’s Reyna, Piper’s story, Leo’s story, the way Jason and Piper’s relationship was heteronormativity pushed by Hero because both of them were queer but she wanted a perfect couple. After being gone missing, people searched for Percy, but Jason? The devastation of Leo and Jason’s relationship, how Leo never knew his feelings for him were required, how both Leo and Piper thought they knew Jason but it was all fake memories, how Jason never fully got his memories back. Hazel’s story, Frank’s story, how Nico and Leo’s mutual dislike for each other comes from a place of understatement. How they both see themselves in each other and look away as one looks away from a mirror when they dislike their reflection. They are both so similar, almost the same. They both are also autistic, except Leo is always masking, and Nico never really learnt how to. Neurodivergence, adhd and dyslexia. Being a demigod is a metaphor for neurodiversity. Was Dionysus actual punishment looking over camp? Or was it spending years and years seeing demigods come and grow and die? Knowing there was nothing he could do about it? Knowing than if he was with the gods, he would be causing their deaths, instead of grieving them? Does Chiron feel hopeless? Memory, names, ghosts. Blades, swords, arrows, blood. So many blood, blood-stained hands. Monsters follow you before coming to camp, did they hurt you family? It was all your fault. They don’t want you to come back, you bring danger, you’re more dangerous than the monster, you are a monster yourself, after all the Minotaur was a demigod too. Leo killed his mother, Zeus killed Maria, Sally got taken to the underworld, Tristan was held hostage, Fredrick and his wife and sons got attacked by monsters, and who’s fault it was? You run away you keep on running but you’ll never outrun the danger because the danger is yourself, you are at fault, how do you run away now?
The odyssey, the iliad, the statues in museums, you look at them, do you see yourself? Do you see any resemble? Your nose kinda looks like theirs, the shape of their lips, the width of their hands, but that’s a lie you’re nothing like them, never will be, is that a tragedy? Do you want to be like them? Do you want to be a hero and die a heroic death? Or do you simply wish to visit your family on Christmas and live the life your little cousins will eventually live? Maybe you’ll never see the life they’ll live, maybe you’ll die before seeing it. There’s nothing to be done about that, you just have to accept it. Don’t you feel the rage, bubbling inside of you, making your hands shake? What can you do with it? Not much, remember last time, remember Luke, what did he accomplish? Nothing, blood, screams. You remember the war, you remember the city, maybe it was the first or the second time you set a foot on it, now every single time you do (if you do) in the future, it will be tainted. Look in that corner, that used to be destroyed. Look at that building, my friend died against that wall, that road was filled with blood. Was it ours? Theirs? Is there even a difference between us? Should there be? Why were you on your side? Why were they in theirs? Who was right? Who was wrong? You can go anywhere but home, maybe you’re not welcomed, maybe there’s no home to return, maybe it’s better for everyone if you don’t return. Nico keeps Bianca’s jacket, Leo taps iloveyou on Morse code. Piper was forced to be someone she wasn’t, she thought she was someone she was not, she was forced to think that. Who is she? Is she even who she thought she was? Jason still don’t remembers everything, and him? Who is he? Nico will never get his memories back, he wonders about his mom, did he have more family back then? Grandparents, aunts? Hazel is a walking curse. Silena and Clarisse as Patroklos and Achilles. Apollo seeing the brutal reality of demigods’ life on trials of apollo.
Your hand shakes, the sword you hold moves, you feel it’s weight, do you want to hold it? Do you have to?
The dead come back to haunt us, Nico sees Bianca everywhere, Leo still remembers his mother’s voice, Hazel came back from the dead, Frank holds his life on his pocket, Thalia lost a brother twice, Leo didn’t really die, Jason died instead, Percy wished to drown himself, half of camp still waits for their brother to come back, even if it has been months, even if it has been years. Luke’s mother still waits, was she crazy? The campers who thought to recognize their friend’s face for a second before remembering than it couldn’t possibly be them, were they crazy too? Who was crazier? Luke’s mother who did not remember, or the campers who did? The underworld has no mercy only justice, but the world has no justice only mercy. You might get mercy, but you never will get justice. Was it fair anything than happened to them? You might be spared in a war or in a battle out of mercy, out of pity, out of recognition, but that didn’t stop you from having to fight in it, that didn’t stop you from having to wield the sword. Spare all the people you want, turn a blind eye to whatever you want, mercy? sure, but you were still holding the sword, you were still supposed to fight, you still weren’t in charge of your life. How was that justice? How was that fair? Names had power, even their names had more power than your life, even the letters making up their names were more powerful than your fists, could you ever win? Could you ever win when their names were so powerful they could not be pronounced but your life was so worthless they didn’t even care to learn yours? To learn the names of the ones than died because of them. You can’t say the name of you sister’s killer, but you’re still expected to burn an offering to them each night at dinner.
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raphael-angele · 14 days
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Nico Protection Squad
WARNING: Use of hateful slur
Nico, coming home from school with Percy: Hey, Reyna. Hey, Jason.
Reyna: Hey, Nico.
Jason: Hey, Buddy
Percy: Hey, guys. Uh, Nico, why don't you go to your room and rest. We need to talk.
Nico: Mkay. *leaves*
Percy: Make sure to do your homework, alright?
Nici: Uh huh!
Reyna: What happened?
Jason: Is he okay?
Percy: ...we need to call the team
---Later---
At one of their rooms:
Percy: Good day, everyone. I know it's late and it's unusual for me to call a meeting at this time but this is an emergency
Annabeth: But first, an attendance check. Annabeth? Here. Bianca?
Hazel: Oh, she comes back next week
Annabeth: Ok. Jason? Here. Thalia? Here. Percy? Here. Hazel? Here. Piper? Here. Reyna? Here. Will? Here. Grover? Here. Leo? Here. Frank? Here. And Mr. D? Present! Ok, that should be everyone. Take it away Percy
Percy, clearing his throat: Okay, I need you guys to swear that you will not go berserk right after this and you will remain seated until we have a plan.
Everyone:
Percy: So, I was picking up Nico from class. On the drive back, he...
Hazel: He what?
Percy: He...asked me what a faggot was.
Everyone:
Thalia: WHAT THE FUCK?!?!
Will: Is he okay?!
Hazel: Where did he even learn that from?!
Jason: Did someone call him that?!?!?
Reyna: WHO THE HELL WOULD CALL HIM THAT?!?!?
Leo: Every single douchebag in school, of course!
Piper: You think they'd learn their lesson after the first time
Percy: *gavels* Order! Order!
Grover: I think we're all missing the point here. How's Nico doing?
Percy: He's fine. I asked him where he knew the word from. He said someone was calling him that, a couple of students a year above him apparently.
Frank: What happened then?
Percy: I asked him if he knew their names. He didn't and he asked me again what it meant.
Will: What did you say?
Percy: I didn't answer. There was a McDonalds right there and I went for it. He took the bait and has been quiet for the whole car ride.
Grover: So...what do we do?
Leo: OH! *raises his hand* WE'LL SET THEIR LOCKERS ON FIRE!
Thalia: I think what Grover meant was what do we do for now? We don't know these guys, and we don't know how much it's affecting Nico.
Reyna: Thalia's right. We need to have a plan to protect Nico and catch these bastards.
Annabeth: Percy and I already thought about it.
Percy: Introducing the Pick up/Drop off Nico Chart. We each get a schedule of when to pick him up, and when to drop him off
Annabeth: And to make sure we catch these guys, we think it would be best to see Nico off to his classrooms or at least the building.
Thalia, raising her hand: Uhm-
Percy: Don't worry. We adjusted it for times you guys are away. Which is why we used magnets to represent us. See? I'm the water droplet, Annabeth's the owl, Grover's the goat, Leo's the fire, you're the tree, Hazel's the-
Annabeth: They get it, Percy. All in favor of the chart say aye
Everyone, raises their hand: Aye!
Leo: So how are we gonna get back at these guys?
Jason: We could tell them off to the dean
Percy: You'd suggest that, wouldn't you, Mr. Goody Two Shoes?
Piper: I can charmspeak them to do embarassing stuff
Percy: Eh, we need something more
Annabeth: I'm writing that one down, it sounds funny
Mr D.: I am the God of Insanity. I can just drive them crazy.
Annabeth: Mr. D, no.
Percy: Not a bad idea though. I'm writing it down.
Will: Wait. I think I figured out another problem
Percy: What is it, Will?
Will: Who tells Bianca?
Everyone:
Percy: ...all in favor of keeping this a secret from Bianca, say aye?
Everyone, terrified: Aye!
Will: Whu- Percy, no. Remember that time you didn't tell her about how you accidentally destoryed Nico's mythomagic cards and made him sad for nearly a month?
Percy: *shivers* I still get nightmares from that.
Annabeth: Fine. Who tells her?
Everyone: *looks at Reyna and Thalia*
Reyna: No
Thalia: Absolutely not.
Mr. D: Hang on. If Bianca is so terrifying, why not just give the guys to her?
Percy: Mr. D, although that's a tempting plan, there is no telling what Bianca will do to those guys if we let her get near them.
Mr. D: She can't be THAT scary.
Everyone: Yes, she can.
Percy: With what she did to me? She might as well have sent me to Tartarus!
Frank: Gods, what did she do to him?
Annabeth: She took away all the blue in our apartment and replaced them with orange.
Percy: It took a month before she put them back! There was no blue food for a month!
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crownofgildedlilies · 18 days
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feelin' like an absolute fool about it -> cool about it [1]
in which: a son of jupiter can't remember the life he lost to time and circumstance. or the daughter of mercury he lost, too.
pairing: jason grace x daughter of mercury!roman!reader
warnings: angst, angst, and angst. oh and cursing.
word count: 3.3k
a/n: this is a four part fic and im so obsessed with this idea. Jason Grace the man that you are. oh and this follows a nonlinear plot so be warned. lmk if you want to be added to a taglist or wtv!
