#will solace is a huge big nerd

[theveryattacheduser]

will solace headcanons because I felt like it: -he doesn't have a filter whatsoever. he says whatever is on his mind whenever he wants. sometimes he would say things that should not be told in a situation he is in. - He is a big indie music fan, Like he is constantly searching for a new underrated artist. he is also a huge oldie, mainly cause Naomi influenced him. just has a really good music taste -did his own piercings. no explanation. he just did it cause he was bored. -He learned sign language when he was 4 and just continued learning it. -He is very popular around children. like all children love him. he doesn't know why. they just do. -his wardrobe consists of shorts, jeans, and shirts. he only owns one hoodie and one pair of sweatpants. he just finds them more comfortable. -a hopeless romantic who is hopeless when it comes to romance. he just can't flirt. however, he is the best when it comes to date nights and gifts and accommodating love languages -very sarcastic, maybe too sarcastic because sometimes his sarcasm can come off as being for real. -he seems like the type of person to love friends - and he definitely raged and criticized everything in medical shows -when he is excited his freckles and hair glow. when he is upset, his hair and freckles deepen in color. -he has a pet cat named toaster. he loves toaster with his whole heart. He is also allergic to toaster. -sucky immune system, gets sick too often -refuses to sleep, can't sleep, never sleeps. -he is a history nerd. he can rant about history all day every day 24/7 -he LOVESSSS ice skating, like a lot -the whole corner of his room is just plants. all of them have their own names. -he has one of those aesthetic fairy light polaroid pictures. all of them vary from him and Nico, the camp, toaster, Naomi, everything. -very talkative lad -energetic in front of strangers, calm in front of close friends -he can't cook, please never let him cook -he is like an incredible listener -bread, he loves any kind of bread -also lactose intolerant -he LOVESSSS souvenirs, and he is an advent collector of souvenirs and soda taps -quality time is his receiving love language, and compliments are his giving love language

-He also buys so many things for his friends, especially Nico

#probably will make pt 2 when I think of it #will solace #nico di angelo #the seven #cabin 7 #apollo #apollo cabin #the sun and the star #tsats #solangelo #pjo #hoo #rr #rick riodan #heroes of olympus #toa #trials of apollo #naomi solace #headcannons #theuser headcannons #percy jackon and the olympians

[undeadheir-if]

thank you so much @ya-boiiiii for asking this!

[ALTERNATE TEXT: ya-boiiiii asked: Tumblr hates me when I'm anon, the asks won't send BUT if it's not an inconvenience, what are your favourite little details (like think sprinkles ona sundae type) about the undead ROs? END TEXT]

LORELAI (F!LUCKY) I love how mean she is. I know that's not a little detail because, when you meet her in game, meanness is like a pretty big trait of hers. As I'm writing and getting to know these characters, I find that I'm having the most fun putting together Lorelai's scenes because of that aspect. It's also really fun thinking about why she acts that way. Also for little stuff, I love her attention to detail. It's something that was instilled in her by her mother, and I love how much she cares about things.

LEO (M!LUCKY) Similarly to Lorelai, Leo is an asshole, but in a much different way than his twin. Also, super fun to write, but I really like his capacity of wanting not to be that way. Lorelai's abrasiveness is more of a defense mechanism, whereas Leo's is more of a learned behavior. I also love his compassion and love for his mom (even though that love is probably unhealthy as hell.)

JASON is a quiet character and I really really love that about him. He's sensitive but he doesn't like to show it. He's also kind of a huge dork. Again, not that he'd show it. He likes comics and sci-fi.

AMARA is fierce, in everything she does, from how she loves to how she protects to how she teaches. With everything she does Amara goes all in. There is no such thing as half-assing something for her, and it's something I really admire about her. Also she loves plants, but despite being a farmer's daughter, she's terrible at keeping them alive.

JESSE if this took place in the modern day, I feel like Jesse would be a style influencer, or at least have like one of those outfit-of-the-day instagrams. I love their fashion sense, and how much they care about their outfits. Fashion for them is their creative outlet, and being in such a (relatively) boring line of work--god knows they need one. That isn't to say Jesse doesn't enjoy what they do, in fact, they take solace in the monotony of their work most often--but bookkeeping isn't a field that really allows for a lot of creativity. Additionally! Jesse is something of a bird-nerd. They have a few bird-houses and humming bird feeders around their porch, and watching the birds hang around their property is just something they enjoy alot of.

LAZARUS there's nothing small about Lazarus, details included. Everything about them from their voice to their personality to their physical presence is big.

#thank you so much for the ask!! #sorry it took a minute i had to Think About These #ya-boiiiii #ask #lucky harding #lorelai harding #leo harding #amara bridgers #jason reyes #jesse marks #uh lazarus

[bytchysylvy]

BODY THOUGHTS ESSAY PART 2/3

SF SUPPORTING CAST

mokubat knows his leanness makes latikam upset. reminds him of the occupation. but its whatever. Appreciates the fact that he is apparently Incredibly Sexy by mortal standards and uses this to his advantage to be as much as a slut as possible with them.

zumi puts on a brave face to hide that she is deeply insecure about the way she looks. She'd give everything to just look vazuvyn. Having a more feminine body shape would help too but its by far not her biggest problem.

susarikas's biggest problem is just moving around. his body was never meant to... be like this. Unknown to everyone he will grow into it and live an adulthood without inhibition but right now its awkward to deal with. He doesn't let it get to him as he has no fellow young vazuvyr to compare himself with (though this itself does make him rather lonely).

dusk is reasonably mixed. ellyon dominated media that makes the ideal body one that she could literally never physically obtain vs living in a strong gwenduraag community where her body is normal and average. She has reasonable insecurities but nothing noteworthy. However, she is oblivious to how pretty she is with her hair down.

liz loves her body. It took a lot to get her body the way it is. her only issue is she wishes she had casarin's huge caboose, then she'd be perfect lmao.

You may not like it but kayanit is what peak female performance looks like (big snake)

levis, a naturally thin conventionally attractive jewel ellyon, has never once had to think about how his appearance would be received. He is taking aging with grace btw, thanks for checking in, we were all so concerned.

im going back and forth with something about nerus so put a tiny redacted about something here. That aside, i have a whole other essay about him and hydrel's insecurities with being half faeren. Might post later idk. Know he worries about his looks but its not in his size or shape.

galan, like everyone* else in their family, has no reason to be insecure because they're all thin and conventionally attractive. admittedly though, he is somewhat insecure that he has zero physical strength. Man couldn't protect a woman from a salmon. But it doesn't get to him that much because he hides behind his intelligence anyway. I have a business degree I dont need to lift heavy things such as a bag of flour.

vaens didn't have any issues until his thyroid failed on him and he got fat. deeply insecure about the changes, worst of all despite knowing its just medical condition he contextualizes it as a moral failing; that its a punishment from god. it is some solace to him that his wife loves him all the same. disclaimer that this is not why he is an horrible person, just another symptom of the bigger issue of his religiosity.

morgan is both conceited in her appearance and insecure. Looks at everyone else and thinks "at least I dont look like that". Fully believes that thinness is a holy thing and deviation is the result of one's own moral failing. We don't see behind the scenes but while she admires vaens's power she also judges him harshly for his body, though she keeps that thought to herself.

adaen was a soft squishy nerd. Always tried to look tougher and meaner to compensate but failed miserably and ended up just looking softer and dorkier in the end. Wasn't strong like his brother but he was the funny one.

fjinmars was also on the soft side but in a way that was still a very idealized feminine look. She never had to deal with anyone giving her shit about her appearance. And the media cant get to her because she knows things that society does not.

no notes about kentras as i havent designed him yet

anrai was heavy set, being a wrestler before being deployed his size and shape was praised albeit not for his looks. After coming home from his first service he went from having a wrestlers physique to being plain fat. It was fine. It was truer to who he was anyways; a soft hearted guy who just wants to live a peaceful life and cuddle with a cute wife.

naljuun was never insecure of her appearance but of being a tiny helpless girl. Runt of the family and having grown up having to do manual labor which never seemed to be good enough. Doesnt like to think about it. Just glad that casarin took after his dad and not her.

#im not tagging everyone #i fuckgin said i had notes for everyone i meant everyone #sf

[icedfae]

(—) ★ spotted!! MARGARITA ‘MAGGIE’ ROSARIO on the cover of this week’s most recent tabloid! many say that the 23 year old looks like CHRISTINA NADIN, but i don’t really see it. while  the MODEL/WRITER is known for being EBULLIENT my inside sources say that they have a tendency to be LOQUACIOUS i swear, every time i think of them, i hear the song YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE HER by MADDIE ZAHM

someday you’ll think you disappoint your parents

basics

Name: Margarita ‘Maggie’ Rocio Rosario Age: Twenty-Three DOB: March 16, 1999 Gender: Cisfemale Sexuality: Bisexual Occupation: Model/Writer Family Members: Davina Rosario ( full sister ), Jaylen Rosario ( maternal half-brother, adopted by biological father )

but they’ll love you, not despite, but regardless

biography

Born the youngest of five children, Maggie has always been the type to take care of others. Whether it be her older siblings (three brothers and a sister) or her parents. When she was thirteen years old, Maggie found herself in the midst of a huge custody battle after her mother cheated on her father with his brother. It fell that they would have shared custody of their underage children.

Her parents constantly fought after the divorce, barely being able to stand being in the same room as one another. Longer than an hour and bitterness would take over. It only got worse when her mother got remarried to her uncle, who became her step-father. It felt like her life was spent growing up in a soap opera.

The older she got, the more that Maggie began to hide behind the façade of perfection. They didn’t have time to worry about her if she was always active in school and community. Not only did she do every extra curricular that she could find, ran in a tight knit social circle and even kept a part time job at a bookstore in the city. If her life wasn’t a whirlwind, Maggie would find herself becoming overwhelmed by the sense of duty she felt to her family.

At sixteen years old, Maggie had the most cliche beginning to fame that could have possibly happened, which she still jokes around about to this day. She was working at the bookstore when she was scouted for modeling and after vetting the man who approached her, Maggie decided to go for it. It was just supposed to be another part time thing that helped her make cash on the side and soon enough it turned into travelling into New York City to do fashion shows and shoots in big companies.

This was not the life she envisioned for herself but modeling was giving her enough to make her way through college which is what she wanted. She enrolled in Columbia University School of the Arts for writing with a concentration in fiction writing.

It hasn’t been much and she continues to model for her agency on the side but her primary focus now is building connections through the industry she plans to break out in.

and you’ll learn to let people have shitty opinions

things to note

Though there was always the temptation to party with the other models she met through her agency, Maggie has kept herself out of trouble for the most part.

TW Eating Disorder During her time as a sixteen year old breaking out into modeling, she did develop an eating disorder in which she’s been hospitalized three times over -- the last being almost a year ago now. 

Always trying to keep up the persona of being perfect, it’s rare to find Maggie without a smile on her face or laughing loudly for all to hear. She likes to keep up the bubbly act as much as possible. If you’re happy people don’t worry about you.

She’s currently writing a novel about an elven community in her free time. She will tell you all about it if you ask.

A giant nerd, often found reading as it was her biggest solace as a child.

It’s not unusual for her to go on a tangent about a topic that she’s passionate about. Often times she’ll talk in circles until you point it out.

Her family, the Rosario clan, are known for each of the children gaining popularity and stardom despite the quaint life they lived growing up. Their fame is slowly booming them into popularity the more each of them gets famous.

She is a virgin which is not something that is really well known because girl can come across as a flirt when she’s actually just being friendly.

and talk about your trauma and like the body you live in

connections

The Rest of the Rosarios - Maggie is the youngest of five, three brothers and an older sister. I feel like the other four are relatively close in age with the one closest to her being 25 now. The older four were always closer to each other than Maggie, her being the quiet one of the bunch, but there isn’t much they wouldn’t do for one another. All of them making it in different fields, her parents were heralded as having raised them a good bunch when in reality the eldest of the children raised the younger ones while their parents fought constantly over the infidelities. 

Industry Friends - Through her many years in the modeling world, she’s met a lot of people and networked through

Tinder Dates - Girl is single living in the 21st century in LA, ofc she’s been on tinder dates galore. They could have gone badly, could have gone alright. Maybe even a few of them went well enough that they’re seeing each other again casually. Who knows, it’s a big old game of Russian Roulette.

more to come when i’m not dying

#hillzhqsintro

[neutinya]

edgy boyfriends!!!