[one] two three four
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"If I have to sit through one more meeting with you making kiss me eyes at the praetor, I'm going to run myself through with my own lance."
"Good morning to you, too, Dakota." You grunted, half amused, half still pissy from the horror show that had been your previous night. "I slept like shit, thanks for asking."
"You're welcome," He didn't miss a beat, pouring more kool-aid than was probably healthy into his cup to drink with breakfast. "Now, man up."
"Real inspiring."
Dakota leveled you with a flat look, and you fought the urge to roll your own eyes. But you knew he would twist the action into your admitting defeat in your impromptu staring contest.
And you were nothing if not a sore loser.
"Admit you want to date the praetor." Dakota demanded, trying to push the conversation along.
On instinct, your gaze darted throughout the dining pavilion, looking for a certain head of blond hair that had yet to make an appearance that morning. And it was then that you knew Dakota meant business, because he didn’t call you out for looking away first.
"Reyna's pretty. Not my type, though." You deflected, stabbing a fork into your breakfast with what was probably more force than necessary. Dakota's eyes widened at the action, briefly, before narrowing at you in suspicion.
"Moving past that comment," He waved his hand in front of him, as if to physically move the conversation along. "Does your current attitude have anything to do with last night's freak thunderstorm?"
Maybe, you would have said, if your mouth didn't suddenly taste so bitter. Still, you winced, and you knew that was enough of an answer for him.
"Oh, come on!" Dakota groaned, pausing only to sip greedily on his kool-aid. You looked on in near amusement, cheek propped up on your fist, waiting for his dramatics to pass. "I finally get my speech all prepared to get you to confess your unending love to Praetor Grace, and you two get in an argument the night before?"
"Pity," You replied dryly, hoping the way you exaggeratedly poked out your bottom lip and knitted your brows together masked the ache in your chest.
"Centurion," Dakota whined, and you wondered how you had gotten so lucky to be promoted to lead the Fifth Cohort alongside him. "What happened?"
Your eyes flashed, shooting him a glare that made him snap his mouth shut.
"Oh-kay." He whistled, sipping his kool-aid some more. Seriously, you needed to figure out how to trick the poor guy into drinking water. "My point still stands. One argument does not change the fact that you guys are in love with each other."
You scoffed, shoveling pancakes in your mouth to avoid answering, head ducked.
Dakota slammed his open palms down on the top of the table so forcefully, almost every head in the pavilion snapped towards him.
"So you admit it!" He accused, grinning wickedly and showing off the red-stained mustache his drink of choice left. You grimaced, swallowing your breakfast to avoid choking. "You do love him!"
"Keep your voice down or I will shove Octavian's entire teddy bear collection down your—"
"Okay!" Dakota interrupted, grinning proudly, as if he hadn't just been threatened. "No need for violence. I was right."
"So is a broken clock twice a day. You're not special." You rolled your eyes, settling stiffly back into your seat. Risking another glance around the mess hall, you still found no sight of the world's most irritating, kind-hearted, moron of a praetor.
Also known as Jason Grace, your best friend.
And as Dakota had just so eloquently uncovered, the guy you've been in love with for years without ever uttering a word about it to him.
"Put me out of my misery, please, and just go talk to the guy, will you?" He begged, like he truly was the one suffering. You glared at him again, but you knew it wasn't fair.
Dakota hadn't been there last night, when you had tried telling Jason how you felt. But the boy was as emotionally oblivious as he was pretty, which was saying a lot.
"Wait," Dakota wiped at his mouth, but the kool-aid stains remained behind. "Did you already—?"
"Centurions," Harper from the Second Cohort appeared at your side, slightly out of breath and eyes wide. You had only ever really spoken to her during Senate meetings, but you were friendly enough.
So you were more than a little confused when she looked at you and took a step back, like she was afraid.
"Everything alright, Harper?" You asked, turning slightly in your seat, mind already running through a million different scenarios of horrible things that could have happened and dragged such a reaction out of Harper.
You had seen the girl take on four sons of Mars before. She wasn't exactly afraid of much.
"He's gone," The words tumbled past her lips before she winced, taking a second step away from you. Face twisted in confusion, you tried to make sense of the vague explanation. "Jason, I mean. He's just—"
Gone.
You were out of your seat before she could finish talking, breakfast long forgotten. The few bites you had managed to swallow felt like lead in the pit of your stomach, weighing you down and making you feel like you were barely moving, even as you raced so fast through camp that even the Lares barely had time to get out of your way.
There was no way Harper was right. Jason couldn't just be—be gone. He was everything a Roman aspired to be; strong, resilient, dedicated.
And maybe you had gotten into an argument, but Broken Clock Dakota was right for the second time that day. One argument didn't mean you stopped loving him.
You have never been so thankful that your father was the god of travelers as your feet pounded on the dirt roads. Sprinting towards the bunk houses, you utilized every ounce of Mercury-blessed speed. Jason had to be there. Or maybe he had snuck off to New Rome to buy you apology flowers, like he had the one time he missed your birthday—you had forgive him easily, as he had been off on a quest he nearly died during.
Heart in your throat, you skidded to a halt outside the small, private bedrooms given to the praetors. You had always teased Jason that his looked like a prison cell, considering his only decorations were books on war strategies used throughout centuries.
But then he had taped up that one gods-awful photo of you and him, both squinting against the sun shining in your faces, and it hadn't seemed so desolate.
"Jason!" You shouted with relief, voice choked up, because the door to his room was open. He never kept his door open, unless you were inside, because he claimed it stopped the other campers from making assumptions about what the two of you were getting up to in his bedroom, alone.
And then you would ask him to explain what he meant by that, trying to hide your grin for as long as you could while he stammered over his words with a blush.
"Jase, they're saying—" You pushed open the door to his room further, voice almost shuddering, and stopped cold when you saw the room's only occupant.
Because it wasn't your blond haired love leaning over the small desk in the corner of the room.
"He didn't show up to our praetor meeting this morning." Reyna's voice was flat, giving you only the facts. You were glad, because if she had spoken with pity, you were certain you would have thrown up.
Jason would be nice about it, but you didn't want to vomit on his carpet.
"That's not like him," You stated dumbly, fingertips vibrating with anxious nerves. Reyna shook her head, and it was then that you realized she had been sifting through the stacks of papers on his desk.
It felt like an intrusion of his privacy, even if it was a necessary precaution. There might have been clues to his whereabouts in those papers. Instead, you were certain they were only his to-do lists, scribbled in his neat handwriting you so adored.
And when she spoke next, you wish you could have plugged your ears and ignored her.
"Centurion, Jason Grace is missing."
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Six months, one week, four days, nine hours.
And thirty-six minutes.
Jason had been gone for six months, one week, four days, nine hours, and thirty-six minutes.
In total, you had slept probably a total of nineteen consecutive hours. Octavian had tried calling for your removal from role of Centurion five times. Reyna had offered you the open position of Praetor twice, behind closed doors.
"It's not available," You had snapped. Fear and exhaustion had turned you bitter. "Jason's coming back."
Six months, one week, four days, nine hours, and thirty-seven minutes.
"You know," Dakota's voice was slightly slurred, already gone on the kool-aid on such a bright summer afternoon. He had found you on the steps of the forum, searching through dozens of letters from retired legionnaires all claiming to not have heard any word about Jason but would keep scouting, and suggested you join him for a walk. "I bet he's out there, fighting for his life to get back here to you."
You shot a glare at Dakota, but kept your mouth shut. Lately, he was the only one of your old friends that could stomach being around you. No one else wanted to subject themselves to your attitude. You were glad to have a friend, even if you didn't act like it.
But you wished Dakota wouldn't talk about Jason fighting for his life.
"Brenda said I could take another eagle out searching today," Your voice had a rasp to it. Rarely used, but never rested. For the first three weeks following Jason's disappearance, you spent each night crying in your bunk, murmuring desperate pleas that your golden boy be returned to you.
And maybe he had never truly been your Jason, but it had felt pretty close.
Finally, Reyna had slipped a key into your palm, disguised as a handshake. The silver key, the one that unlocked Jason's empty praetor room, currently sat on a chain around your neck.
You slept there, now.
No one mentioned your nightly disappearance. You figured everyone was just thankful they didn't have to hear your crying anymore.
"Are you sure you should be flying?" Dakota looked you over with unease, the Little Tiber coming into view on the horizon. You were certain you looked a mess, but what did it matter? You only cared about what Jason thought of you, and Jason never cared about what you wore.
Still, the dark bags of exhaustion under your eyes probably were cause for concern.
"Says you," You countered dismissively, waving a hand towards the flask of kool-aid attached to his belt.
"That's not what I mean," He huffed, defensive. "When's the last time you slept—"
The shouting from the Little Tiber interrupted your conversation. You squinted in the direction of the sound, both surprised and startled to find two massive fists of water raised in the air, a gorgon in each.
At the bank was Hazel Levesque, submerged up to his knees was Frank Zhang, and... controlling the water-fists was a boy you had never seen before.
Without warning Dakota, you took off in a sprint towards the edge of the Little Tiber. You reached the bank just as Frank shot two incredibly well placed arrows at each of the gorgons, turning them to dust and swallowing them downstream.
"Centurion!" Hazel gasped, spotting you approach. Dakota was slowly closing in, muttering curses about children of Mercury and their swiftness. "We found him by the front gates. He was carrying, well, a goddess, so we figured we should let him in."
By the time Hazel finished rambling, both the new boy and Frank had made it ashore. Frank, with his probatio tablet swinging around his neck avoided meeting your eye.
Most people did, lately.
But the newcomer met your stare head on, confidently, if not a little confused. Pursing your lips, something about him set off alarms in your mind.
"What's your name?" You asked, still frowning. You hated being so angry all the time. You missed smiling. You missed your reason for smiling, too, but you had other things to worry about, somehow.
Like the son of Neptune who showed up on your front door.
The boy shifted on his feet, a bronze sword clenched in his tired hands. He looked far worse than you had realized at first, and his voice was exhausted when he answered you.
"Percy Jackson."
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"Jason Grace!"
"Careful," He grinned, pointing his sword lazily at you. Your laughter echoed throughout the room, setting the world around the two you singing. "People might think your form is getting sloppy."
"Then they'll think you're a shitty coach," You teased, twirling your own sword as you danced throughout the room, always light on your feet. Jason chuckled, and if you could have bottled up the sound to keep forever, you would have in a heartbeat.
Your favorite moments were when it was just you and Jason, in the training center alone. With curfew fast approaching, everyone else was taking advantage of the two short, sweet free hours before lights out.
"Water break," Jason ordered, flipping his sword gracefully back into the golden coin he always kept in his pocket. You obliged him, slipping wordlessly over to your water bottle on the edge of the mat. "I was serious, earlier. You're dropping your elbows."
"And you're more stiff than a flagpole," You countered, raising a pointed brow at him. Jason gave you a look that screamed 'I don't think so', which was practically an invitation for you to mess with him. "Seriously, Jase, you gotta loosen up."
"I'm loose." He argued, and you let out another loud laugh, the kind that had your head tipping back with the force of your joy. Crossing the room to stand before him, you lifted your chin so that you had a chance at meeting his eye.
I'm loose, he claimed. The thought made you snort, again, as you took in his rigid posture, how even just standing, his arms were crossed over his broad chest.
"Jase," You crooned innocently, settling your left hand on his shoulder, fingers smoothing over the muscle. His reaction was instant, to your excitement. Flush coating his cheeks, his eyes tracking the movement of your hand against him.
Just as you had hoped.
"Baby," You taunted, and he actually choked, burning a bright red as you stepped closer to him, smirk on your lips. "If you're going to talk shit about my elbows, you better get ready to fight back."
Grinning wickedly, you held up the magical golden coin you had lifted from Jason's pocket while he was distracted.
"Give me that," He huffed, eyes rolling and catching your wrist before you could get away. Your laughter fell from you in echoing shrieks, trying to escape Jason as he tried to snatch the coin back.
You stuck out your arm in the opposite direction, trying to hold out as long as you could against him. How rare it was you ever were able to outsmart the great Jason Grace.
He simply pulled you closer, his longer arms stretching out over your body to try and get his coin back. Knees knocking together, your laughters mixed in the air.
By the time his fingers finally wrapped around the golden coin, you could barely breathe. Smiles spread wide over both your faces, you grinned up at him, cheeks albeit a bit flushed.
His arm was wrapped around your middle, holding you flush against his front. And even as he stuffed his coin back into his pocket, he kept his arm wrapped around you tightly.
You weren't going to complain, either, your own hands settling on the tops of his shoulders, toying with the collar of his purple camp shirt.
Gods, you were so in love with him, you felt it in your bones. How was it fair that the powers that be put him in your life, just out of arms reach? And how could Venus despise you so much that she would give you Jason Grace, let him hold you and smile at you, and not have him fall in love with you, too?
He was blinding, golden sunlight, and you just needed to be caught in his rays, however briefly.
"Why do you train so much?" You weren't exactly sure where the question came from, but you were certain it was an important one as you studied the emotions swirling in his sky blue eyes. Confusion, mostly, but also a hint of something so similar to admiration it made your skin feel flushed.
"We're soldiers." He reasoned, ever the level-headed Roman. And you loved him for it, really, but you loved him more than the Roman traits.
"Do we have to be, all the time?" You hated how desperate your voice sounded, and you hated Jason for making you ask.
"What else is there for us?" His counter argument was like he hit the panic button in your mind. And maybe if you had more time to think about how to best react, you would have slowed down and talked him through a life beyond the military prowess he had been practically conditioned to think was the only life for him.
But you didn't have time, and you could barely think, so all you did was pull away from his hold.
"Forget it." You mumbled, not entirely sure if you intended for him to hear. It wasn't his fault, you distantly reasoned, he didn't know any better. Raised by wolves then sent to Camp Jupiter? He had no chance at seeing any sort of life beyond battlefield glory.
But you weren't the daughter of reason. Your father was the god of thieves, and your emotions stole the moment from your fingertips.
"Hold on," Jason urged, taking a step towards you as you backed away, mumbling some excuse about needing more water. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Never, Jase." You nodded solemnly, your frown never once leaving your lips as you twisted back around to face him. "And maybe that's the problem."
I want you to break regulation and kiss the daylights out of me, you wanted to scream.
"I don't understand." He shook his head, open palms splayed up towards the sky, like he was pleading with you or the gods to explain to him.
You laughed once more, but this time, it echoed coldly in the empty training room. Gone was the sunshine smiled you wore, as if it had fallen behind the horizon as the real sun set over your head.
Bitterness twisted your heart, firing unfamiliar cruelty through your gaze, pinned on Jason. He almost flinched at the look on your face.
I don't understand, he had claimed. He didn't understand just how much you ached for him, praetor or not. Roman or mortal, you wanted him.
But he was a soldier, first. And maybe he was a soldier, only.
"Maybe that's the problem."
He called your name, but you were already out the door, letting the metal slam shut behind you.
You weren't enough of a fool to pretend to not see the lightning strike the roof of the training center, ruining the perfectly clear skies from only moments before. The only proof of Jason's frustration he would let the world see, you knew.
The only proof that maybe he ached the same way as you.
That night, you didn't sleep. Your poor bunkmates, listening to you twist and turn and try and get comfortable when it felt like knives were piercing your insides. Acid burned your tongue, cursing the appendage for ever trying to broach the subject about being more than soldiers to the other with Jason.
The next morning, you walked into breakfast, determined to avoid talking to Jason for at least a few hours.
Oh, what a mistake that wish was.
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mediumgayitalian · 2 months
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previous
———
“Hm,” Piper says, fingers steepled. She looks very intently at the air in front of her. “Hm.”
Nico scowls impatiently. “Feel free to be helpful at any given time. Now, even, if you’re so inclined.”
“Have you considered that the reason you’re so infatuated with Will is because you may be blessed by Apollo?”
“I’m infatuated with Will because he is the physical manifestation of everything I value in a person,” Nico says automatically. Then he frowns, processing the rest of Piper’s sentence. “Wait, what?”
Nico understands his error as the grin on her face stretches into something truly grotesque. “I was going to make a joke about your drama levels, but thank you for that. I’m really looking forward to telling several dozen people and delighting in the knowledge that you’re going to curl up into a bundle of humiliation under your bunk tonight as you think about it.”
Instead of answering, Nico decides to walk away. Since there is so much blood concentrated in his skull, resting mostly around his face region, he takes two steps and begins to pass out, but luckily Piper has followed him and impedes a head injury by gripping his arm and merrily forcing him forward.
“So,” she says, steering them towards the amphitheatre, “what’s Plan B?”
“Bold of you to assume there was a Plan A.”
“You like Sunny Boy way too much to walk in there blind.”
“…Touché.”
She’s smug enough to be silent, slinging an arm over Nico’s shoulders as they walk. The closer they get, the harder Nico is forced to grapple with just how godsdamn much he’s softened. I want you to be happy, Father had said. Camp will be good for you, Chiron had agreed. You’re a little twit and need socializing, Mr. D had snipped.
Nico needs a better father figure. He wonders if Paul Blofis’ offer is still open.
The amphitheater is not, of course, empty when they arrive, because Nico knows the Fates personally and each of them despises him. The actual training part is empty — unsurprising — but the stands are moderately filled, with people gossiping, braiding hair, and if Nico is not mistaken, a small, pop-up nail painting salon. Mitchel lifts a purple-smeared hand in an absentminded wave as they step onto the packed dirt.
Nico ducks under Piper’s arm, turning to face her. “I need to fight you,” he informs her. “For my own personal pride.”
She nods thoughtfully. “It does indeed need restoring.” He curved, icy blade gleams in the early afternoon sun, mirroring her dangerous smile. “Square up.”
Since honour is for nerds, Nico doesn’t bother waiting. He simply attacks, lunging for the left side Piper always leaves open. Unfortunately for him, her recent meddling in his love life means her mother has blessed her with a little sprinkling of extra verve, and she dodges easily and cheerfully.
He sends a glum mental prayer down to his father.
Anytime you’re feeling generous, Pop, he grumbles, I would love a boost.
There’s an actual rumble to the ground, as his father laughs at him.
“Real kind,” he says out loud. “Dick.”
“I wonder if you would have more success in the wooing department if you had conversations outside of your own head,” Piper says sweetly. She spins her sword in a neat little circle by his face. “All bay brooding makes you look so…broody.”
Nico scoffs at her. “Will seems to like my broodiness. For some reason. So there.”
“And yet…” She trails off, shooting him a teasing look. Nico is unfortunately very easy to tease (thanks, Bianca) (and for that measure thanks, Hazel) (Reyna too, probably) (and honestly Annabeth) (gods, and Percy) (don’t even get him started on Leo) (really, it would be more prudent to name the people who do not take sick pleasure in driving him up the wall) and as such succumbs easily to her tormenting, taking a hard hit to the side when he’s too keyed up to avoid her spinning slash.
“Note to self, don’t let the monsters know about big embarrassing crushes,” she muses. “They make Nico sloppy and will get him killed in battle.”
She mimes writing something down. This, thankfully, leaves her distracted enough that Nico gets his sword levered against hers, twisting until she’s disarmed. She lifts both hands up in surrender when he points a sword at her throat, but remains entirely unaffected by his glare.
“Pride re-instated?” she asks.