Pluto's fashion taste is primarily grunge or techwear;; his closet is almost completely black;; Tobi owns quite a few trench coats, although he's slowly being influenced by Pluto's fashion choice;;; - (also decided to give Tobi a tattoo of the planet Pluto on his neck :D he loves Pluto sm 🥺🥺🥺 meanwhile Pluto has a naval piercing djskjdjd)

Hi!! I've been working on another new story;; Meet Pluto, Tobias and Hunter :) background info is in order :D - Pluto is a huge horror and rock music nerd!! He loves writing and composing his own songs and his dream is to be able to do music for a living;; he loves cats and reptiles too, and would like to own some of his own he's very sweet and rather shy, he doesn't speak much but he has a really pretty voice when he sings. He doesn't stand out much anywhere, people tend to forget he's there - Tobias is actually really smart and studied criminal psychology in Harvard;; he's also pretty attractive in this world?? He's Pluto's highschool sweetheart, and they dated for 2 years before they broke up when Tobi had to move away He can't cook, his fashion sense is godawful and he's lactose intolerant probably, but yes, he can drive at least!!! - Hunter is just an asshole and he's the antagonist of the story in a lot of ways;; he's a cop but not a good one He's a character that deserves to rot in darkest pits of hell so yeah Him and Tobias were childhood friends [Trigger warning: Implied abuse] Hunter is Pluto's ex from his adult years. It was never a healthy relationship and most of the time turned violent. - This is in no way trying to romanticise abuse. The entire story revolves around getting out of a physically and emotionally abusive relationship, finding things to work past trauma and reaching out for help. It stemmed from the realisation that anyone can make you happy, but not everyone can make you feel safe. Temporary bliss shouldn't be an excuse to let others paint scars on your skin. If you are in dangerous relationship where you feel like you are being hurt or manipulated, please do reach out to someone you trust. And for those who are working through your experiences, I want to tell you that it gets better. But even now that's something I'm also struggling with. I think we have to find ways to make it better for ourselves. I find a warped solace in writing and drawing. For Pluto, it's music. They don't have to be big things, just small things that keep you going and give you the courage to wake up and try.

#neutinya's OCs #my art #pluto #tobias #hunter #tear-dusted irises #nyaemie's OCs

[fyeahnix]

I’ll send some asks- what are some of bang and wriath’s favorite things to do during down time.

Ik there’s arguments in every relationship, so what’s the biggest one they’ve had? And how did they make up? :0

How do they deal with each other’s fears, nightmares and anger?

Lastly who is the most affectionate out of the two. Or is it more if a “let me show you how I feel” or verbal affection? I’m interested to know more :D

Okay I love these 👀

Downtime

By downtime I assume you mean like... casually outside of the Games? I'm gonna assume that.

These two are usually hanging out together or with someone else. Typically Witt. Anita tolerates Witt. She finds him funny sometimes and annoying other times but he ain't bad. He's her gf's bestie so what can she do? If Anita gets visibly too annoyed, Wraith will have to excuse them both so they can leave because Anita is an introvert whose patience wears thin depending on the company.

If they're alone and have no work obligations, they're typically doing one of the following:

Listening to music. They're both big on music. Anita tries to get Wraith to listen to ANYTHING ELSE besides hip-hop and R&B but Wraith is stubborn. Anita is a musician so she'll listen to anything. Sometimes Anita will play a song on guitar or keyboard. Most of the time they just vibe out.

Working out. They're workout buddies! Wraith spots Anita's bench presses and cheers her on when she's a new personal best, and Anita pushes Wraith to run faster and harder. They are literally each other's personal hype squad during their evening workouts.

Taking walks. That's it. They love to take walls around downtown Solace City.

Watching anime. Wraith is a huge anime nerd and tries REAAAAAALLLY hard to convince Anita to watch it with her. Anita just scoffs and does it because Wraith loves it. She'll fake grumble about it, but actually kinda gets into some series tho she won't admit it.

If it sounds like they spend a lot of time together, they do! Kind of.... The Games keep them VERY busy with matches, interviews, events, meetings, banner card and merchandise photoshoots, etc, etc etc. They're both very independent and can survive without seeing each other for a while, but the time they do spend together is cherished a lot.

Arguments

Yes, just like any other couple these two have their little arguments. The biggest one, is something I wrote about actually! "Can You Hear Me" is the fic if you're curious. But TLDR...

These two have had some bumps in the road learning to fight together on the same team. They're both headstrong and stubborn and want to lead the squad. They've realized that when one of them takes a back seat to support the other, they do extremely well. But that urge to lead still crops up and they have to keep the other in check (this is all explained in another headcanon post about their synergy dynamic in the Games).

BUT ANYWAY. Biggest argument they've had was when Anita was essentially ignoring Wraith's calls in a match. Wraith is technically the "leader" (think an actual IGL) between the two because Anita lets her (more info in that post). But ignoring Wraith's calls when they were valid and good calls really pissed her off and she blew up at Anita about it.

To her it felt like a lack of trust on Anita's part and that hurt Wraith pretty badly. Anita realized that on her own, apologized, and tried her hardest to do better. Wraith was mad about it for a few days and it took some time to rebuild that trust and confidence but once they got over that hump? Man, they're a DEADLY combo in the Games.

In general, these two are pretty good about squashing their petty arguments. Both of them are so alike that either of them can be a little closed off due to tunnel vision, but they have some unspoken communication in place (A Look™) to make sure they talk out their differences without judgment in private.

Fears, Nightmares, Anger, etc.

Both of them are dealing with issues of PTSD that they're both in therapy for. They have a pretty good idea each other's known triggers and what makes the other uncomfortable or uneasy.

Anita is prone to panic attacks. If Wraith is around, she'll take Anita to a quiet place and sit with her and talk to her, help her through breathing exercises. Anita is pretty touch-averse during this so Wraith makes sure to ask her if she can touch her. If Anita gives the okay, Wraith will stroke her arm and rub her back while she talks to her. Anita's usually wiped out afterwards, so if they're out and about or with friends, Wraith will quietly excuse them. Anita hates it and feels embarrassed about it so she's generally pretty quiet afterwards. Wraith doesn't pressure her to talk. She'll embrace the silence or try her best to make one-sided conversation while Anita recovers.

Anita has trouble sleeping once in a blue moon.

Wraith, on the other hand, is prone to nightmares. She generally doesn't sleep very well at all on her own. When she sleeps with Anita, she's much better off but still has trouble. The nightmares will force her awake, shaking, seeing shit in the shadows she's pretty sure aren't there, etc. She's touch-starved afterwards when she wakes, but as she doesn't like to be restrained (another headcanon post on this), Anita is careful not to hug and hold her as hard as she'd like to. Anita has told her before that she whimpers and cries in her sleep sometimes, too.

Do these two ever get a good night's sleep? Yes, quite often, actually! They sleep better when they're together. Having Anita at Wraith's back helps Wraith feel less alone and more supported. And Anita holding on to Wraith helps her feel more grounded.

As far as anger and emotions, they're very much alike but also different. They're both fairly chill, and Anita is generally more chill than Wraith is. However, Anita tends to have a much lower tolerance for bullshit, and when she feels something, she feels it strongly. Wraith can stretch her patience out much longer (case in point, talking to Witt), but if something pisses her off, it pisses her off.

They both know that the other can be a bit much or a little intense when they're pissed, so they've learned to kinda step in a little when they're going too far. They'll give the other A Look™ that basically says "you're being a bit much right now, let's discuss this in private."

Because of Anita's experience, leadership, and confidence, most of the other Legends don't bother calling her out when they think she's wrong. Wraith will 100% do this to her face, but only outside of prying eyes. That same Look™ means "we need to talk."

Affection

Ahh I love this. So I made a headcanon post about these two’s love languages but I’ll give a TLDR here:

Neither of them like PDA. All their affection and love is given behind closed doors in the comfort of each other. Anita is surprisingly the more affectionate of the two. Like I’m not joking when I say she’s a giant ass baby with Wraith when they’re alone—hugging, touching, kissing, petting, lying all over Wraith. She loves that shit.

And Wraith loves it too. She’s just not as outwardly affectionate to the degree that Anita is but stroking the side of Anita’s head, caressing her face/cheek, fingers over Anita’s arm, that really tender shit? That’s Wraith all day. Subtle and sweet.

Anita is very much an "action over words" type of lover. Wraith prefers receiving words of affirmation, and Anita really does try, but she does slip into her "lemme buy you your favorite dinner or give you a massage or just let me do something for you if you need it" moods.

Wraith just loves spending time with Anita even if she won't readily and openly admit it. Anita knows this deep down but won't call her out on it/joke about it because she knows this is extremely personal to Wraith.

MAN that was a lot but I def enjoyed writing all that! Thanks for sending. I love an opportunity to blab about them :3

#Apex Legends #Bangalore #Wraith #Voidstrike #headcanon

[lovingmyselfcore]

Skate Into My Heart

Chapter Three; Uh oh

BESTIES

I'M ALIVE AND I DID THE WRITING THING

@ciaraloves (or @perseusjackson-jasongrace ig) LOOK AT ME DOING THE THING

As soon as Nico left the locker room, Piper pounced on him. Literally.

He was forced to take a step back and caught her by the shoulders, “What’s up?”

She was practically vibrating with excitement, “Annabeth’s back!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Come on!” She grabbed his hand and yanked him through the hallways and into the main rink where a crowd of people had formed next to the bleachers.

It was the rest of the team and in the center was Annabeth, a duffle bag slung over one shoulder, looking exhausted as all hell but she was grinning as the team peppered her with questions and play-by-plays of the practices she’d missed.

Piper shouldered them into the center so Nico was directly in front of Annabeth, Piper on one side and Calypso on the other.

“Hey, Nico,” Annabeth said, still grinning. She stepped forward for a hug and he let her, burying his face into her neck and breathing, already feeling the responsibility leaking from his tight shoulders. Annabeth was like a big sister to him, not that he’d ever admit that, but still.

“You want to get out?” Nico whispered into her neck.

“Yes,” She whispered back emphatically. Nico could barely stop himself from laughing but as they pulled apart he saw the genuine relief in her eyes and felt himself worrying. He needed to talk to her, about the team and skating, about Will and of course, if she needed to talk about why she’d been gone for so long, he’d do that too.

Apparently, Calypso recognized that too and, bless her heart, muttered something to Leo, and together they captured the team’s attention, allowing Nico to tug Annabeth away from the crowd and out of the rink. She sighed as soon as they were ejected onto the city streets. Nico stuck an arm out and she smiled and linked their arms.

“Where are you headed?” Nico asked as they walked the short distance to the car garage.

“Oh, probably just my apartment.”

Nico nodded, “I wasn’t sure if you’d be staying with your dad or not.”

She shook her head, “He doesn’t even know I landed yet. I’ll head over in the morning.”

Her voice was stiff and Nico took that as his cue to change the subject. “So I have something to confide in you.”

She perked up almost immediately and he swallowed hard. But she just looked at him with those gray eyes and he reminded himself that this was Annabeth. That she wasn’t going to get angry with him.

At least, he hoped not.

“I’m talking to one of the hockey players,” He said casually.

Her grip on his arm stiffened and he braced himself but she was still just looking at him.

Finally, she grinned, “So when you say ‘talking to’...”

He groaned and felt himself flush, “Oh, shut up! Just friends.”

She hummed and released his arm to dig for her keys in her jacket pocket. “Is he nice?”

“No, he’s a dick,” Nico said sarcastically.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. “I don’t know why I even bother.”

“He’s blonde,” Nico offered.

“Oooh,” Annabeth drawled.

He rolled his eyes and she burst out laughing, her voice echoing off the stone walls of the parking garage.

“Is he gay?” Annabeth asked.

Nico nearly flinched and passed it off with another eye roll, “I don’t know, Annie, that’s not something that’s come up in casual conversation.”

She glared at him and Nico, being the mature adult he is, stuck his tongue out at her. She did it back then shook her head. “Too much time with Percy,” She muttered and Nico snorted. She grinned at him.

“So he’s okay?”

That sobered her immediately. “Yeah. Well, as okay as he can be. I’m only here for like two weeks because he insisted I come back, but I’m leaving as soon as possible,” She glanced sideways at him, “Not to leave you alone again, though.”

He shrugged off the flash of selfish hurt he’d felt, “I’m good, Beth.” But he wasn’t good. He’d just told her about Will, and not even the start of the way his stomach would twist when he saw a new text from the hockey player and not the same twist when he panicked. And that also meant his chances of performing solo again were climbing. He didn’t know how to feel about that part.

“Stop that!” She exclaimed, halting once they’d reached her car.

“Get some sleep, Annabeth,” He said genuinely then smirked a little, “It looks like you need it.”

She threw a balled-up receipt she’d found in her bag at him, “Dick!”

~~~~

“Hey, Nico.”

Nico nearly leaped out of his skin, spinning to see Persephone in the living room.

She snorted, “Didn’t mean to scare you, sorry. Did practice go well?”

His phone buzzed in his pocket, “Yeah. Annabeth’s back.”

Persephone hummed, reaching up to untwist her hair, sending it cascading down her shoulders, “That’s good. I know you’ve missed her,” She said with a knowing look in her eyes that made him shift uncomfortably.

“Yeah, definitely, um, I’m tired we learned some new moves for Regionals today, so,”

“Yeah of course.” She was still smiling.

“‘Night Persephone,”

~~~

Nico flopped face-down onto his bed with a groan. He knew Persephone though he had a crush on Annabeth; he didn’t blame her, he’d never really made it a point that he didn’t. He wished he could come out to her and his dad, he didn’t really have a reason why he hadn’t besides the weight of anxiety on his lungs.