Nico huffs. “No.”
…Yes.
“You’re such a grouch,” she says fondly. She tries to ruffle his hair and is forcibly stopped by his jab to her ribs. Unfortunately, Piper McLean takes no shit sitting down, and in a minute they’re on the floor, getting caked in dust, trying to see who can leave the most bruises on the other. Nico would wager that they’re just about tied.
“You have a list,” Piper grunts, muffled as she bites his bicep. He shouts, wrenching his arm away — she is pointy. “I have no idea what you’re all mopey about.”
He digs his knee into the small of her back. “I gave him flowers! He made a poultice out of them!”
“Technically, you made the poultice.”
He elbows her in the stomach. She shrieks and jabs her knuckles right under his eye.
“You’re so annoying!”
“You’re so annoying!”
“Ugh!”
“Ugh!”
Every part of Nico’s body aches. So badly. He’s not sure which one of them won their brawl, if either, but he knows for sure that he is actively turning purple. He feels like the first time his nonna gave him a hammer and a piece of cutlet — he was maybe five years old — and told him to flatten it. (He remembers, now, the look on her face as she wiped pulverized chicken flesh from her eye. Oops.)
“Go to Will and get healed up?”
Nico huffs a laugh, immediately wincing at the strain on his tender ribs.
“Yep. Let’s go.”
The walk is miserable and bruised. And slow, since both of them are limping. Several campers walk by snickering, since apparently Saving The Entire Damn World, For Real And Actually, You Ungrateful Brat, Should I Just Destroy It Again Then earns you no permanent respect.
It’s not too bad, though. Nico would rather chomp on concrete than admit it out loud, but Piper isn’t horrible company, and she hums when she walks. Bianca did the same thing. For once, it’s a pleasant reminder, although he does wonder if Nico will ever be able to look at the women in his life and not think of her.
(In all honesty, probably not. He sees her in the clouds, in the gnarled bark of the trees; feels her in the warmth of the sun; hears her in every snorting laugh. He likes to imagine how much she would love these women, though. If she were alive they would be her friends first. He knows she was happy with the Hunters, however briefly. He thinks he can maybe forgive himself if he thinks of her without weeping.)
“Least it doesn’t look too busy today,” Piper comments. She purses her lips at the Big House, which for once seems quiet. Perhaps Will made good on his threats and finally dosed the Hermes’ table breakfast spread with Benadryl. Nico would be proud. He deserves a day of peace.
“Great. That means we get the full force of Will’s bitching on us alone.”
Piper scoffs. “Please. You like it when he yells at you.”
Nico almost kills her for real. By the time she manages to kick him off of her, still snickering to herself, they both have a new layer of bruises on top of the old ones.
“Gods, di Angelo, you make it so easy —”
“Shut up,” he says hotly. “You are literally the most annoying person in this stupid camp.”
She sticks her tongue out at him. He scowls, kicking a rock to avoid kicking her and setting both of them off again. It rolls over the grass, pinging off the side of one of the many braziers and rolling finally to a stop back at his feet. In its new position, it perfectly catches the brightly shining sun, refracting the light in a dandelion-esque burst.
“Huh,” he murmurs.
Wincing at his stiff joints, he crouches, vaguely registering Piper pausing somewhere to the left of him. He scoops the little thing up, bringing it close to his face to inspect.
It’s roughly cut, so it’s not anyone’s jewel or anything. Some of the pieces are textured with tiny little divots, like a regular stone, but some are straight and flat and catch the light. Some kind of crystal, then. It’s dense, about the size of a walnut, and shaped kind of like a brain. It is a very familiar shade of blue.
“Holt Hades, you are sappy.”
Nico flushes, shoving the rock into his pocket. “Nobody asked you, Piper.”
“I asked me! I am always asking me.” She jogs to keep up with his suddenly speedy strides, gripping onto the elbow of his shirt when he tries to move faster. “Is this Plan B? Little gifts.”
“It’s a rock,” he says shortly.
“Diamonds are rocks.”
“I didn’t get him a diamond.” He pauses. “Should I get him a diamond?”
She shrugs. “I dunno. I’m not the one in love with him.”
“Who said anything about —”
“Nico! Piper! Hey!”
“Notice who he called first,” she whispers, right in his ear. She grins over at Will before he can say anything. Or curse her. “Hey, Will! How are you?”
It is unfair for a person to look good in mint scrubs. They don’t even suit him, not really, but he still looks — well, he’s beautiful. His hair is poofier than usual and sticks out like he stuck his finger in a socket, and his beam is so bright Nico has to genuinely squint to look at him, and how is it, honestly, that his freckles look like dappled sunlight? That’s not normal.
“I’m okay.” He waves them inside, not bother to close the door behind them — it’s nice out, and Nico knows he prefers the breeze and sun. “Bored.”
“Not enough ocular surgery to perform?”
Will’s grin turns wry. “Nope.” He reaches out to brush his thumb across Nico’s eye scar. He freezes, holding his breath, hyperaware of those callused fingers as they approach the ever-warming skin of his face, heart galloping in his chest. As soon as Will makes contact — because of course the touch was to get his vitals, c’mon, Nico, head in the game — he frowns.
“Why are so many of your capillaries burst?”
Piper smiles guiltily, holding up a hand.
“I beat him up.”
“Wha — you did not!” He turns to Will, indignant. “We beat each other up! She’s lying!”
Will sighs. He glares at them both for a full forty seconds, then turns his face up to the heavens, muttering something that sounds suspiciously like I do not deserve to be surrounded by this kind of dumbassery. Send lightning through the sky if I should let them suffer.
Nico waits. No lightning comes forth.
Will sighs. “Cot, let’s go, y’all know the drill.”
Piper mouths y’all as she sits down. Nico mouths eat dirt back at her.
“Now, I could hum sum’n and —”
“Sum’n,” Piper whispers delightedly. Nico ignores her.
“— get y’all fixed up good, but y’all’ve pissed me off good —”
Nico takes the initiative to pillow-smack Piper in the face while Will’s back is turned. Luckily, it muffles her shriek.
“— so I’m not gonna do all that.” He closes the cupboard with his hip, hands full of vials. “Ain’t even gonna waste ambrosia on y’all, honestly. Y’get some bruise ointment and a Tylenol ‘cause I know y’all were up to shenanigans.”
He puts a lot of emphasis on ‘nan’. Nico knows he is trying very hard to be stern, but he is in fact very cute, and Nico is putting a lot of his brainpower towards memorizing the specific wrinkle pattern that Will’s nose gets when he’s annoyed. If he says that Will looks like a bunny he might actually get shot, no matter how much Will allegedly seems to like him, so he manages to choke down the sentiment. But it is indeed there.
“— and take it easy, y’hear? Bruises don’t heal in a day.”
Gods, his eyes are really, really pretty. He’s almost tired of thinking it, but they match the sky exactly, all the time. Poets write about sparkling eyes and pretty faces all the time, but all of them can choke because all of them are liars. Will Solace has the prettiest eyes of anyone who has ever lived. They are indeed the windows to the soul, and his soul is just —
“This is for you,” Nico blurts. Essentially acting on its own, his hand slips in his pocket and draws out the blue stone, holding it out. “Um. I saw it and —” He glances at Piper, panicked, and she kicks him in encouragement. “Thought of you. So.”
Will stares at the stone for a moment. Nico sweats.
“Nico di Angelo,” he chides, hands on his hips. The panicked look he flits in Piper’s direction grows tenfold. He is not at all comforted by the grimace she sends back. “Do you think I’m so corrupt as to accept a bribe?”
“Um.” Nico hesitates. Piper smacks her face onto her hands, groaning. “That’s not what I —”
“Well, you would be correct.” Quick as a bird, Will darts out and snatches the stone, sliding it into one of his many (many) shorts pockets, nodding in approval. “I don’t have any aventurine. I’ve been looking for it. Good bribe.”
He sets down the ointment and Tylenol, gesturing for Nico to hold out his hands. Nico sighs, then complies.
“I mean, he didn’t destroy it, this time,” Piper whispers as he begins to sing, enveloping Nico’s body in a warm, golden glow. “So…progress?”
“Progress,” Nico agrees. He glances over at Will, eyes squeezed shut in focus, and rolls his eyes fondly. “Who knew it would be so hard to convince someone who already likes me to go out with me.”
———
next
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storywriter007 · 6 months
Text
(Part 2) Part 1 - You're Not Her - Percy Jackson x Fem!Reader
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summary: in which y/n realizes this relationship is no longer worth fighting for
warnings: cursing, character death, toxic relationship, throwing things
genre: angst
word count: 1.1k
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y/n laughed as a smidge of vanilla ice cream was put on percy's nose.
"not funny y/n." he said, irritated, wiping it off.
"sorry, won't happen again." she said back, shocked at the mood change. "wanna go for a swim?" she asked, trying to change the topic.
"no, i want to stay dry." he said, plainly.
"do you want to do anything?" y/n laughed.
he looked at her with his sea green eyes.
"what do you think." he said.
"alright per-sassy-eus." she shrugged.
they stared the the lake in silence until a little girl came running.
"y/n! y/n!" she shouted, running towards her.
y/n wrapped her arms around the seven-year old.
"hey serena! what's up?" she asked, smiling.
"me and lily and kayla and a bunch of other girls are making friendship bracelets!" serena said excitedly. "c'mon! hi percy!"
"hey serena." he smiled. "i like your bracelet."
"i have two of them, they are matching!" she grinned. "you can have one."
she slid the blue one off her wrist and gave it to percy.
"now we're best friends!" serena said, returning to y/n and tugging on her hand.
y/n looked at percy.
"percy, i'm gonna go." she smiled, kissing him on the cheek.
"yeah, ok." he shrugged.
"love you." y/n said.
"mhm."