His phone buzzed again, and he wriggled upright to yank it out of his pocket.

Will: Distract me

Will: My mom is driving me insane

Nico grinned to himself, both of them were dealing with mommy issues at the moment.

Nico: idk how you expect me to distract you

Will: Just tell me about snakes or smth

Nico: you think i just have fun facts about snakes on hand?

Will: Yeah?

Nico: good

Nico: cause i do

Will: :)

Nico: snakes can slither 12.5 mph

Will: Good lord

Nico: snakes have internal ears but not external ones

Will: ??

Nico: they can’t create their own body heat which is why theyre in the sun all the time

Will: Hmmmm

Nico: they smell w/their tongues

Will: I thought they had nostrils??

Nico: they do

Will: what

Nico: it’s their Jacobson’s organ my dude it works in mysterious ways

Nico: not really but yk

Nico: sCieNcE

Will: ok….

Nico: if you get bored of snakes i’ve also got a bunch of random cheetah facts

Nico: i love cheetahs

Nico: very cool

Nico: fast cats

Will: Lmao go ahead

Nico: but first

Nico: why’s your mom driving you insane

Nico: if you want to tell me ofc

Nico: not trying to be weird

Will: Nah you’re fine

Will: She wants me to focus entirely on med school and not hockey

Will: She’s trying to get me out of it, actually

Will: Do something ‘respectable’

Will: Not turn out like my dad

Will: Even though dad has literally NOTHING to do with hockey

Will: And in my opinion he’s not bad. Not great. Not awful yk

Will: But hockey’s what’s putting me through med school so

Will: Gods, I really just burdened you with that I’m so sorry

Nico: med school huh

Nico: now i can say i know a doctor

Will: In training

Nico: close enough

Nico: you’re a great hockey player and you're going to be a great doctor

Nico: and you can always talk to me, will

Nico: you’re not burdening me with shit

Will: thanks <3

Nico didn’t understand why he blushed. It was a goddamn emoji. Calm down, Di Angelo.

Will: So we’ve been talking for a few weeks now. Can I call you my friend yet?

Nico snorted, feeling like he was fifteen again, sprawled on his bed, in the dark (because for some reason he didn’t turn his lights on) late at night, texting his- well, anyway.

Nico: yea dumbass

Nico: we’re friends

Will: Nice

Will: Now give me cheetah facts you adorable nerd

~~~

WILL

“Will? You good?”

Will blinked, Jason coming in to focus in front of him. “Uh, yeah.”

“That was believable,” Clarisse said sarcastically from behind Jason.

Will attempted to shake the fog from his head, “Yes,” He repeated.

Jason just blinked at him and Will was formulating an excuse for why he was so tired besides the fact that he’d spent all night talking to a cute figure skater with a ridiculous amount of animal facts stored in his small body when Coach Hedge’s voice boomed from his seat on the bleachers, “Solace! You alive?”

“Yes, coach!” Will shot back.

“Then why are you just standing there? Get back to the game! You too, La Rue and Grace!”

“Yes, sir!” They all barked back.

Clarisse gave him a once over before skating back to her goal and Jason went over to Will’s spot with him, “You sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, just tired.”

Jason opened his mouth, probably to question why the mom friend of their group was tired enough he nearly tripped over his stick but Will just said, “It’s fine, Jase. It’s not a big deal.”

“Grace!” Coach Hedge screeched.

Jason gave up on trying to interrogate Will and skated back over to his spot.

~~~~

“Mama, please,” Will tried, but his mother cut him off.

“Willaim. Hush. How’s that girl you said you were dating?”

What?

He was silent for a beat too long.

“Oh, baby,” His mother’s thick southern accent drenched her words. “You broke up? I’m so sorry.”

Oh gods, Lou Ellen Blackstone.

Will and Lou Ellen had dated for two months a long time ago, and when they were still dating he’d told his mother about her to get her to back off of his personal life a little. Their break up hadn’t had a huge fallout, Lou Ellen had told him through tears in his living room that she was aromantic. They were still friends, had been even before they dated, actually, and talked to each other pretty regularly.

But the problem was, that had been three months ago, and he hadn’t told his mother about their breakup. He knew she’d ask why, and he didn’t want to out Lou Ellen or make her a devil in his mother’s eyes. So he’d procrastinated coming up with a reason until he’d forgotten about it entirely.

And now it had come back to bite him in the ass.

“Yeah we broke up a little while ago,” He forced himself to sound choked up, which wasn’t hard, giving the way his panicked brain was now sprinting in circles on his lungs. “I just didn’t disappoint you.” Probably the most honest thing he’d said in weeks, but that’ll be unpacked later.

“Honey,” She sighed sadly and Will didn’t know whether or not that was on his behalf or hers.

“Well, it’s okay, because I’m dating someone new.”

“Oh?” He could hear her spine straighten. “Is it someone I know?”

No, mom, it’s not one of the country girls I grew up with.

“No,” He winced at how southern he sounded. He’d been talking to his mother for five minutes. “You don’t know him.”

HIM. Good Gods, Will. Yeah, you came out as bi to your mom, but still, you haven’t actually mentioned a guy to her yet.

She was silent for so long his heart joined his brain in the track meet happening on top of his lungs. “What’s his name?”

He was so she’d spoken that he blurted, “Nico.”

What. The. Fuck. Willaim.

Apparently, his heart had won that damn track race.

“Well, what I was leading up to before you told me about what happened,”

Will hummed non-committally, trying not to sound like he was taking relieved breaths as she spoke.

“The family’s come for a reunion and you should bring that boy!” Will choked on his spit.

“Mom, I don’t know about-”

“No, William. There isn’t a set date yet so we can work around your schedule,” Fuck. “I insist, Will. I need to meet this boy you clearly like very much, even though all you’ve said is his name, a mother knows.”

Umm, what.

“Sure,” Will said, sounding a little strangled. “But we have a game this weekend.”

“Alright, William.” She sounded the way she always did when he brought up hockey. “But as I said, we can work around your schedule and his. Talk to him about it, and let me know.”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Will repeated. “I’ll do that.”

She hung up and he was left staring at the wilting daisies at his kitchen table.

What had he just done?

#skate into my heart au #solangelo #nico di angelo #will solace #nico x will #jason grace #annabeth chase #percy jackson #pjo fic #hoo fic #au #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #solangelo fic #will and nico

[coolbeesbro]

Will Solace Headcannons

I’ve had a lot of time to contemplate Will’s character while I’ve been writing Please Stay and I wanted to share some headcannons with you guys!

I love the idea of Will being a Star Wars nerd so much. But even more than that, I stand firmly behind the idea that Will is just an all around huge fuckin nerd. Does he play Pokemon? You bet your ass he plays Pokemon. Zelda? Abso-fuckin-lutely he does! Old school games like Frogger and Pac Man? Damn strait, that boy has the connect and play for both! 

Will can, in fact, name every single bone/organ in the human body without batting an eyelash. He can tell what’s wrong with someone just through touch alone, which is part of what makes him the best medic at camp. So even when he’s just casually hanging out with his friends, someone will fist bump him or touch his shoulder and he’ll get a brief flash of something minor being wrong with them (like they fuckin stubbed their toe on a rock a few minutes ago and it still hurts, or they walked into a door frame and hit their arm) and he’ll say without hesitation, “All these things that could hurt you at camp, and a rock jutting out of the ground is what got you?”. It usually comes so far out of left field because everyone expects Will to be this nice, easygoing and chill son of Apollo. This level of sass only really comes out around people he’s comfortable around though, other than that he’s got bedside manners for days. 

Coming back to Will being a massive nerd, one of his favorite bands is I Fight Dragons. He loves the songs Heads Up Hearts Down, Don’t You, and Disaster Hearts. Other bands he likes are Of Monsters and Men, Owl City and The Hoosiers.

He loves catching his boyfriend up on pop culture stuff, and enjoys sharing his little niche interests like obscure bands and shows and stuff. Nico opens up to him about his old, suppressed obsession with Myth’O’Magic and Will is excited about it because he’d heard of the game before, and wants to learn more about it because it’s something Nico likes, so he needs to know everything. 

He quickly gets a few campers in on playing through campaigns once a week. Which started off as Will, Nico, Jason and Annabeth; then spiraled into including Percy, the Stoll brothers, Cecil, Lou Ellen and Kayla; with Nico as the DM. Playing Myth’O’Magic with everybody is probably one of the first things at camp that makes Nico feel welcome and accepted by the others. 

Even though Will’s a medic, the boy has a very big sweet tooth, and his favorite candy is butterscotch.

I have so many more, but don't want to sit here and write a 10 page paper. Maybe I’ll do a part 2 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#Will solace #Nico di Angelo #solangelo #annabeth chase #jason grace #percy jackson #connor stoll #travis stoll #lou ellen blackstone #cecil markowitz #kayla knowles

[patriciasage]

Dawn Patrol

Author: Patricia_Sage

Fandom: The Adventure Zone - Balance

Summary:

Magnus blushes and he looks at Taako with stars in his eyes. He looks at Taako the way Barry probably looks at Lup. And Barry realizes how fucking stupid he’s been.

[a Stolen Century story - Barry thinks Magnus is flirting with Lup. He's wrong.]

posted in full under the break but you can find me on A03!!

Barry Bluejeans has a crush on Lup the moment he sees her on his first day with the I.P.R.E., but he falls completely and permanently in love with her around Cycle 10.

He speaks the mongoose language with her and Taako like they’re a secret club, and her soft, mischievous smile makes his heart flutter. Barry and Lup combine their expertise of science and arcana, respectively, staying up late into the night drawing diagrams on the Starblaster’s wall. She tells him about her childhood, about how she views the world. She’s vulgar, bold, impulsive, but also incredibly soft and sweet. She remembers what he likes and doesn't like to eat. They play fetch together in Puppy Town and that’s the first time Barry imagines her as his wife. He tells his brain to slow the fuck down; they’ve only known each other for a decade.

When Taako dies for his first time in Cycle 12, Lup prefers to spend nights with Barry in his lab, curled up in his desk chair. Barry gladly provides his company and cozy blankets to her in solace, and she barely leaves his side that year. It’s nice to spend so much time with her, but it also hurts him to see her so sad and trying so hard to hide it. When Taako materializes next to her on the deck as they speed away from another consumed world, she hugs her twin for at least two full minutes, and Barry resolves to do his best to protect her…and protect her heart.

Barry thinks he might have a chance. After all, they are a crew of seven, and one of them is her brother. He figures that Lup might want him, even if it’s just for a night (and although he wants more with her, so much more, he would take anything she offers). But it seems he’s not the only one carrying a flame for Lup.

Magnus Burnsides is a huge, handsome, kind young man who has never half-assed anything in his life. So, when he begins to flirt with Lup it’s pretty obvious. He’s constantly showing off, doing ridiculous and dangerous things to impress her. He attempts to learn more about elf culture and magic, talking animatedly to Lup and Taako while they cook supper. He’s courteous, charming, and brave in ways that Barry could never mold himself.

Magnus also notices how Taako’s death affected his sister, and he seems to make the same resolution as Barry. From that day forward, Magnus always has Taako’s back, even going so far as to put himself in danger to protect the wizard. In Cycle 16, Taako is retrieving the Light of Creation and sets off a trap. Before Barry can even react, Magnus leaps forward and pushes the elf out of the way. Magnus is impaled by six spears. When the fighter appears on the Starblaster with his signature black eye months later, Taako punches him hard in the arm. “Don’t do that again, you big idiot!” There's a stone in Barry's stomach as Lup kisses Magnus on the cheek and quietly thanks him.

Compared to Magnus, Barry feels small and boring and incapable.

It’s not even possible to hate Magnus, though, because he’s so damn hospitable. Instead, Barry resigns himself to the fact that Lup will likely choose the fighter over him. He enjoys her company, tries to keep everyone out of trouble, and finds contentment in this seemingly endless time with his new family.

The Beach World on Cycle 21 is a welcome reprieve. They find the light very early and everyone just relaxes for once. Even Merle enjoys himself as he recovers in the med bay; the others visit him often and begrudgingly help him work on his book of poetry. Davenport practices self-care, Lucretia gets lost in her art, and Taako learns how to surf. But things aren’t too leisurely because Magnus decides he’s going to “train” them to be ready for surprise attacks.

Barry is sitting on the beach next to Lup one hot morning. She’s lying on her back on their beach blanket with a large, floppy hat covering her eyes. She’s resting her arms under her head, telling Barry about a festival her aunt took her to when she was a kid. Barry is trying very hard not to be completely distracted by the sight of her armpit hair, her stylish bathing suit, and her beautiful, brown skin shining in the sun. Barry, in contrast, is sitting under a huge umbrella, wearing a white T-shirt, jean shorts, and a thick layer of sunscreen.

Suddenly, a huge shadow covers the sun and a loud voice shouts, “Magnus!”

Barry yelps and drops his glass of lemonade on the blanket. Magnus sinks to his knees in the sand so he’s eye-to-eye with the scientist. “You gotta be ready, Bluejeans. Anywhere, anytime.” He smiles over Barry’s shoulder. “I didn’t get you at all, did I?”

Lup has lifted up her hat a little to look at them, but her relaxed position is unchanged, unbothered. She smirks, “You’re going to have to do better than that, Burnsides.”

Magnus winks. “Challenge accepted.” Barry feels like a jellyfish blob on the sand between them.

And then Magnus takes off his shirt.

It takes all of Barry’s self-control not to throw himself into the ocean and let himself drown. Magnus has these ridiculous broad shoulders, an even patch of hair across his chest, and his stomach protrudes over his waistband only slightly in that sexy way. His skin is browned and freckled from long days in the sun and his ridiculous biceps flex as he throws his shirt on the blanket next to them. Barry, in contrast, is a pale potato of a man.

He’s ready to get up and leave them to their flirting when Magnus speaks up. “Well, see ya later!”

Magnus hands Barry his now empty lemonade glass and then stands up, brushing sand off of his hairy legs. He sprints across the beach until he’s met with the resistance of the water, making a huge splash. “Hey! Taako!”

Caught up in conversation with Lup, Barry had forgotten about the wizard. Taako is sitting on his surfboard, floating on large but gentle waves about thirty feet away from shore. He’s retying his long blonde hair up into a messy bun. “Hey, big guy. What’s crackin?”

“Just doing some training, you know?”

“Yeah, you got Barry good.”

“How’s surfing today?”

“It’s going off. I’ve only been in the soup a few times but that was early in the morning. Dawn patrol, am I right?”

Magnus laughs. “Yeah, for sure.” Taako has been almost creating his own language at this point.

Beside Barry, Lup snorts. “What the fuck does that even mean?” she says. “Magnus shouldn’t encourage him like that but, eh, you know how he is with Taako.”

“How he –” Barry looks back over at the fighter and it’s like a crisp breath of air enters his lungs. Magnus has sat himself on the sand with his feet in the water. He rests his chin on his hand and watches Taako prepare to carve another wave. Magnus cheers when the wizard stands on the board and laughs when Taako falls into the water. Taako’s long hair is out of its bounds again, cascading over his bare, dark shoulders. As he climbs onto his surfboard, he flips Magnus off. Magnus blushes.

Magnus blushes and he looks at Taako with stars in his eyes. He looks at Taako the way Barry probably looks at Lup. And Barry realizes how fucking stupid he’s been.

Magnus hasn’t been flirting with Lup. Barry has only seen him flirt when they’re both with Lup and Lup is with Taako. And Barry was so immersed in his own insecurity that he didn’t stop to actually observe what was going on around him. Some scientist he is.

At the end of the day, Barry watches Magnus offer to carry Taako’s surfboard back to the cabin. Taako, forever dramatic, convinces Magnus to carry him back as well. It doesn’t take much convincing. Barry looks at Magnus’s pleased and flustered expression with Taako latched onto his back, complaining, and Barry internally ridicules himself for being so dense.

A few days later, Barry asks Taako to teach him to swim. They work on it every morning for a few weeks. It’s brutal in the beginning – Barry flounders whenever he tries to go horizontal and Taako has a tendency to point and laugh rather than help. But they both get better at it and soon they have an amicable and productive routine. Barry goes from indiscriminately splashing to a solid doggy paddle to an almost front crawl. And Taako claps and coos at him like a proud mother.

On the last day of their morning swimming lessons, Barry thanks him and gets up the courage to have an honest discussion. “There have been times where I haven’t been able to hang out with everybody because y’all go swimming and there are times where there’s people I, like, you know, want to hang out with and I just haven’t been able to do it and that’s not a good look and it makes me look like a big nerd and I um… It’s just that— I just, like— I don’t know. It’s… Never mind, it’s stupid. Thanks for teaching me how to swim.”

“Who are you afraid of looking silly in front of?” Taako asks. They’re both standing waist-deep in the water and Barry tries to make his anxiety dissolve. Taako’s approval means the absolute world in this situation.

“I look up to Lup a lot…” he admits.

And Taako is graciously chill. He places his hand on the scientists’ shoulder comfortingly and speaks with rare seriousness. “Barry, you’re locked in and this wave’s crashing all around you, my man, and I— I don’t begrudge you anything. You know, we’ve lost a lot, uh, and there’s a lot more we might lose...but the one thing we do have is the thing that people in love rarely ever have enough of – and it’s time.” This is a side to Taako that he doesn’t show often, someone genuine and wise and openly affectionate.

The wizard’s words echo in his head often – “You got all the time in the world, my man.”

Barry is feeling relieved and grateful as he walks from the beach that day with his sunhat on. Lup will tease him about his sunburn but it will be worth it to be able to swim with her. As he reaches the part of the beach where sand transforms into foliage, something stops him in his trek – the sight of a hulking figure sitting on a rock. It’s Magnus. “Is this another training thing?” Barry asks cautiously as he approaches.

Magnus doesn’t look up. He seems dejected. “No, it’s not. I’m just thinking.”

“Um,” Barry fidgets with the string on his swim trunks. “You alright? What’s going on?”

“I dunno, you tell me, Barry!” Magnus says, gesticulating with his large hands. “What’s going on with these morning swimming sessions?”

Magnus looks disappointed and self-conscious; a combination Barry is very familiar with. He has to remind himself to close his mouth.

Magnus Burnsides is jealous of Barry Bluejeans.

Barry begins to laugh. This just makes Magnus’s cheeks turn red and his eyebrows furrow even more. “Fine, okay, you don’t need to –”

“No, no,” Barry interrupts, approaching the fighter. He places his hand on Magnus’s huge bicep. “Magnus, I don’t know how to - … Okay. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I’m not worried. You’re a good guy. It’s fine. I just thought that maybe…” Magnus shakes his head, and his expression clears. “I asked him if he could teach me to surf and he said he was too busy teaching you to swim so I guess I was just disappointed because I really wanted to…learn how to surf.”

“Magnus. Taako doesn’t want to…swim with me. And I only asked Taako to teach me because I wanted to swim with Lup.” Magnus looks up at him with hopeful dark eyes. “I really want to swim with Lup. I think I want to swim with Lup for the rest of my life.” Barry chuckles. “For a long time, I thought you wanted to swim with Lup!”

Magnus lets out a startled laugh of his own. “No, I… I want to, uh, swim with Taako. But I’m not sure he wants to swim with me.”

“Well, he doesn’t want to swim with old Barry, that’s for sure.” Barry shrugs. “I can ask Lup, maybe? She’ll know.”

Magnus stands up from the rock. His shoulders are relaxed now. “No, it’s okay. I think he needs more time. I’ll ask him myself one day.”

The Beach World is a gift they didn’t know they needed. They grow closer as a family. Lucretia commemorates it through portraiture. Lup and Taako continue to be firecrackers, burning bright, loud, and dangerous. And Barry and Magnus continue to stare with stars in their eyes.

Merle, Lucretia, and Davenport make bets.

In Cycle 25, Merle wins.

#taz balance spoilers #taz #the adventure zone #taz balance #the adventure zone balance #taz balance fanfic #taz fanfic #taz stolen century #taagnus #taako/magnus #blupjeans #lup/barry bluejeans #taako #taz taako #lup #taz lup #taaco twins #taako & lup #lup & taako #barry bluejeans #taz barry #taz barry bluejeans #magnus burnsides #taz magnus #taz magnus burnsides #ipre crew #taz beach world #merle highchurch #taz merle #lucretia

[chameleonwritess]

Feels Like Home (Ch 1)

Myriad of Stars

Not-So-Secretly in Love

Feels Like Home (Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3)

Forever Starts Today (Epilogue)

Extras:

Infirmary Duties

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Pairing: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace

Nico's summer has been amazing thanks to Will but he isn't ready to face the following year when it ends. He knows there are going to be a lot of changes this year and that frightens Nico. Luckily, Will is there for him through everything.

Word Count: 7446

Read the whole Myriad of Stars series on AO3

Chapter 1- Demigods and Parents

Nico di Angelo was pretty sure that he’d had the best summer of his entire life.

Minus almost being destroyed by Gaia, of course, but he was grouping that with the rest of the year which had, quite frankly, been dreadful.

Still, as soon as the impending threat had vanished, Will Solace had stepped into Nico’s life and suddenly everything seemed to make sense. Nico had found not only a place where he belonged and could be himself but a person with whom he belonged and could be himself with. As the son of Hades, that in itself was a miracle Nico had never seen coming.

The fact that Will was attractive, funny, caring, utterly charming and the most infuriating demigod Nico had ever met just made everything so much better.

Of course, summer didn’t last forever, though. Nico knew it didn’t and yet he’d somehow hoped it would, causing reality to crash down around him during the last week of the holidays.

“My mom’s picking me up from Camp next week,” Will announced very suddenly one afternoon whilst the two were sitting inside Nico’s cabin, playing with some of Nico’s old mythomagic cards for the sake of nostalgia and because the two of them were huge nerds.

Nico’s eyes snapped up immediately.

“You’re going home?” he asked in a slightly strangled voice. So much for concealing his emotions.

“Not exactly,” Will said. Nico raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what that was supposed to mean.

“Meaning?”

“Well, I go to school but not properly,” Will started to explain, “We need a healer at Camp all the time and now that Lee’s dead, I’m the best healer we’ve got.”

“How does that work, then? I thought school was a full time thing?” Nico asked. He knew he’d been to school in Italy but the memories were very faint. He hadn’t even thought about going to school since; he’d always been too tied up in monsters, Titans, giants or whatever else was deciding to destroy the world.

“It usually is. My mum has a special agreement with the headteacher, though. I go to school for a few weeks each term so that I can collect all the work and then I return to Camp so that no one dies from falling off the lava wall or getting a leg sliced off in Capture the Flag,” Will explained.

“So you won’t be gone for long?” Nico checked. Will chuckled.

“Why, you gonna miss me?” he teased, nudging Nico’s leg with his own. Nico rolled his eyes.

“I was just thinking about how peaceful Camp would be without you. No Jackson bugging me, no Grace bugging me, no you bugging me,” he said wistfully.

“Hey!” Will complained, “we only bug you because we love you. Besides you were totally upset when I said I was going home after summer.”

“Was not,” Nico spluttered.

“Was too,” Will retorted.

“Not.”

“Too.”

“Alright, shut up, of course I was going to miss you,” Nico finally relented, shoving Will, who had decided to lean his body right over Nico’s, in the chest. It was suddenly dawning on Nico just how much he would miss Will, though.

Even before they’d started dating, Nico had still spent the majority of his time with Will and over the last month or so the two had practically been inseparable. Now he was going to have to go for weeks without seeing him. Nico already felt suffocated. Never had he expected to become so reliant on one person.

“Ha, that’s pretty gay,” Will smirked in retaliation to Nico pushing him. Nico inhaled deeply.

“I changed my mind, can you leave today?” he deadpanned. Will laughed and flopped down on his back besides Nico on the bed.

“I’m bored of mythomagic,” he stated.

“You get bored easily,” Nico shrugged.

“True, but I wanted to ask you something,” Will replied, looking up at Nico from the bed from what Nico assumed was not a very flattering angle on his behalf.

“Go on, then,” Nico encouraged with an unenthusiastic eye roll to accompany it.

“It’s going to be weird spending time apart after we’ve spent all summer together so I was wondering if you wanted to come over and stay at mine during the first weekend? My mom will love you, I can sense it, and she’s always happy to let my friends stay over,” Will offered.

Nico swallowed a lump in his throat. Meeting Will’s mom had not been something he’d ever even considered and being new to the twenty-first century, never mind just dating, made Nico panic a little that he had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to act around a mother.

The only parental figure in his life was Hades and Nico doubted he could just nip down to the Underworld to pay his dad a visit and ask a few questions about his love life. It wasn’t really the father-son relationship they had.

“Don’t worry,” Will jumped in, noticing Nico’s hesitance, “it’s just an offer and I don’t want you to feel like you have to. I know you’ve probably not done anything like that before but just so you know, my mom is lovely. She’s the kindest woman I’ve met. She already knows I’m gay and will be so thrilled to meet you. I can already tell she’s going to love you.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. People didn’t exactly have a habit of ‘loving’ him upon first encounters.

“Really?” Nico asked, surprising even himself at how weak his voice sounded. Will sat up on the bed and placed his hands on Nico’s shoulders, forcing him to look into his dazzling blue eyes.

“I mean it. I’ve never disliked you and people say the two of us are pretty similar. She’s also one of the most stubborn people I know. When I was younger she’d keep me quarantined if I got a slight tickle in my throat so if you think I’m bad, wait till you meet her,” Will reassured Nico. He smiled slightly at Will’s anecdote.

“It’s hard to imagine anyone more stubborn than you,” Nico smirked.