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y/n got to the arts and crafts table and sat down next to her good friend, olivia.
"they got you too?" liv laughed.
"yeah." y/n smiled.
"y/n! why didn't percy say love you back?" serena asked.
y/n felt hurt, but she couldn't show that, not to this little girl. olivia stared at her, waiting for the response.
"he's just a little shy now-a-days." y/n chuckled.
"but he's your boyfriend!" serena's friend, lily spoke up.
"boyfriends can be shy." y/n explained, wondering whether she was lying to the kids or herself.
"but he always say i love you to annabeth!" serena's other friend, kayla added.
"i guess he's just a little more reserved after what happened with annabeth. that changes people." y/n smiled.
"he's still my hero though!" serena smiled.
"him and jason are my heroes!" lily added.
"kayla, who's your hero?" they asked.
"my hero is reyna!" she said confidently.
y/n chuckled.
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y/n and olivia sat on y/n's bed in her cabin.
"what were the girls going on about today?" liv asked.
"percy, and they were right, and they had good points." y/n sighed, tired of hiding it. "we've been dating for almost a year now, and he's just so negative."
"what do you mean?" liv continued.
"i mean he always gets mad at me, he never wants to do anything with me, and it feels like i'm just someone to look at when he's bored." y/n explained. "i get it, things are different for him after annabeth died."
olivia nodded, placing her hand on y/n's for comfort.
"they'd been friends forever, they went through hell together, they'd been in love, and he couldn't save her at the battle. but it's been three years, and he confessed to me. he said, 'i know you've like me for a while and i think i do too.' i remember the day liv." y/n continued. "and things have changed for me too. piper and hazel are always casting me dirty glances, jason and leo and frank avoid me if i'm in anywhere near ten feet to them. i've been slut-shamed, compared, and bullied because i'm dating him."
y/n began to feel tears well up.
"i just want him to talk to me and hang out with me without feeling like he's being forced to do it." she finished.
"y/n, i think this is something you have to tell percy." olivia responded. "you can't keep going like this, it's going to kill you."
"i don't want to hurt him and what if he just freaks out on me? i care about him." y/n countered.
"just talk to him." olivia encouraged. "he's a good man, he'll understand."
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"you're not understanding me!" y/n said, sadness filling her voice. "i-i'm not telling you to get over what happened, i'm trying to tell you that you can talk to me! i'm trying to help you percy!"
"help me! help me! you want to help me by bringing up her name?" he screamed.
gods, he was scary.
"i'm trying to tell you that it feels like you don't even like me, much less love me! it's like i'm a burden to you!" y/n shouted back. "and i understand you're hurting, but why am i a victim of your grief?"
"fine!" he said, throwing a candle across his cabin. "i'm sorry that my girlfriend, who i loved for longer than i've ever known you, is dead and that it makes me upset!"
y/n ducked, avoiding the glass shards. fear ran through her bones.
"and i'm sorry you have to go through that, but it sucks for me too! piper and hazel give me these glares, like they hate every vein in my body. leo, jason, and frank run from me like i'm a disease! and i've told you and you don't do shit to stop it, you encourage it if anything!" y/n yelled.
"they've got every fucking reason too!" he yelled, throwing a picture frame of us across the room.
"what's the reason! tell me, what's the reason!" y/n shouted.
"because you're not annabeth!" he yelled, with every bone in his body as tear welled up in his eyes. "you're not her, she would've never done whatever shit you're doing."
y/n stood still for a minute as the words replayed in her head.
you're not her, you're not her, you're not her.
tears filled y/n's eyes.
it's like percy finally understood the gravity of the situation as he looked around in shame.
"y/n, i didn't mean that-"
"no, no, percy, you did. you really did, because otherwise, you wouldn't have said it. and you wouldn't have followed every action to prove it." y/n chuckled. "i'm sorry i'm not annabeth."
percy took a couple of steps forward, but stopped instantly when y/n backed up defensively. y/n pointed to the glass shards around the room. they stood in silence.
"you're a bad man, percy. throwing shit and telling me i'll never be enough. i wish every little girl and boy could see their so-called camp hero right now. i wish they could see what a fucking monster he is." y/n said, her voice now low and quiet.
she turned around, and walked out of his cabin.
“y/n, can’t we talk about this?” he shouted out.
“oh i tried talking to you percy.” she chuckled. “but, you can always go down to annabeth’s gravestone and talk to her."
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wait now i’m so curious of how jason would be with a mortal girlfriend like your headcanons for percy were so good and it’s such an interesting concept
⋆⭒˚.⋆ jason grace x mortal! reader hcs
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content: jason grace x mortal! reader hcs warning: language, fluff then immediate angst that will give you whiplash so sorry but it was also too fun not to put in author's note: I WOULD LIKE TO FORMALLY APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ IT WAS GOING SO WELL AND THEN I GOT SAD AND I MADE THIS HEARTBREAKING MONSTROSETY YOUR WELCOME also, I made that text thingy myself bc I wanted it to match the Percy one and I’m v proud of it so if you guys could fill the comments with ‘wow that text looks so good and made me Laugh Out Loud you’re so funny’ that’d be great for my ego thanks
you guys didn't met at school, obvi
genuinely have no idea if this guy is smarter than a fifth grader but that's a topic for another day
jason was just doing his big time praetor thing, ya know how it be, killing monsters and what not
and you were happily walking through rome, trying to enjoy your vacation when you basically got body slammed by a lady in an annoyingly scratchy feather suit.
"hey! watch it!" you shouted, indignantly from the ground, causing the lady to spin and growl at you.
now that you were squinting up at the woman, you realized the scratchy feather suit wasn't a feather suit at all but rather just scratchy feathers attached to this lady.
"you're dinner, kid!" she squawked at you and you did the natural thing; scream your head off.
jason, with his wonderful timing, finally came by and stabbed the harpie, leaving her to disintegrate
"are you oka-"
"WHAT THE FUCK!! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!" you continue to scream, heaving breaths in an attempt to calm yourself down.
jason crouched to your level, tossing his sword behind him and hold his hands out gently
"hey, hey. it's okay, you're okay. i'm- i'm jason. and sorry," he spoke, softly, as you were calming yourself down
tho, his sweet voice was helping
"i'm y/n. i would say nice to meet you but i think you're a murderer so," you replied, eyeing him carefully and looking like you were ready to bolt.
"no, i'm not."
"you know, that's exactly what a murderer would say."
"fair point."
"not helping your case, buddy," you mused, a smile growing on your lips despite the situation. and you could see his lips twitching too, fighting the urge to turn upwards
"how about i explain over gelato? there's a great place a few blocks from here," jason offered, holding his hand out to pull her to her feet.
you chewed your lip in contemplation before taking his hand, the words your mother told you before you left for your trip ringing in your ears
"i mean, romans are hot! nothing quite like an european romance, huh?!"
maybe she was smarter than you gave her credit for
so, jason got you gelato, begrudgingly let you pay as you made a compelling case of 'he saved your life and you owe him.'
and then he explained it all to you, shattering your world view.
"you ever hear of a guy named percy jackson?"
"wait- you mean the twelve year old who blew up like the st. louis arch and a bus or something while traveling across america?? of course i've heard about him, he's like a new york legend!!"
"he's a demigod too. greek, but still."
"no way. you're pulling my leg, right?"
jason shook his head at the girl, who burst into laughter, shaking in her seat
jason couldn't help himself, her laugh infectious and causing him to laugh lightly himself
he knew reyna would have his ass for being out so long, but he couldn't just leave a pretty girl like yourself alone
the sun had set and jason was slowly leading the pair towards new rome, the logical part of himself screaming to get home
now with the warm sun gone, you were starting to get cold
in your defense, you dressed for summer roman sun with your flowy sundress, not cold breezes
without a second thought, jason tugged his denim jacket off and set it on your shoulders
"oh, but you'll be cold-"
"you matter more," jason cut in, instantly, with a charming smile that left you weak in the knees.
you blushed, looking away.
"how about...i keep this and you get this," the girl mused, gesturing to the jacket before reaching up and taking her necklace off and settling it into jason's hand
he inspected the gold necklace, the heart locket charm feeling heavy with age in his hand
he looked up at her with a questioning look and she smiled at him with an all-knowing look in her eyes
"so we can find each other again. i'll have your very warm jacket and you have my necklace. if these fates you speak of are so kind, we'll meet again," she told him and jason laughed lightly, finding her belief loveable
"we'll meet again, jason grace, the kind son of jupiter. i'm sure of it," she added, cupping his face with one hand and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
jason blushed instantly before catching her hand as she tried to pull away, flipping it and pressing his lips to the back of her hand
"I'll wait then, y/n l/n, the darling daughter of your mother. until then," he bid his goodbyes, hearing the girl's laugh in his ears as she walked away.
he wrapped the necklace around his wrist, the chain just long enough to allow the charm to dangle without him being worried of it breaking.
reyna chewed him out, but he took it with a dopey smile
it all felt worth it to him, glancing down at his wrist and feeling that warm feeling of love
years later, jason would glance down at his wrist and feel nothing, riding in a bus to the grand canyon, a million miles away from the home he doesn't remember
and more importantly, a million miles away from a girl he doesn't remember.
he'd make his way to rome, discovering about his life as he went, seeing flashes of a girl in a sundress but nothing solid.
once he was back in new rome and still no memories came, jason took a walk around the city, huffing as he went
he wasn't sure what he did to deserve this, but he thought the fates cruel
"to pluto with them," he huffed as he plopped down on a bench, looking over at the city he was supposed to love but now he wasn't so sure.
"well, if it isn't jason grace, the lovely son of juipiter, if i recall correctly. i believe you have something of mine," a girl's voice called, her regal words barely hiding her excited tone as she halted to a stop and made her way towards jason's bench.
jason turned, inspecting the girl who wore a well loved denim jacket and kind smile
"i'm sorry, do I know you?"