“I’m not just Apollo’s good looks and charms, y’know,” Will teased, sending Nico a wink. Nico laughed at the action and allowed his head to fall against Will’s chest.

“I’ll think about it,” Nico agreed. Will wrapped his arms around Nico’s chest and kissed the top of his head.

“Thank you,” he said, “it means a lot to me.”

Nico still felt anxiety bubble up inside of him at the thought of spending a weekend with Will’s mother but after everything Will had done for him, this was the least he could do in return, especially if it meant a lot to Will.

He just wished it didn’t feel like such a big deal to him.

Will had to return to his own cabin before long (ever since it was confirmed that the two were together, the Apollo cabin had taken to threatening Will in order to ensure he returned back each night) and Nico was left to his own thoughts.

He knew how much Will’s mother meant to him. It wasn’t really school that Will was going home to- it was Naomi Solace. He always spoke so highly of her which just made Nico even more anxious. Normally, he didn’t care what people thought of him. The first time he’d realised he cared about what Will thought of him was when he’d begun to realise that he viewed Will as a little more than just ‘that annoying healer’.

Still, he hadn’t exactly gone out of his way to ensure Will actually liked him. Never before had he felt the need to make a dedicated effort to ensure someone didn‘t dislike him..

It was terrifying.

Nico also had literally no clue how he was supposed to interact with his boyfriend’s mother. The only adults he ever even spoke to were Chiron, Mr D, Hades and occasionally Persephone if he was in the mood for an argument. All of whom were immortal beings- definitely not mortal mothers.

Feeling Cabin 13 growing gradually stuffier as his panic increased, Nico stood up abruptly and decided he needed to take a walk outside to calm his nerves and get some fresh air. It was still half an hour until curfew so luckily, the cleaning Harpies wouldn’t be around to tear his flesh apart just yet.

Instead of wandering to Nico and Will’s usual spot, Nico continued further down until he was sat by the far edge of the canoe lake where few campers ever seemed to go. Nico himself rarely sat by this side of the lake, despite its proximity to the Hades cabin.

If Nico had been hoping for some brooding time to himself, though, he was severely disappointed as a tall, dark figure appeared from the darkness of the trees and made his way to Nico’s side. Nico had recognised him immediately.

“Father,” he greeted, sounding distinctly unimpressed with Hades’s sudden appearance.

“Hello, son. It’s been a while,” Hades commented. Nico looked at him sternly.

“You closed off the Underworld so I couldn’t enter,” he pointed out. Hades chuckled nervously, a sound that seemed utterly strange coming from the Lord of the Underworld.

“That I did. I apologise. It wasn’t to prevent you or Hazel from entering, I assure,” Hades said awkwardly. Nico let out a sigh.

“What is it that you want?” he asked. Whilst Nico knew he saw his Dad far more than other demigods saw their Olympian parents, Hades still only tended to appear when he wanted something from him. Either that or he was going to gift him a skeleton chef to go with his skeleton Chauffeur, Jules-Albert.

“I just wanted to catch up with you, Nico,” Hades said simply. Nico raised an eyebrow.

“That’s unnerving,” he commented. Hades sighed.

“I still can never tell if you’re being sarcastic or not,” he complained. Nico shrugged. He wasn’t entirely sure whether he was or not, himself.

“Anyway,” Hades continued, “the Apollo sprout.”

Nico’s cheeks flushed, “Wait, this is about Will?”

“Oh, that’s his name. I couldn’t remember if it was Bill or Will. Yes. You seem… infatuated with him, correct?” Hades asked. Nico groaned and placed his head in his hands. The last conversation he’d ever wanted to have with his father was about his love life.

“Do you have to talk to me about this?” he asked.

“I’m not allowed to get involved with my son’s personal life?” Hades questioned. Nico nearly willed the ground to open up and swallow him. He was tempted to do it had he not known that Hades would just follow him anyway.

“Fine, yes, I’m happy with him. If you have a problem with it I don’t care,” he snapped. Hades looked almost taken aback.

“I have no problem. In fact, I’m quite relieved. He isn’t Jackson or Grace and he has a good sense of humour,” Hades said in an almost approving tone. Nico’s father’s words suddenly sunk in. How did Hades know that Will had a sense of humour?

“Have you been watching me?” Nico spluttered. If Hades skin hadn’t still been so deathly pale, Nico would have thought he was going red.

“Not exactly. I just like to check up on you sometimes. I noticed an abnormal amount of laughing so wanted to assure you were okay,” Hades explained. Now it was Nico’s turn to go red.

“Yeah, well, he does have a good sense of humour,” he mumbled. Hades nodded thoughtfully.

“Invite him down for dinner,” Hades suggested, “I’d like to meet him personally.”

“Please don’t threaten my boyfriend,” Nico begged, thinking how strange it was to refer to Will as his boyfriend in front of someone else for once.

“I would never. I simply want to get to know him better. If the Apollo sprout is important to you, he should be important to me, too,” Hades stated.

“He can’t eat food from the Underworld, y’know,” Nico added.

Hades glared at him, “Do you take me for a fool, Nico? I am well aware of that.”

“Of course, sorry,” Nico apologised, rolling his eyes, “I’ll have to discuss it with him. He- er- might be a little apprehensive about nipping down to the Underworld just for dinner.”

Hades nodded in understanding and if Nico didn’t know better, he would have said Hades almost looked hurt by his comment.

“I hear you’re going to visit his mortal mother,” he finally added after a moment of silence. Nico groaned again.

“Do you listen in to all of our conversations?” he asked, wondering exactly what his father had overheard.

“No. Just that one. I was planning to pay you a visit but noticed you were preoccupied,” he said. Nico flushed and tried not to think about what Hades had overheard or accidentally observed.

“I don’t know if I’m going to visit her or not, though,” Nico explained, “I’m… nervous.”

“Naturally,” Hades nodded, “my own relationship with Demeter has not been ideal over the years since I married Persephone.”

Nico didn’t point out that there may well be a reason for that. He also didn’t point out that Hades was definitely not helping his nerves calm down.

“Right,” Nico stated, “any helpful advice or were you just here to interrogate me?”

“I just wanted to see that you were happy,” Hades said, “I know it isn’t easy being my son. You deserve a good life.”

Nico had had this sort of conversation with his father before. Last time, he’d thought to himself that there was no way he’d ever be truly happy. Now he felt as though his old self really had been wrong. Life felt pretty great for Nico right now.

“Thanks,” Nico said, allowing a genuine smile to cross his face, “you don’t need to worry. Will does make me pretty happy.”

It felt weird to say so to his dad but it was the truth.

“I can tell,” Hades smiled in response, “I think the Harpies are coming. I should probably let you get back to your cabin.”

Nico nodded and got to his feet again. Hades had already turned around and was walking away back into the darkness.

“Dad,” Nico blurted out on impulse, before his father walked away. Hades turned around in shock. It was the first time Nico had referred to him as anything other than ‘father’ or ‘Hades’. “Thank you for checking up on me,” Nico finished.

Hades looked at him and gave a warm smile, something that looked so foreign on his usually cold and stern face.

With that, Hades vanished into the darkness and Nico was left alone again to clamber back up to his cabin before the cleaning Harpies swooped in to eat him for their dinner.

He’d made his mind up about what he was going to do- he was going to visit Will’s mom. Family was important, after all.

It was the last day of summer before Nico knew it and there was a very melancholic feel around Camp. Whilst some campers never went to school, instead staying on at Camp year-round like Nico planned on doing, there were an awful lot of people leaving for the year, some of them for good.

Percy and Annabeth were the first to say goodbye to Nico.

“We’re going to go to college in New Rome,” Annabeth explained to Nico when they caught him wandering past the big house, “but Percy needs to pass his SATs first.”

“It’s going to be a painful year of studying,” Percy added with a grin. Nico huffed a laugh. He couldn’t remember what going to school was like but from what he’d heard, studying was not a fun activity.

“Yeah, I don’t envy you,” Nico said. Percy shrugged.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back to visit soon. Probably sooner than I want knowing how things tend to go at this place. I don’t doubt that gods will have some new problem that needs fixing soon,” he added.

“Don’t you miss the days when you were told not to go on a quest and snuck your way onto it anyway?” Annabeth asked with a nostalgic sigh.

“I would gladly go back and smack my younger self. What was I thinking?” Percy laughed. Nico could sympathise with that.

“At least you didn’t go crazy and start raising dead spirits,” Nico pointed out. Percy laughed harder.

“True, true,” he said and before the three of them knew it, they were laughing about all the ridiculous trouble and near death experiences they’d had over the years.

Nico had never considered using humour as a coping mechanism considering laughing was something he rarely found himself doing, but as he found himself recounting tales with Percy and Annabeth, he realised the memories didn’t hold quite as much sting as they usually did. Nico absent-mindedly wondered if that had been partly Will’s influence on him.

“Remember the time I gatecrashed my own funeral?” Percy asked Annabeth. She burst into laughter again.

“I was about to go saying all this nice stuff about him and then he just wanders over like it was no big deal,” Annabeth said.

“Oh, Nico, what about that time you came over to my house on my birthday to tell me to take a swim in the Styx but got distracted by cake,” Percy reminded him.

“What was I thinking?” Nico asked with a laugh, “at least the cake was good.”

“Sally’s blue food is the best,” Annabeth agreed as Percy wrapped an arm around both her and Nico, squeezing them into a group hug. Nico reluctantly complied. He didn’t mind it anywhere near as much as he pretended to.

“I’m gonna miss you a lot, Nico. You’d better visit us in New Rome, too,” Percy said, “don’t pretend you don’t know me this time!”

Nico smiled sheepishly, “Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Hopefully this time you won’t be losing your memory,” Annabeth scolded as she gently smacked him on the arm.

“I never forgot you, Wise Girl,” Percy said fondly and Nico averted his eyes, already knowing what was about to happen. He scanned the inside of the Big House as he looked away, peering into the infirmary to see if he could spot Will. Will hadn’t said goodbye yet so Nico hoped he didn’t plan on leaving without doing so.

Percy and Annabeth didn’t kiss for long due to Nico’s presence which he was grateful for. He was also glad to notice that he didn’t feel any twinge of jealousy towards Annabeth at all anymore. Percy was just a normal guy to him now. A friend, even.

“I really am sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you over the years,” Nico apologised. Percy shrugged.

“Don’t sweat it. I’ve caused you trouble, too. Besides, it’s what friends are for,” he grinned, using his knuckle to mess up Nico’s hair as Nico attempted to bat his hand away. Annabeth laughed.

“Look after everyone at Camp for us, Nico,” Annabeth smiled, “I trust you to make sure everything stays orderly.”

“As orderly as Camp Halfblood can get,” Nico pointed out as an appropriately timed fight broke out behind them on the volleyball court between an Ares and an Aphrodite kid.

“Don’t go breaking Will’s heart,” Percy added with a wink. Nico rolled his eyes and flushed red.

“Shut up,” he complained, “I will miss you guys, though. Camp will feel strange without you here.”

Percy and Annabeth smiled so widely at Nico’s admission that he almost regretted it. He regretted it even more when the two engulfed him in another huge hug.

“Goodbye till whenever we next see you, then,” Percy said. Nico nodded.

“Enjoy college,” he greeted. Annabeth smiled.

“Oh, he’s going to love it,” she smirked a little evilly. Nico chuckled and gave them one last wave as the two made their way over to the top of Halfblood Hill where they would undoubtedly be swamped with even more Campers wanting to say goodbye.

Camp really was going to be weird without Percy and Annabeth there. Nico had never really stayed without them there since the time he sent Percy off on the quest his sister died on. All of that felt like aeons ago to him, now.

“It doesn’t seem real, does it?” a familiar voice came from behind Nico. Will had snuck up on him and wrapped his arms around Nico’s waist which he’d usually complain about in such open view of all the camp but it was Will’s last day before he went home for a while and his arms were warm. It wasn’t because Nico actually liked when Will held him like this or anything.

“Percy and Annabeth have just always… been around,” Nico agreed, “I guess I can visit them but it just feels like they’re going away.”

“Jason and Piper are going to New Rome for the year, too, aren’t they?” Will asked. Nico nodded, hoping Will could feel the movement of his head against his chest.

“And you’re gonna be gone. Camp’s going to feel pretty lonely,” Nico pointed out. Will released his arms around Nico and grabbed his shoulders instead, turning him around to face him. His face didn’t look mad but Nico could sense a certain anger behind his eyes.

“That doesn’t give you an excuse to shadow travel off anywhere you like,” Will said, “you’d better still be here when I return each holiday.”

Nico rolled his eyes, “I know, I’ll stay here, I promise. I might go and visit Hazel once or twice but other than that-“

“Good,” Will interrupted him with a sigh of relief, “I think you have some visitors that want to talk to you, though.”

Nico turned around to see where Will was looking. Piper and Jason were stood at the other side of the Big House, observing the scene at a distance. Nico could already tell the two had been spying on them and sent a premature glare in their direction.

“Go on, I’ll wait here,” Will promised with a smirk. Nico nodded at him and made his way over to them.

“So,” Jason started, “this is it for a year.”

“Don’t say that,” Piper accused, “you can still come and visit us. Reyna, Hazel and Frank would want you to visit too.”

“I know,” Nico agreed, “I will do. I hope you both have a good year.”

“I’ll miss you, Nico. Stay safe at camp. We’re only an Iris message away,” Jason reminded him. Nico nodded and felt the beginnings of tears prickling his eyes. He quickly blinked them away but Piper was doing nothing to hide her tears.

“Aww, Neeks,” she sobbed and then threw her arms around him. Nico almost fell back from the impact but slowly embraced Piper back if slightly awkwardly.

“Don’t call me that,” Nico complained but there was no annoyance in his tone. Jason sniffed loudly and Nico glanced over Piper’s shoulder to notice that Jason too was getting teary-eyed. Nico lifted one of his arms and Jason took the invitation, enveloping Nico in a hug too.

As both Piper and Jason were taller than him, he found it difficult to breathe pretty quickly and had to stretch his neck to free his mouth.

“Guys, you’re kind of crushing me,” he spluttered. Jason and Piper released him immediately with apologies rolling off their tongues.

“We will really miss you,” Piper said.

“Yeah,” Jason added, “you’ve changed a lot in just the short space of time we’ve known you. I’m really glad.”

“Well, I think you know who to blame for that,” Nico smirked, throwing a look over his shoulder at where Will, as promised, was still standing.

“Take good care of him,” Piper said with a wink, “have you made up your mind yet?”

Nico took a deep breath in and nodded.

“I know what I need to do,” he said, “and Jason, Will may have helped me but you were the catalyst that set the reaction off. You accepted me when I felt like no one could and I- just- thank you,” Nico managed to stammer out.

Jason looked like he was going to cry again and before Nico knew it, he had been enveloped in yet another hug. Feeling left out, Piper joined in again, squeezing the two boys tightly.

“You really need to stop trying to kill me,” Nico gasped for breath, “There’s still plenty of monsters left to do that.”

Piper and Jason laughed as they relented their tight grip.

“Don’t die whilst we’re gone,” Piper instructed. Nico gave her a wry smile.

“I’ll try not to. Make sure Jason doesn’t get himself killed, too,” Nico said.

“I can look after myself!” Jason complained. Piper laughed and Nico gave a snort.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about,” he said dryly. Jason rolled his eyes and pouted before taking Piper’s hand.

“We’d better go and say our goodbyes to Percy and Annabeth before we take off,” Jason said, “we’ll see you soon, Nico.”

Nico lifted a hand in a half-hearted wave.

“Yeah, I’ll see you.”

And with that, he departed and made his way back up the hill to Will. This was his next goodbye and he knew this one would be the hardest even if he’d only be spending a short time away. Luckily, he had until that evening. Whilst most campers left in the afternoon, Will’s mom worked a day shift at the hospital so could only pick him up later on in the day.

“You okay?” Will asked with a concerned look as Nico approached. Nico wiped away any stray tears that may have been remaining at the corner of his eyes.

“Yeah,” he lied, “just going to miss everyone.”

“Aw, you’re such a softy,” Will teased, hugging Nico from the side, “help me clear up in the infirmary before I leave? It needs to pass inspection.”

“You’re the one inspecting it, you nerd,” Nico complained with an eye roll. His complaints ended when Will pecked his cheek and grabbed his hand, pulling Nico inside the Big House.

As soon as they stepped inside, Will switched straight over into Doctor mode, something Nico was pretty used to by then.

“I need all the thermometers back in the tub on the second shelf up and bring me some latex gloves whilst you’re there- someone’s left medical waste on the table,” Will instructed. Nico nodded and turned around to go to the back before adding,

“Is that a shelf I can actually reach this time?” recalling an incident only a week or so ago.

Will raised his eyebrow in response as he turned around with stethoscopes in his hand.

“I doubt you’d complain much if it wasn’t,” he said pointedly. Nico blushed and muttered a quiet ‘Shut up’ before marching into the back.

Nico was pretty sure Will hadn’t been the last person in here because the boxes were a mess. Will was such a perfectionist when it came to organising the infirmary that Nico knew he’d probably need medical attention himself if he came in and saw the state it had been left in.

With a sigh, Nico shoved the thermometers in the box on the second shelf and started work sorting through the other boxes, attempting to return everything to their correct place.

Nico hadn’t remembered about bringing Will the gloves until a pair of hands tickled his waist and caused him to make an embarrassingly high pitched squeal, dropping the packs of gauze he was holding.

“Sorry,” Will chuckled quietly in Nico’s ear, sending a shiver down Nico’s spine, “what’s taking so long?”

Nico picked up the gauze and stood on his tiptoes to put it back in the box before turning around to face Will.

The son of Apollo was stood closer than Nico had realised and his hands were still hovering over Nico’s waist, ready to pull him even closer. Nico’s heart caught in his throat as he felt his breath catch. Will still had an uncanny knack of taking his breath away. It was very infuriating.

“It- mess- decided to sort it,” Nico said intelligently. If he’d been hoping to disguise from Will how much his sudden presence and closeness had affected him, he was doing a pretty lousy job.

“What?” Will asked, having not understood Nico, not surprisingly. Nico took a breath in and tried to remember how to compose comprehensible sentences as he looked up at Will’s blue eyes.

“Someone messed everything up. I was trying to sort it out again because I know you don’t like it disorganised,” Nico finally managed to say without sounding completely stupid.

Will looked down at Nico with a soft smile on his face. Nico was glad that it seemed he’d actually done the right thing.

“Thank you,” Will said quietly, leaning down so that his nose bumped Nico’s gently. Nico’s breath was taken away once again as Will’s hands tightened around his waist. He wondered if there was such thing as dying from spending too long too close to your boyfriend. Nico at least hoped his father would take pity and resurrect him if that did happen.

After what felt like way too long, Will finally tilted his head and captured Nico’s lips. Letting out a sigh, Nico reached up, wound a hand in Will’s hair and pulled the blond against him hungrily. Will was far too much of a tease and Nico wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

Will didn’t seem to be complaining as Nico kissed him back harder, though, instead letting his hands move from Nico’s waist to his back, one of them slipping underneath Nico’s black t-shirt and tracing the bare skin on his spine. Nico shivered at the touch, despite Will’s hands being as warm as always. Will was permanently warm. Nico suspected it was because he was Apollo’s son but he didn’t really care- he only cared about whether those hands were touching him.

Nico pulled back to take a breath for a second but Will had other ideas, chasing Nico’s mouth with his own and pressing their bodies together again. Nico felt his back touch the shelves behind him and he removed his hands from Will’s hair to place them on the shelves and push the two of them off. He hadn’t just spent all that time organising them for Will to ruin it, no matter what his tongue was doing as it slid into Nico’s mouth and elicited a gasp from him.

“Don’t ruin my tidying,” Nico murmured against Will’s lips.

“Nico, shut up and let me kiss you, I don’t care about the tidying,” Will muttered in response, not giving Nico a chance to respond further as he kissed Nico again, the hot press of his lips making Nico finally give in and decide that the shelves really didn’t matter all that much.

He allowed Will to push him back against them this time as the taller boy’s tongue returned to his mouth. Whilst Nico did like to be the one leading the kiss, drawing small noises out of Will and leaving him a blushing mess, he definitely was not about to complain if Will wanted to push him up against a wall and kiss him senseless.

“Nico,” Will moaned lightly, the sound of his name on Will’s lips causing blood to rush straight to Nico’s cheeks and possibly other places he was trying hard to ignore. Nico just pulled Will’s lips back to his.

The sudden sound of a horn caused Nico and Will to jump apart in shock, Nico’s head hitting against the shelf above him and Will’s nose bumping into his a little harder than anticipated.

“Ow,” Nico said, not entirely sure his mouth was capable of forming any more than a sound at that moment anyway.

“I guess it’s time for dinner,” Will said breathlessly, “I can’t believe I didn’t manage to clean the infirmary.”

Nico rolled his eyes at Will’s pout.

“Don’t blame me, I was trying to help. Besides, you’re the inspector so it doesn’t matter,” he shrugged. Will scoffed.

“It’s basic patient hygiene, di Angelo,” he said, sounding scandalised, “and don’t feign innocence, you were being too distracting.”

“I was literally just tidying a cupboard,” Nico pointed out.

“Exactly,” Will teased, draping an arm over Nico’s shoulder as they made their way out of the Big House and to the mess hall, “distracting.”

Nico blushed and rolled his eyes.

“Catch me after dinner- I don’t want to leave without saying goodbye,” Will ordered. Nico nodded in agreement.

“Me neither,” he said. Will gave his shoulder one last squeeze before releasing Nico and going over to the Apollo cabin, now consisting of only Kayla, Austin and Will.

Nico sat himself down at the Big Three table that was feeling even more vacant. Percy and Jason had both left, leaving Nico alone. He hated sitting alone to eat. He never would have admitted it to Percy and Jason but it did really help having them there when they’d first suggested the idea.

When Nico sat alone to eat, it brought back memories. Memories of buying Happy Meals in desperate attempts to speak to his sister. Memories of sitting trapped in a jar, surviving only off pomegranate seeds and thinking that no one was coming to save him- he would die alone.

They weren’t exactly memories Nico wanted to dwell on, especially now that his life was looking up for once, but the scars ran deep and no amount of happiness would ever truly dispel the nightmares and feelings of hopelessness that occasionally threatened to overcome Nico.

Absent-mindedly, Nico wondered if it would be at all possible for him to convince Chiron that he needed to sit with other people to stop his powers from playing up. Maybe Chiron would let him sit with Will if the son of Apollo played his ‘I’m a doctor’ card.

For a second, Nico was tempted to raise skeletons right there and then but thought better of it. Will would be leaving Camp in about an hour, anyway.

Distracted from his own memory with thoughts of Will, Nico happily bit into his pepperoni pizza.

Despite Will’s promise that he would say goodbye to Nico before he left, Nico spotted the son of Apollo leaving his cabin with a packed bag and heading in the direction of Halfblood Hill- not in the direction of the Hades cabin.

Luckily, Nico had been paying attention so muttering to himself in aggravation, Nico shrugged on his aviator jacket to guard against the cool evening breeze and stormed out of his cabin, not caring that the door slammed shut behind him.

Due to Will’s naturally larger strides (curse his long legs), Nico had to jog to catch up and finally reached him just as he arrived at the top of the hill.

“Going somewhere?” Nico asked pointedly. Will jumped at the sound of his voice.

“Ah, Nico!” he gasped, “uh, sorry, I was going to come and say goodbye but, well-“ Will broke off with a shrug and Nico raised an eyebrow at him. With a glance down the hill, he spotted a woman with curly brown hair, blue eyes as clear as Will’s. Her face was smattered with freckles and she wore a smile Nico would recognise anywhere. She was Naomi Solace- unmistakably Will’s mother.

“Oh,” Nico muttered, drawing his attention back to Will. He’d felt a hint of panic rise up inside him at the sight of Naomi accompanied with the disappointment that Will hadn’t intended to say goodbye to him. Nico was going to be spending a weekend with just her and Will way sooner than he was prepared for.

A thought suddenly hit Nico as to why Will hadn’t been going to say goodbye and it was completely and utterly Nico’s fault.

“Oh!” Nico repeated in realisation as he grabbed Will’s arms, “Will, I forgot to tell you- I made up my mind. I want to visit you at the weekend. I mean, if the offer still stands.”

Will’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Why didn’t you just say so, you idiot?” he asked and before Nico could even respond, Will dropped his bags and picked Nico up, spinning him round. Nico had to try hard not to shriek in shock as he grabbed Will’s shoulders to steady himself.

Still laughing, Will placed him back on the ground and hugged him.

“Of course the offer still stands,” Will promised, “do you want to meet my mom now? She’s heard a lot about you through Iris messages.”

Nico didn’t even think before he answered.

“Yeah, sure!” completely forgetting to panic. Will grinned and grabbed Nico’s hand, picking up his bags again and pulling Nico down the hill with him. They were through the magical Mist barrier before Nico knew it and he was faced with the most daunting task of his entire life. Talking to Will’s mother.

“Will!” Naomi Solace squealed as soon as the two demigods stumbled past the magical barrier. Nico didn’t even complain when Will released his hand so he could engulf his mother in a huge hug.

He was easily taller than her, resting his head on top of her’s as he hugged her. Nico guessed she was about the same height as he was.

“I’ve missed you so much,” she said, “you haven’t been overworking yourself, I hope. If you have a single blister on your hand from over-healing then I swear-“

Whatever Naomi Solace had intended to say next was forgotten as she pulled her son in for another hug. Nico couldn’t help but smile slightly as he observed the scene, despite the panic still rising inside him. At least Will would be in good hands away from camp; Nico doubted he needed to worry too much about Will overexerting himself.