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starlightshadowsworld · 3 months
Text
Heroes of Olympus but when Jason returns to Camp Jupiter, he's pissed.
He doesn't cower at the sight of his camp but stands taller. A steelness in his eyes no one at Camp Half Blood has ever seen before.
But one those in Camp Jupiter know all to well.
"Twelth Leigion Fulminata, stand at attention."
He doesn't even need to raise his voice as every single Roman demigod stops what their doing to look at him.
The only thing on their faces is fear.
"Oh would you look at that, you do know how to follow orders." Says Jason, strolling forward and.
Two centurions scramble to get a seat for him, Jason sits down nodding in thanks and dismissing them.
"Does anyone care to explain, just what the fuck has been going on here in my absence?"
Octavian raises a hand and Jason snorts.
"Augur, why am I not suprised? The floor is yours."
Octavian nods, a grin on his face and began to explain what had occurred.
All the while Jason listens, his expression giving nothing away. When Octavian finished, Jason sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair.
"If there's one thing I can't tell you idiots off its for making my life boring. Your dismissed...actually one last thing Augur?"
Octavian paused, turning back around to face Jason. "Yes, sir?" Jason frowned "wipe that smug look off your face before I do it for you."
Octavian went pale, all traces off amusement gone from his face.
"Thank you. Your dismissed, get out of my sight." Octavian left without a second word.
"Jason"
"Praetor Ramirez-Arellano"
Reyna winced, and she wasn't the only one. Jason never called her by her title unless they were in the Senate.
He was hurt.
"Do tell me, has Augur Octavian missed anything in his explanation?" Reyna shook her head, for as pretentious as he was Octavian had spoken the truth.
Jason rose to his feet.
"Oh but he did, he neglected to mention that there were 3 Praetors standing before us. Now, unless the rules have changed their are only supposed to be 2."
Jason looked past Reyna, his gaze resting on Percy who waved awkwardly. "State your name."
Percy, feeling very much like he was intruding in on something answered him. "Percy Jackson."
Recognition flashed in Jason's gaze, and he softened momentarily. "Percy Jackson, son of Posideon? Formerly apart of this Camp?" He asked, gesturing to his orange Camp Half Blood top.
"Yup."
Jason nodded "apologises, Jackson. Your friends and I traveled here, you may wait in the Senate. I will release them to you momentarily." Percy grinned "thanks, erm... Sorry about all of this I really didn't know."
Jason held up a hand "that's quite alright, you are not at fault for this." Percy left and Jason's smile vanished.
"Tell me, when did the Senate allow for a new Praetor to be reinstated? And why someone so new? I'd get if it was due to an it emergency field promotion, but that wasn't the case."
He couldn't even look at her and it hurt.
"I thought you were dead, Jason.
Jason laughed, but there was no humour in it. It sent chills down everyone's spines.
"Really? Than please, show me the search parties, point me to the evidence you collected that bought you too such a conclusion. For that matter, where's my funeral pyre?"
Jason shook his head, anger and sadness in his eyes. "Don't bullshit me. You didn't think I was dead, you didn't even look. And frankly I don't think you cared too."
He looked Reyna in the eye. "You replaced me, with a Greek. I get shit for being named after a Greek hero, but none of you had a problem with this. You wanted to replace me, Reyna. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you."
He shook his head, turning his back on her.
"Jason, wait I-"
"We have several guests at our gate that we need to welcome. I've already had their weapons checked but you've proven how little you trust my authority so you might want to hurry up on that."
And with that he left to the Senate.
Jason swapped his outfit with Percy who apologised once again.
"Really man, I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault. My Leigion had been trying to get rid of me since the day I showed up. Unfortunately for them, I'm more valuable alive than dead." Explains Jason, Percy frowned.
"Well, fuck em." He grinned when Jason laughed in suprise. "You are definitely something else, Jackson." Percy grinned wider "see you're learning fast. I think we'll be good friends you and I."
Jason raised an eyebrow "you sure? Most of my friends stab me in the back." Percy nodded, a sincerity in his eyes that made Jason almost believe he wouldn't.
It felt too good to be true.
"Well, I'll just have to prove you wrong." Percy put a hand out "Percy Jackson, son of Posideon and former Praetor." Jason shook his hand. "Jason Grace, son of Jupiter and current Praetor."
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
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darkwitchingflower · 11 months
Text
Pjo characters as quotes from me and my friends* and one from my old favourite teacher:
Will : I feel like amputating our customers is a bad idea
(@caffeinatedgh0st)
Annabeth : Hydrate or diedrate or as Nico said "hydrate or die straight" (@indecisivenb)
Reyna : How strange. They're pretending they don't respect me. (Friend not on tumblr)
Leo vibing and singing along to California Girls* : -will melt your popsical wohohoh wohoho
Percy trying to take Leos sandwich infront of him*
Leo : wohoho-NOOOOO!!! (@carpcranium)
Frank talking about how some of Canada speaks french*
Percy walking into the mess hall halfway through the conversation* : Canada isn't even a language but ok (best friend not on tumblr)
Leo: Oh ya know what? Im going comando in the cinema (best friend not on tumblr)
Calypso: do not go comando in the cinema (me)
Leo: I'm going comando in the cinema (best friend not on tumblr)
Percy: Does- does Medusa have tiny snakes for leg hair? (Me)
Nico: Imagine the screams as she shaves (best friend not on tumblr)
Frank sighing*: I wanna be a polar bear (friend not on tumblr)
Piper: Why am i arguing with a colourblind person over what colour something is (friend not on tumblr)
Jason: Despacito, play Alexa. Wait. (Me)
Leo: Cinderella is a straight man (me)
Percy: Hey coach, can I go to the bathroom a sec?
Coach hedge: No, were having fun! (favourite teacher)
Nico: No amount of Karate will save you from the heat death of the universe (@carpcranium)
Jason: King of rock and roll, instead I'm the king of stock control (@carpcranium)
*tbh I'm not even sure about some of these but they're funny and should be on here
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wisteriaiswriting · 3 months
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Hello! May I request for Sova, Iso, Gekko, Jett, cypher, and Reyna reacting to a reader who absolutely loves sour things? For example she eats lemons like oranges in a daily basis and eats super sour candy like it's nothing
𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕪 ℙ𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕪 𝕃𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕖𝕫𝕪
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Words: 864
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𝕊𝕠𝕧𝕒:
He’ll search around for any type of sour recipes, to either make them himself or find someone else if he has a lack of time.
Most of the time he’ll try the food, whether or not he actually likes them (I imagine him as a spicer type.) you’ll be able to have the majority.
***
Hours ago he left, and the only answer you got when asked was ‘Market.’ It seemed he was planning something as he would normally tell you, and even ask if you would accompany him.
This time though you were left in the dark until he returned. Which luckily wasn’t too long ago, now you had to endure him removing you from the kitchen for who knows how long. First he leaves you then bans you from your own house? What was he up to?
Well luck seemed to be on your side today as he was quick to call for you. Returning to see a bunch of packets on the counter, a closer inspection only showed Russian writing on them. Even with the images you had no clue.
“Y/N, I believe you’ve been asking about my homelands candy?”
Oh…
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𝕀𝕤𝕠:
Majority of the time he just… doesn’t notice the amount of sour stuff you eat.
The only items he notices are the wrappers, fruits and other foods, although he won’t question you about it.
***
Recently Iso had started noticing a few things. Such as candy wrappers, especially sour candy. The fruit bowls had more lemons and other citrus fruits then the normal ones, the pantry was similar.
It wasn’t weird though, he had his preferences and you had yours. It just seemed to be sour food. While he wouldn’t eat it much if you enjoyed it he wouldn’t complain.
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𝔾𝕖𝕜𝕜𝕠:
He’s learnt to handle anything but sour growing up.
If you eat anything sour in his sight he will openly cringe, might say something as well.
***
Gekko was bored. Everyone else was either on a mission or just too busy to deal with him, except you. He found you in the kitchen, eating what he assumed were grapes, from a bowl.
“Mateo, what some?” You held your hand out, which held the fruits. Ones he took gracefully. The sweet flavour never showed, instead covered by immediate sourness. Causing him to spit them out.
“What was that?”
“Hmm?”
“Those!” He pointed at the mess.
“Oh, they’re Gooseberries.”
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𝕁𝕖𝕥𝕥:
She's cooked and tasted more than her fair share of sour food, so she’s learnt how to handle it.
Is aware not many people can handle sour well, but that won’t stop her from teasing anyone.
***
It was Jett’s turn to make dinner, and this time she made Tungsuyuk. She’s grown so used to cooking for the both of you she honestly forgot how others couldn’t handle the sourness of it.
But she also made yours special, able to give you a larger portion. Even then the others couldn’t handle it.
“Jett! What did you put in this?”
“C’mon Neon, I thought you could handle this?” Turns out she couldn’t, watching the group either give up or drink more water.
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ℂ𝕪𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕣:
Due to his connections and access, if there's something you want he’ll be able to get it, the only problem is if he will.
He is kinda a picky eater, also much prefers spice over sour. So he won’t try many, only a select few me might enjoy.
***
The mission brief had just finished, and unluckily for you Cypher managed to scurry off from you. So until he came back around you’d have to either entertain yourself or find someone, but it seems he thought of that already.
As a decently sized box sat on your bed, seemingly just delivered as all the agents were in the meeting. And on top sat a note.
‘My Dear,
Hopefully these are to your liking, I’ll be waiting for your answer.
Love, Amir.’
And you guessed it, the box was full of sour Moroccan snacks and foods. Knowing he’ll be ready to order them and more.
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ℝ𝕖𝕪𝕟𝕒:
This woman is not fazed, as she’s seen worse things. But will look at you like you asked the dumbest question ever if she sees you eating a lemon, at all.