Still, if there was a monster-

Nico shook the thought out of his head quickly. Will had always been fine in previous years. He was going to be fine now. His scent wasn’t as strong as Nico, Percy or Jason’s anyway- he wasn’t a son of the Big Three.

“Mom,” Will whined in complaint, pushing her away, “I’m fine, honestly.”

Despite his complaints, Nico knew how much Will had actually missed his mother. He never shut up about it.

Just then, Naomi happened to look up over Will’s shoulder and her eyes connected with Nico’s. He felt his heart rate immediately pick up in fear. She was going to hate him already.

“Will, I think there’s someone you might be forgetting to introduce me to,” Naomi said, raising an eyebrow at her son expectantly in a way Will so often did to Nico whenever he forgot to look after a wound or help out in the hospital. Nico was already starting to realise exactly why Apollo had been so taken with her. She had a lot of similarities to her son.

“Oh!” Will seemed to realise as his eyes shone. He grinned and walked over to Nico again, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards his mother. Nico allowed himself to be pulled and stood there in shock. “Mom, this is Nico.”

“So you’re the guy Will won’t shut up about when he Iris messages me,” Naomi Solace said with a sly smile. Nico felt his cheeks heat up. He was supposed to say something now.

“Um,” Nico started, “it’s nice to meet you. Will talks about you a lot, too.”

“Oh, does he?” Naomi Solace asked, turning to Will.

“Pfft, as if,” Will pretended but his mom just tackled him in another hug.

“You big softie,” she teased, “you do love your old mom after all.”

“Mom, stop, you’re embarrassing me in front of Nico,” Will complained, attempting to flatten his hair again when his mom released him. Nico fought the urge to run his fingers through it. Will’s mother was right there.

“It really is lovely to meet you, though, Nico. I’m really glad Will’s found someone as good to him as you,” Naomi turned to Nico again, still smiling.

“Good to me?” Will huffed. Nico elbowed him.

“Thank you, Miss Solace,” he said, “I do my best to keep him in check.”

“Please, just call me Naomi. Or mom if you want- anything’s fine by me!” Naomi said. Nico thought he would have felt a little bit awkward calling her ‘mom’ but it didn’t seem like she completely hated him so that was a good thing at least. “I don’t know how you manage- he really is a nightmare.”

“Trust me, I know,” Nico smirked, surprised at how easily he was managing to have a conversation. He hadn’t messed up. He could do this.

Will was apparently not as pleased with his achievement.

“Nico! Mom! I didn’t introduce you to each other so you could gang up against me,” he complained.

“You should have expected this, really,” Nico pointed out.

“Honestly, it’s like he doesn’t even know us,” Naomi shook her head in offense.

“Mom!” Will whined.

“Sorry, did you hear something, Nico?” she asked in a sly tone.

“Nothing at all,” Nico agreed with a shake of his head.

“I changed my mind, you’re uninvited this weekend,” Will huffed.

“You agreed to come?” Naomi asked suddenly, turning to Nico excitedly. Nico had never seen anyone look so glad at the news that he was going to be somewhere.

“Oh, um, I-I’d like to if you don’t mind,” Nico stuttered. Naomi grinned.

“Of course I don’t mind! The more the merrier. I’m sure you’ll help me wind up Will, too,” she said.

“I wouldn’t ever pass up the opportunity,” Nico promised. The tenseness of first meeting Naomi Solace was slowly easing away and he felt his shoulders relaxing. He wondered what he’d ever been so worried about. Naomi was lovely and she shone just as brightly as her son. Maybe Will hadn’t received his sunny disposition from his father, after all.

“Right, I’m leaving,” Will huffed, folding his arms stubbornly. Nico nudged him with his hip.

“So I really don’t get a goodbye?” he asked.

“Will, were you really about to leave without even saying goodbye to Nico?” Naomi asked in shock.

“I wasn- no- I just-“ Will stammered.

“Yes,” Nico interjected. Naomi looked at him sternly.

“It’s a good job your boyfriend actually cares about saying goodbye to you, then, isn’t it?” she pointed out. Nico’s cheeks flushed at the words. It felt weird for Will’s own mother to say that. Weird in a not entirely unpleasant way. “Go on, I’ll wait in the car and I promise I won’t look.”

“Mom!” Will protested, “that means you totally will.”

Naomi shrugged her shoulders and took Will’s bag, taking them back to her blue Honda.

“So I’ll see you this weekend,” Nico said after a moment’s silence. Will smiled at him.

“Thank you. I know this isn’t easy for you but you’ve already done such a good job just talking to her. She really likes you,” Will said.

“All I’ve done is insult you,” Nico muttered. Will laughed and put his hand on Nico’s upper arm.

“I know, but you’ve made an effort to find something in common with her and talk about it. You think you’re bad at talking to people but you just did a really good job of it,” he explained. Nico chewed his lower lip as he considered Will’s words. He hadn’t even been thinking about it like that.

“I suppose you’re right,” he conceded, “but I couldn’t have done it if you hadn’t been there.”

“I’ll always be here if you need me,” Will promised in a soft voice, pulling Nico even closer to him.

“Your mom is watching,” Nico reminded Will although he wasn’t really sure he minded, Will’s closeness sending a frenzy of incoherent thoughts scattering around his brain.

“I don’t care,” Will said, his breath dusting over Nico’s lips. Nico didn’t care either as he closed the distance between them, raising himself onto his tiptoes to plant a gentle kiss on Will’s lips.

Will pulled away way sooner than Nico would have liked but it was still enough to leave his head feeling fuzzy and his lips tingling with warmth.

“Goodbye,” Will said.

“Goodbye,” Nico repeated, releasing Will’s top from where he’d grabbed hold of it to kiss him. Will smiled softly as he trailed his hand along Nico’s arm, releasing it, before walking away towards where Naomi Solace was waiting for him in the car. Nico smiled and waved as he watched Will go before turning around and heading back through the magical border and up Halfblood Hill.

He only had to wait until weekend.

#solangelo #percy jackson #pjo #will solace #nico di angelo #willico #solangelo fanfic #my fanfic #fanfic #percy jackson fanfic #hoo #heroes of olympus #myriad of stars

[coffeebooksorme]

The Mixtape to my Life by Jake Martinez eARC review

GOODREAD’S SYNOPSIS:  Justin Ortega might as well be starring in his very own coming-of-age 80s movie. If only he could find his dream boy to pull up in front of his house in a red convertible and sweep him off his feet, already! At seventeen years young, he isn’t quite Mexican enough for his South Texas town; isn’t manly enough for his father; can sometimes be too much of a smart mouth for his mother; and as for the other kids at school—let’s just say he’d be cast as the quiet nerd with a heart of gold…and an ear for music. The one solace Justin has is his love of 80s hair metal bands, which he listens to on his beloved Sony Walkman. The songs, lyrics, and melody keep him just sane enough to escape the pressures of school and help navigate the hurdles life brings. Especially with the doozy this year is shaping up to be. Not only does he have to try out for a captain position which is rightfully his, but his best friend has found a new girlfriend, leaving Justin to fend for himself in a school where he’s mostly known as simply Coconut. Enter Dominic Mendoza. Sweet, funny, and a blast from his past, the hunky football player has moved in next door. Justin could never forget how Dominic protected him in the eighth grade, nor the way Dominic made him feel, then…and now. Except, this isn’t a movie. Confusion, friendship, and love won’t guarantee a happy ending unless Justin can learn to accept himself for who he truly is. Hair bands and all.

A huge thank you to Big Hearts YA via Net Galley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a huge bust for me. I honestly expected to love it because I grew up in the 90′s and have a huge appreciation for 80′s hair bands. I was totally expecting a throwback to my childhood while reading some reconnection romance and that is just…not at all what I got from this.

I’m not even sure how to describe how I feel about this in a coherent or cohesive manner either because while there were plenty of things I really enjoyed (Lila, the sheer love/appreciation of music) but there was just so much that just made me sit back and go ‘Uhhh…’ cause it just seemed really problematic and unnecessary.

* The overabundance of the ‘f’ slur in reference to gay people. Yes, I know this is a book set in the 90′s and the author himself is gay and this is sort of his own tale but still. I don’t think it was needed to be on page as many times as it was. And at one point, the MC’s supposed best friend uses said slur against his best friend to intentionally hurt him. WTF!?

* Justin’s first kiss was taken from him by Lila at the pressure from Benny, his best friend, who then gave him his first m/m kiss. Like…what?! No consent. No nothing.

* One of the song titles used for a chapter had a slur for Roma people on it. This is me being nitpicky but still. There are millions of songs in the world, Jake could’ve chosen another one that was just as appropriate for it’s use.

* A Jewish slur is used as a character’s name. Now, Justin is Mexican and I looked up the name in question and it is a Mexican name but c’mon now, author’s choice.

Oddly enough, the story itself felt very stilted but at times way too rushed. The events of the book all happened within two weeks and Justin/Dominic went from not having seen each other in 3 years (they weren’t even friends three years prior, fyi) to reconnecting, falling in love, saying I love you, wanting to have sex, and then actually running away together because they didn’t want to be apart EVER for the rest of their lives.

I can’t speak to the Mexican rep or the gay male rep because I am neither and this is an #ownvoices novel but I just can’t get past all the racist stuff, poor writing, and unbelievable plot movement to have truly enjoyed this.

Rating: ⭐⭐

Expected Publication: Already out!

#booklr #books #bookstagram #jake martinez #big hearts ya #the mixtape to my life #netgalley #earc #arc #advance reader copy #book reviews #reviews #my review #book review #review #bookworm #book dragon #bibliophile #mine

[teriwrites]

Happy Storyteller Saturday! What is the number one thing that never fails to make your characters happy? Why is this so? Do your characters visibly reveal their joy to others, or are they quite stoic and prefer to keep their emotions more private?

This is so pure, thanks for the ask!!

Josef - A big car nerd, Josef is probably at his peak when he’s driving around country roads in his convertible with his friends. It helps him escape his stress.

Klaus - Small animals make him lose his mind. Will never admit to it. In a modern era, would definitely follow a billion cat accounts on every social media platform.

Georg - Georg isn’t the most emotive guy ever, but he always finds a lot of solace in music. Everyone expects him to be a big classical music nerd, but actually his tastes are more rock-and-roll of the era. Had an Elvis phase in gymnasium, now is way into the Beatles.

Peter - A big reason Peter joined poli-sci is because his older sister instilled a huge love of social activism. So his highest high is when he’s able to help people start to ‘get it’ or question things.

Hans - A lot of his best moments growing up involved quiet moments where he could just comfortably sit in silence with people, so being close enough with people to be able to just sit quietly with them makes him feel connected to them.

Ingrid - While she likes to pretend she doesn’t need any validation, Ingrid actually soaks up encouragement and praise like a sponge. She won’t often show it, but support means a whole lot to her.

#asks #sts #castle on the hill

[jeremystrele]

Singer-Songwriter-Survivor Ngaiire On Motherhood, Music + Building From The Rubble

Singer-Songwriter-Survivor Ngaiire On Motherhood, Music + Building From The Rubble

Family

Ashe Davenport

Singer-songwriter Ngaiire her three-year-old son, Dovey. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

Ngaiire really embraced the concept of self-care during the pandemic. ‘I pretty much live and breathe my work. But then COVID hit, and I started to see the value of creating little nooks around the house, to read in and be still,’ she says. This corner is one of them. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

Ngaiire’s mum (who lives with them in their house on the Central Coast!) made Ngaiire and Dovey’s INCREDIBLE matching outfits from Spotlight fabrics. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

During a period of intense trauma and turbulence in Ngaiire’s adolescence, she found solace in her mum’s CD collection, which featured Mariah Carey, Bob Marley and Alicia Keys. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

‘Every day I worry, “Am I doing too much work and (giving) too much energy for my music and not enough with him?” The balancing can be agonising!’ says Ngaiire. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

Ngaiire is a design and architecture obsessive! Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

‘I never imagined that, despite how traumatic my birthing story was, the miracle of becoming a mother literally plugged me into a creative life source I never knew I could access. (It) felt like a tap had been turned on, and the parameters of my creativity broadened. The irony of having your motivation to create triple (while) having your energy levels completely diminished at the same time can feel like a cruel joke!’ Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

Up until recently, Dovey’s favourite song was the Harry Styles banger ‘Adore You’. Now, it’s ‘Boogie Wonderland’ by Earth, Wind & Fire. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

Ummmmm, how beautiful is the fam’s Central Coast pad?! Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

‘The times Dovey has seen me sing he gets very still, which is great, because he’s never that still unless he’s asleep! It’s like he understands something special is happening,’ says Ngaiire. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

Ngaiire and Dovey’s lockdown activity was planting seedlings. Dovey’s now seen a full year of crops grow! Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

Like mother, like son! Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

Life has tried to pull Ngaiire under on multiple occasions. At three-years-old she was diagnosed with cancer of her adrenal glands. She’s spoken about the friends she made on the oncology ward, and sung for the ones she lost. At age 12, in her homeland of Papua New Guinea, Ngaiire survived a volcanic eruption that covered her house in ash and separated her from her mother for several months. 