From her experience souls taste… different to say. And a good few are weirdly sour, so she isn’t too put off by their flavour and sensation.
***
The day was just another, this one neither you or Reyna were to be sent on missions. So you spent it hanging around with others, while she was training. When she finally finished she started walking back to her room, passing you and Gekko in the living area.
A quick glance had her brain assuming you held an orange, nothing out of the ordinary. Until Gekko spoke up.
“Ew dude, why would you- stay away!”
At first she was alarmed until she remembered who you two were. Slowly stepping back to see you holding out the orange- wait no, that's not an orange. You were holding a lemon, one that currently had a bite mark.
At the realization she could only stare at you, turning into a glare when you made eye contact.
“Want some?”
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fantastic-nonsense · 4 months
Text
obviously I'd be thrilled to just get the whole PJO series adapted and then end it there. However: Heroes of Olympus as a story can be cleaned up sooooooo much in a way that PJO just doesn't need to be, and a tv adaptation offers the perfect opportunity to do so
like honestly my hottake is that I think Disney could solve both the problem of adapting a long, convoluted sequel series and a lot of the problems HOO as a story has if they a) do The Lost Hero and Son of Neptune in the same season and b) deliberately wait until the PJO actors are in their 20s to do it
Just thinking about this a bit more:
three 12-14 episode seasons, with TLH/SoN in S1, a modified MoA in S2 that deals with some of the Argo crews' HoH subplots, and then HoH/BoO in S3
Percy and Annabeth are in their 20s and newly engaged when he disappears. This sets up the arc of Percy dreaming about settling down with Annabeth in New Rome in a more organic, functional way and also gives us as viewers a chance to see that the aftermath of the Titan War has resulted in tangible, lasting change for the demigods of Camp Half-Blood
Grover replaces Coach Hedge as the Seven's collective Protector+chaperone, which solves the series' problem of Grover's absence and the absence of the PJO Trio's friendship
the whole show/story takes place over ~6 months instead of the year it did in the books, and Percy+Jason's individual quests happen concurrently (simply not letting Percy sleep for 8 months and making an episode where he establishes himself at the Roman camp for awhile before he's forced on the quest with Frank and Hazel would solve about half of the problems on the Roman side of the series)
Season-wise, things mostly sort themselves out:
The first season starts off introducing the Lost Hero trio and we find out that Percy's missing at the end of the first episode. The second episode opens with Percy waking up at the Wolf House and starting his journey to New Rome. We get one episode entirely devoted to amnesiac Jason and Percy integrating into the new camps, making friends, and learning about their missing counterpart before the quest plots start up.
The season then alternates between Jason, Piper, and Leo's "Find Hera" quest and Percy, Hazel, and Frank's Alaska quest, with intermittent jumps to the Greek and Roman efforts to find Percy and Jason. It ends with Percy and Jason regaining their memories and each camp realizing their leader is on the other side of the country in "enemy" territory.
The second season opens around a month later as the Argo II docks in New Rome. Percy and Jason have both been given time to make friends, integrate themselves into the opposing camp, and become adjusted to a different way of life with all of their memories intact. They haven't physically returned to their home camps as they've both independently come to the conclusion that Hera switched them to initiate inter-camp unity and are wary of doing anything that would disrupt that goal. However, Percy and Jason have both managed to get messages to Annabeth and Reyna respectively at some point in that month, so everyone knows everyone is safe when the Greeks finally arrive in New Rome.
Cue MoA's various plotlines, which would be cleaned up and streamlined significantly while also integrating in some of the HoH arcs like Hazel learning how to manipulate the Mist, Frank learning how to use his shapeshifting powers, Piper coming into her own as a daughter of Aphrodite, Leo's seventh wheel arc and the Calypso subplot, Jason struggling to figure out what his place is, the Jason-Nico friendship, etc. Also set up the Greek v. Roman dispute and Reyna following them to Greece. Season ends with the Annabeth-Arachne confrontation and Tartarus fall.
The third season combines HoH and BOO; the season alternates between Percy and Annabeth's journey through Tartarus while the rest of the Seven finish their various character arcs via gathering the elements for the Physicians' Cure and journeying to the Doors of Death. After they rescue Percy and Annabeth and close the Doors, they plan to head straight to Athens to take on Gaea. Reyna reaches them just after, and Annabeth sends her and Nico off with the Athena Parthenos with Grover as their Protector.
The final battle switches between The Seven+Gods vs. Gaea+The Giants at the Acropolis and the Greeks vs. Romans at Camp Half-Blood. The Gaea plotline is resolved at the Acropolis, the Greek-Roman plotline is resolved as Nico and Reyna triumphantly arrive at Camp Half-Blood with the statue, a functional Greek-Roman working relationship, and the gods' blessing. This helps streamline the mess that was Blood of Olympus and actually provides a workable story resolution.
We get a final aftermath/epilogue episode that sorts out and ties up all remaining plot threads, teases Solangelo, and ends with Percy returning home to see his mom and planning out how to move to New Rome after he and Annabeth get married.
Obviously this is the roughest possible sketch of how it could be done, but I genuinely believe doing something like that could fix some of the biggest issues HOO has conceptually while streamlining all of the quest bloat. It'd be interesting to see them try, anyway.
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anotherpjofan · 1 year
Text
Ok wait what if new rome had a policy where swordfighting is like a social club until 21 which is when you have to be a legit part of the military till like 30 instead of having child soldiers. So then you'll have a 29 year old Reyna convinced Percy is a god cause a) he's carrying Juno, the first god in new rome in like 500 years and b) he's a child but then Juno introduces him as the son of Neptune and Reyna's all like
Reyna: Why are you here
Percy: To deliver lazy ass old ladies *jazz hands*
Reyna *muttering I hate kids*: Why aren't you in school
Percy: School's a bitch
Throughout the whole first week Reyna is desperately trying to make Percy go to school in New Rome which leads to the following incidents in no particular order
a) he kidnaps Hannibal the elephant
b) somehow managed to sneak out of school multiple times
c) organises a protest with the other teens
d) defeats Ovtavian (who's 32) in a swordfight in less than a minute
Poor Reyna's losing her mind. She already lost her fellow praetor and now she had to deal with a teenager who was acting out
this is when Mars shows up ofc and personally requests Percy to be on the quest and everyone's like...he's a kid???
Percy: I thought you'd be glad to be rid of me
Reyna: That doesn't mean I want a child to go on a deadly quest???
Percy *indignantly*: I'm almost 18... I think I still don't have my memories
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raphael-angele · 7 days
Text
Nico's Big Brothers
Nico: Conner, can you open this please. *gives him a can of peanut brittle*
Conner: Did Travis okay this?
Nico: Mhm.
Conner: You know you can't eat these kinds of things without drinking water directly after, right?
Nico: Yep.
Conner: Where's your water?
Nico: *points to glass on table*
Conner: Alright *opens can and spring snakes pop out*
Conner:
Nico: :)
Conner: Classic *impressed*
---
Nico: Travis!
Travis: What's up, kiddo?
Nico: Annabeth gave me homework. Can you please help me?
Travis: Yeah, sure. *pulls ups a chair and sits on whoopee cushion*
Travis:
Nico: :)
Travis: *pulls out whoopee cushion from underneath him* ...I'll teach you better pranks if you get an A in this.
---
Visiting an Aquarium:
Percy, carrying Nico: Nico, c'mon. Look at the pretty fish.
Nico, burying his head in Percy's shoulder: No! I don't like the ocean! The ocean is scary! It's gonna eat me!
Percy: *sigh* C'mon. Look, there's a turtle over there.
Nico: *looks hesitantly*
Percy: See? Over there. *points to turtle* Say, "Hi, Mr. Turtle*
Nico: *waves* Hi, Mr. Turtle.
Turtle: *waves back*
Nico: GAAASP HE WAVED BACK! PERCY, HE WAVED BACK!
---
Nico: GROVEEERRRR! *running*
Grover: Woah! Woah! Woah! Nico, calm down. What's wrong?
Nico: *opens his palm to show a baby bird with a broken wing*
Grover: Oooh.
Nico: I think she fell from her nest. B-but you can heal her right? Or Juniper can?
Grover: Nico, I'm sorry. Juniper or I don't have healing powers
Nico: B-but, we can't just leave Beanie alone! He's tiny and just a baby! He needs his family!
Grover: *sigh* I know. C'mon. We'll go to the Apollo cabin to see what they can do. Then we'll put him back in his tree.
Nico: I'll still get to see him, right?
Grover: Of course.
---
Jason giving Nico a tour of Camp: And that over there is the arena. It's where we train.
Reyna: Jason! Who's that?
Jason: Oh, Nico, this is Reyna. She's my best friend. Reyna, this is Nico. He's a visitor.
Reyna: We don't accept visitors
Jason: He's an exception. Diana asked us to-
Nico, playing with a dummy sword: Jason, I'm hungry.
Jason: Aww, okay. Let's get you some food.
Octavian: What are you two doing? And what is that? *points to Nico*
Reyna: Back off, Octavian.
Octavian: No. That thing needs to leave. This place is-
Nico: *throws his dummy sword at him*
Octavian: OW!
Jason: Nico!
Reyna:
Jason: Octavian, are you okay? Do you-
Nico: *throws stones, sticks, and whatever he can pick up from the ground at Octavian*
Jason: Nico, you can't-
Reyna: Wait, give him five more seconds to learn his lesson
---
Nico: *wakes up from his afternoon nap*
Alice: Oh, looks like someone's awake from his nap
Nico: Clovis...
Clovis: *picks him up* I'm here, kiddo. You need anything?
Nico: Hungy...
Clovis: Alright. Let's get you some food. Did you have a good nap?
Nico: Mhm. I had a good dream
Clovis: Aww, tell me all about it.
---
Nico: Charlie.
Charles: Yes, Nico? What is it?
Nico: Can you make something?
Charles: It's kind of what we do here. What do you need?
Nico: I made my sister mad.
Charles: What happened?
Nico: I almost broke her bow. So I want to make it up to her.
Charles: So you want me to make her a new bow?
Nico: Not exactly. *shows paper*
Charles and other Cabin 9 kids: *looks*
Charles: Oh, wow. That's...that's certainly something.
Nico: Can you make it?
Charles: Maybe like...2? 3 weeks?
Soon:
Bianca: Hey...Charles, right?
Charles: That's me. What can I help you with?
Bianca: Nico said that he had you make something for me?
Charles: Oh, so you're Nico's sister. Yeah, I have what he asked for. *hands over case*
Bianca: What is it?
Charles: *opens case* He felt bad about almost breaking your bow so he had me make you this. *shows violin*
Bianca: Oh, wow. That's...very generous of you. All of you.
Charles: That's not where it ends. *pushes a button at the top and the violin turns to a bow*
Bianca:
Charles: He had blueprints and everything.
Bianca: I'm going to say something I swore I'd never say. Oh my Gods.
Charles: *chuckles*
Bianca: How much does he owe you?
Charles: Ah, it's on the house. It looked really cool and all of us wanted to take a shot at it. It was fun enough for us to make it.
Violin
---
Nico: *crying cuz he fell fown and scraped his knee*
Lee: Nico, calm down.
Nico: It hurts!!
Lee: I know, kiddo. I know.
Nico: I want Bia!!
Lee: Michael already called for her. Just be a good boy and keep still, okay?
Nico: *nods*
Lee: Okay, there we go. *blows on his wound and applies betadine*
Nico: Can I get a lollipop later?
Lee: Well, if you're a good boy, I can give you one in your favorite flavor. *patches him up* And we're done. See? That wasn't so bad, right?
Bianca, coming in: Nico?
Lee: Over here. He's fine. He just scraped his knee. Nothing a little betadine can't fix.
Bianca: Oh, good. Thank you.
Lee: Yeah. And he was a very strong boy. *shows lollipop jar* Here you go, Nico.
Nico: Yay!
---
Michael: Good. Don't close your eye. It'll be harder if you do. Stand properly
Nico: *does as he's told*
Michael: And...release.
Nico: *shoots an arrow bullseye* I DID IT!!!
Michael: YEAAA! *picks up Nico* Aww, great job, little man.
Nico: DID YOU SEE IT? MICKEY, DID YOU SEE IT?!?!
Michael: I saw it. And it was perfect. C'mon, let's go tell Bianca.
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Text
Trials of Apollo incorrect quotes
part 3 :)
Apollo: I’ve come to a point in my life where I need a stronger word than fuck
Arrow of Dodona: Here's some advice Apollo: I didn't ask for any Arrow of dodona: Too bad. I'm stuck here with my thoughts and you're the only one who can talk to me
Will, tending to Apollos wounds: How would you rate your pain?  Apollo: Zero stars. Would NOT recommend.
Meg A: I slept for almost 12 hours but I might still be tired so lets go for 12 more just incase. Apollo: Meg, that's a coma. Meg: Sounds festive.
Reyna, driving Meg and Apollo: So how was your day? Apollo: We almost got surprise adopted! Reyna: What? Meg: We almost got kidnapped. Reyna: Oh, okay. Reyna: *slams on the breaks* WAIT WHAT?!
Meg: You love me, right, Apollo? Apollo: Normally, I’d say yes without hesitation, but I feel like this is going somewhere and I don’t like it.
Shapeshifter: *transforms to look like Apollo*  Apollo: Okay, are you like BLIND? You look nothing like me. First off, I'm way taller. Secondly, I DO NOT look so sleep deprived and lastly, if you could drag comb through that hair you're like a 7 on a good day and I've been told I'm a constant 10.
Leo: What’s up guys? I’m back. Literally everyone at camp halfblood: What the- you can’t be here. You’re dead. We literally saw you die. Leo A: Death is a social construct
Apollo: How do I deal with my enemies? Meg: Kill them Apollo: That's a bit extreme, I was hoping for a more passive solution Meg: Kill them only a little?
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mediumgayitalian · 2 months
Text
“Will. Hey.” He reaches out when the medic doesn’t react, forcibly stilling his hands. Even then, he can feel the minute twitches, the fighting he’s doing with himself to keep still. “It can wait until tomorrow.”
“They leave tomorrow,” Will stresses, finally pulling his hands free. “The Romans are early risers, Nico, you know better than anyone, I need this done before they —”
He cuts himself off, too invested in the sprawl of paperwork completely covering the nurse’s station. Under his eyes is almost completely bruised black, not unlike the war paint he wore so long ago, and there’s a grey dullness to him. If he stays in one place too long, he sways on his feet.
“I’m fine,” he says, suddenly, as if remembering Nico is there. He pauses briefly to shoot him a small, strained smile, then returns to his frantic sorting. A red thumbprint bleeds onto the corner of the page of one of the files. He doesn’t seem to notice.
Without straying too far, Nico gathers the supplies he needs. He pulls out a tray to grab some antiseptic, swipes a Pac-Man bandaid off a box on the counter. Arms laden with his spoils, he nudges the half-door open with his hip, setting the supplies down when he’s inside the round desk-station.
“Will,” he says quietly, wrapping his hand around his elbow. He jumps.
“I’m — fine.”
“You’re bleeding.”
He blinks, staring down at his hands; brows furrowing as he notices the several scattered paper cuts crossing almost every finger. Many of them are clotted, scabbed over; dried blood streaking between his freckles and swirling around stark white scars.
“Come here.”
Without protest, for once, he does. He sets down the pen clenched in his left thumb and turns to face Nico fully. In the minimal space between them, his hands shake.
“I didn’t notice,” he murmurs, flinching as Nico soaks a cotton pad and presses it to a cut on the inside of his thumb. Nico can’t quite read the expression on his face, although there’s a choked quality to his voice. “I need to — before they —”
“Not everything is your responsibility,” Nico interrupts. He meets Will’s gaze head on, his own gaze steady, heart breaking at the fragility in his ice blue eyes. “Not everything is your responsibility, Will,” he repeats, firmer this time.
Will’s face crumples. “I haven’t slept in five days.”
Nico closes his eyes. “Gods, Will.”
“I’m sorry.”
In moments like these, Nico hates working for his father.
He had left to relative chaos. Relative, meaning in comparison to what the rest of the eight billion people on the planet would consider calm, camp wasn’t it, but by demigod standards it wasn’t too bad. Several Romans, including Reyna and Hazel, were due to arrive the day after he was summoned by his father, which was a bummer, but he had assurance from both of them that they’d stay long enough to see him. And reassurance from his father that the errand wouldn’t be too perilous. And, lastly, a threat (warning out of love, he would say, but Nico knows a threat when he sees one) from Will to take it easy.
He got back to debris and blood and a flurry of stress — a weapons development disaster, he’d been quickly informed. No deaths, at least not yet, but several in critical condition that were quickly approaching it.
And Kayla and Austin, back at school, and Will in the infirmary by himself.
“Will,” he repeats for the third time, a little more urgently this time. He places a gently finger under his chin. “Look at me a second.”
He regrets asking, almost, when Will meets his eyes, although he immediately feels guilty for the thought. The son of Apollo is so rarely vulnerable, stubbornly intent on carrying the burdens he’s stuck with without half a hand of help. It wears on him, and the proof of the weariness hurts Nico somewhere, deep in his soul; he hates bearing witness to it.
Worse, though, is the knowledge that Will is struggling with it himself.
“Everybody critical has been stabilized,” he says firmly. When Will opens his mouth in protest, he adds, “I can feel it, Sunshine, do you trust me?”
“Yes,” he says, immediately. He snaps his jaw shut. “Yes.”
Nico’s own shoulders slump when Will exhales, long and exhausted. “Good. This —” he gestures to the paperwork — “this is secondary, Solace. I don’t care if they want to leave tomorrow. You need rest, and, hell, if they’re that pressed about it, I’ll make them do the fucking paperwork.”
“Please, don’t,” Will says, laughing feebly. He swiped quickly under his eyes, pulling away, and Nico lets him, if only because his small smile seems genuine, if not exhausted. “The idea of that actually makes me want to puke. I hate paperwork, but I hate anyone else doing it more.”
“Right, right.” Nico nudges his shoulder, something like teasing showing in his eyes. “Heaven forbid someone dot their i’s incorrectly.”
“Exactly.” Will looks so serious that Nico stills, trying to figure out just how anal, exactly, his friend is, before his face breaks out into a wide, genuine grin. Nico’s stomach flips. “I’m only teasing, Death Breath. I don’t actually care if people dot their i’s incorrectly. And I would appreciate the help.”
“I feel like it hurt you to say that,” Nico says, once he recovers from the staggering force of one million megawatts of smile power.
“It did.”
“Also, you implied that there genuinely is a wrong way to dot your i’s.”
“…Of course there is.” Will looks at him strangely. “Maybe I’m not the one who’s sleep deprived,” he muses, reminding Nico that oh yeah, dumbass, Will is actually genuinely sick with how little sleep he’s gotten, maybe fix that.
“Will you sleep, now?”
Will hesitates. “There was a girl with a — skull injury.”
Nico understands immediately. (He saw the mangled mess of Lee’s shroud.)
“Come sleep in my cabin,” he suggests, squeezing his wrist. “I’ll keep watch, and you’ll have some privacy.”
“Okay,” he says quietly. He allows himself to be tugged out of the infirmary, only looking back a couple times. “Thank you, Nico.”
“Anything for you,” Nico responds, just as quiet, and his heart races when Will beams.
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