‘Aren’t you supposed to be dead?’ 

The question was asked by her nephew in a dream that would become the basis for her song ‘Once’ (track two on her hit 2016 album Blastoma). In the music video, Ngaiire travels through the carriages of a moving train, each one representing a chapter of her life. In some she’s being pulled at, stripped, hospital-gowned. In others she is fluid, in charge and perfectly synchronised. 

She’s risen from the ashes again and again, caped in fuchsia and gold.

This is an edited and condensed version of our conversation, which wasn���t so much about where she’s been, but where she is now, safe in the home she built from the rubble.

Can you please tell me everything about this outfit? 

When I found out Nadav and I would be doing this shoot, I died. I’m a lowkey hard out nerd for design and architecture. I’ll sadly admit that Design Files is probably one of my top 3 most visited IGs daily. I’m OBSESSED. 

When I got the news, I immediately sketched up two outfits for Nadav and I, went to Spotlight to get some fabric, then commissioned my mother (who is currently living with us) to sew them. Mum’s been [making my clothes] for decades, so it wasn’t our first rodeo. It helped that she’d already set up a mini sewing factory downstairs for our little toddler clothing label, Dovey Nero, which we’ve been slowly building and taking our time testing the market with. What Dovey is wearing is a little taste of what we’re currently working on. 

What’s it like sharing so much of your story in your music? 

Being a singer, my whole instrument is very much connected to how I’m feeling and what might’ve happened to me that morning or that week. When you’re working in an office, you’re expected to leave your personal issues at the door. But when it comes to music, it’s about finding that balance, and utilising your emotional backlog to tell a story. The wonder of songwriting is that your story becomes someone else’s anchor, or road map, to joy, relief or even salvation. 

How do you manage all of that emotional expense? Are you drained AF?

I don’t know how I manage it. It can be really taxing, especially being a mama. I have a three-year-old, which can be a lot, both physically and emotionally. Every day I worry, am I doing too much work and (giving) too much energy for my music and not enough with him? The balancing can be agonising! 

How do you get out of the working parent guilt loop? Is there something you do that’s just yours? 

I pretty much live and breathe my work. But then COVID hit, and I started to see the value of creating little nooks around the house, to read in and be still. It takes me forever to get through a book these days, but if I can just steal 5-10 minutes, read some literature, even just look out the window at the bush we live behind. The concept of self-care is something I’ve definitely come to understand more during the pandemic. 

How does the parenting load get divided in your house? 

My husband’s carrying a lot of the load right now. He’s a designer by trade and his workload varies. It’s amazing that it’s worked out the way it has, with me having such a big work year ahead. He’s doing most of the parenting while I release this album.

In terms of what daycare days look like, I mean, we always swear to wake up earlier to drop Nadav and start our work days, but it’s really hard sometimes. Especially if he wakes up a few times at night and you just want to doze that little bit longer! 

How does motherhood compare to your expectations of it?

It met ZERO of my expectations! In fact it surpassed any idea I possibly had of how hard, but also how rewarding and life-altering it would be. It elevated the respect I had for myself as someone who was (able) to bring life into the world.

Being a sickly child, my chances of getting pregnant were considered low. I never imagined that despite how traumatic my birthing story was, the miracle of becoming a mother literally plugged me into a creative life source I never knew I could access. (It) felt like a tap had been turned on, and the parameters of my creativity broadened.

The irony of having your motivation to create triple (while) having your energy levels completely diminished at the same time can feel like a cruel joke!

How does Nadav respond to your music? 

Singing is a deeply spiritual thing for me. It connects me to something that not a lot of people have access to, and we as artists kind of become the conduits for that for our audience.

The times Dovey has seen me sing he gets very still, which is great, because he’s never that still unless he’s asleep! It’s like he understands something special is happening.  I have no idea what he’s taking in, but based on what I get from music, I can only assume he’s taking on a multitude of information. Maybe on some level he’s understanding how the world works. How to relate to people, and how deep that connection can be. 

What messages do you hope a grown up Nadav will take from your songs?

I want him to grow up feeling like he can do anything he wants to do in this life, whether it’s music or something else completely opposite. I hope he always stays in touch with that reverence for music and that he knows that he is very privileged to be able to ingest it in a way that not a lot of kids are afforded. I hope he also still feels like I’m around for him through my songs even when I’ve passed on. And that I did the best I could despite my challenges so he (could) too. 

Did you find that deeper level through music or did you already know about it and that’s what led you to music? 

Before I’d hit 12 or 13, I’d been through so many huge life traumas. I had cancer, and my family lost their property and all their belongings to a major volcanic eruption. We were living in the bush, separated from my Mum for a fair while. She was looking for us frantically, but couldn’t contact us because everything was down, the phone lines, everything. She reached us through emergency announcements over AM radio, which a relative luckily caught (wind) of. The organisation she’d been working for chartered a plane, which landed in a nearby clearing and zipped us out of there to the mainland. Shortly after that, my mother found herself in an abusive second marriage, which was pretty traumatising for us, but 100% more so for her.

At that point in my life, I found solace in Mum’s CD collection. I’d listen to Mariah Carey on repeat, memorising every word from inside the cassette cover, and anything else (from) Bob Marley to Deep Forest (laughs). When we moved to Australia, I took up music at school. I sang ‘Fallin’ by Alicia Keys in front of the school assembly, (which) was a big moment. From that point, I understood I had something that affected people a certain way, beyond the noises that came out of my mouth. I knew I had to continue chasing music.

What can we expect from your upcoming album? What does it represent for you?

It’s an actual journey, not in a cliché way, but in that every song on it serves as an integral part of the sonic trajectory. You appreciate each song more if you hear them in context of the whole body of work, and I think that’s the beauty of what Jack Grace (my co-producer) and I are good at doing as a team – making music that breathes as a complete organism as it does individually. 

The album represents a whole life cycle for me. I started the album off the back of touring the last one (Blastoma) – before I got hitched and before I got knocked up (laughs). It was an attempt to present my Papua New Guinean heritage in a new light, so that I could feel more understood within my industry – something I never fully felt. Little did I know that the whole process, 4 years on, would propel me through a maze of re-discovery of who I really am and who I want to be. I care less about what people think a Papua New Guinean woman should be within an western context now then when I first started this project, because that’s everyone else’s problem. This record has become a celebratory affair of my love for PNG, people and myself. And at the end of the day, that’s what motivates people to make the decisions (throughout) their lives. 

FAMILY FAVOURITES

Favourite cafe?

Like Minds in Avoca

Weekend away?

It hadn’t really been a thing for us. We used to have accidental getaways through my work. So before COVID hit, we’d all get to hang out interstate if I had shows. Now we bush walk in places like Maitland Bay or the Pink Caves up the coast.

Rainy day activity?

We raised a lot of seedlings during lockdown to plant in the garden. Dovey got really good at planting seeds inside, where it’s prime seedling growing heat. He’s seen a full year of crops already, which is pretty cool.

Most played song?

Until recently it was Harry Styles, ‘Adore You’. Dovey requested it ALL. THE. TIME. But now it’s moved to ‘Boogie Wonderland’ by Earth, Wind & Fire.

Sunday morning ritual?

Not so much Sundays. Fridays are really our thing, when we do Shabbat. It’s the moment we get to bookend the week together, unplug, drink some wine, eat. Dovey helps to bake the challah. He’s getting pretty good at plaiting it!

New music by Ngaiire is coming in May. Her current tour dates are: May 28th at Corner Hotel in Melbourne; June 5th at The Zo in Brisbane; and June 12th at Factory Theatre in Sydney. Tickets can be booked here.

[buoyantsaturn]

I know you did Punk!Nico and Jock!Will but would you maybe do the reverse? Or with Nerd!Nico? Or Jock and Nerd Au?...

nico is a super shy nerd who basically doesn’t talk to anyone and is closeted bc he figures if anyone ever finds out hes gay then he’ll get beat up every single day and is not about that

he has a huge crush on will solace who is basically the school’s bad boy who looks really good in black and is openly bisexual which for some reason adds to the whole bad boy idea which nico doesnt understand??? why does being bi make him cooler but being gay might get nico killed????

so one day nico’s eating lunch in the library where he always is when someone slams a backpack down on the table across from nico and drops into the open seat and nico flinches at first and then completely shies away from will solace bc that’s who’s across from him now

will’s like “ur a nerd right?? i mean, youre smart?? i need some help” and nicos like “im not doing your homework for you and would like you to leave me alone thanks” and will goes “i just want someone to proofread a paper for me but i nobody i know is smart enough for that so what do you say?”

nico with his giant crush cant say no and tells will to come back tomorrow after nico reads his paper and its??? pretty good??? he didnt realize that will was actually smart???? sure theres a few grammatical errors but the content is really solid??? and when will comes back the next day to pick up his edited paper nico tells him that he’d be happy to proofread will’s other papers if he needs it

ofc will absolutely comes back but this time instead of dropping off a paper and leaving he sits down and tries to talk to nico but nicos like “i need to finish this before lunch ends” and gets back to his math homework so will digs an apple out of his backpack and starts eating and watches nico finish his homework

will finishes his apple and tosses the core into a trash can thats like 10ft away and then leans forward on the table and goes “youre really cute u know that?? i think its the glasses. not everybody looks good with thick frames like those but u do”

nico immediately assumes that will’s messing with him and is real blunt when he asks what will wants from him and wills just like “dude the only thing i want is a date maybe but if youre not into that then whatever” and nicos like??? isnt dating me gonna ruin your reputation or whatever??? but will says “do i look like someone who cares about a reputation???”

obviously people find out pretty quick after they start dating that nico’s gay but nico doesnt care anymore bc if someone gives him a hard time then his boyfriend will protect him

also???? nico in will’s leather jacket???? its like 2 sizes too big and adorable

thank u for the suggestion!!! i hope you liked it!!!

drop an au in my ask and get a list of headcanons

no more please!

#ask #solangelo #multifandomexplorer

[missharleenfquinzel]

i want to do harley cosplays but i don't know where to start and there's not a lot of cons in my area. i'm also pretty shy so the idea of putting myself out there is kinda scary lmao. what would i even do at a con exactly? i've only been to a few and i wasn't in cosplay. i've seen most people in cosplay go in groups but idk if my friends could do that. do you have any advice? thanks; love your blog ❤️❤️

Long post but I have a lot to say about this!

I was once in the same boat as you! I have a little progress post here to show how I started vs where I am now. And I used to be embarrassed about these pictures. I’d delete them and hide them because they weren’t up to my current standards. But now I look back and I’m like “Wow, look how far I’ve come!”

It’s 100% a trial and error kind of deal. I mean you can wikihow “How To Ride a Bike” and you’re like “Sure that’s easy I’ll just follow the steps.” and then you immediately crash your bike into a tree. But that’s okay! When you go to cons you see people at all levels of cosplay. You got the amazing professional looking people and you have the girl with just a Hatsune Miku wig on and everything in between. 

And something you’ll find at cons, no one is going to judge you. I, at least personally, have never seen any kind of shaming like that. As long as you’re putting yourself out there, I can almost guarantee that like minded fans are going to love what you’re putting out. 

And as for what to do at a con? Honestly, cons are amazing for just chilling and going with the flow. Remember that month Pokemon Go was big and everyone was out making friends randomly? It’s like that. You’ll find some panels you like (panels are like meetings but to talk about specific nerd stuff), you’ll see strangers playing cards in the middle of the hallway floor. And of course shopping! There’s no pressure on you to do anything. If you just wanna be an observer, that’s cool. If you see some people doing something you’re interested in, talk to them about it. It’s truly amazing there’s like very few boundaries. It’s like everyone is just game for anything. I once had a girl ask me if I wanted to see her cool bra and I was like sure and she ripped open her shirt to show me.

My first con was when I was 15 and I was so nervous. I had never worn my singular costume out of the house and I couldn’t imagine a scenario where it would be accepted. But sure enough, I got there and people either didn’t take notice to me or loved it and asked for pictures. 

And yes, back then I was SUPER self conscious if my friends weren’t also in cosplay or if I was in cosplay alone. I would go as far as to decide to not dress up because it’d be weird or something. But again, this anxiety dissipates over time. Now I’ve gone from not being able to dress alone at a con MEANT for dressing up, to literally going grocery shopping in full cosplay on a random Tuesday. 

I have gained SO much confidence in myself thanks to cosplay like you don’t understand. I went from having debilitating social anxiety and not being able to talk to cashiers to going on stage and talking to a huge crowd as Harley. It didn’t happen overnight. It was step by step, getting better and better, one compliment at a time building me up, until I was able to stand on my own. (But lbr who doesn’t still like a little validation every now and again lmao)

tl;dr: Start out with maybe a wig and a Harley shirt of some sort and work your way up. Find solace in the fact that everyone starts somewhere and ANY cosplayer you meet, no matter how skilled, will know that and respect whatever you do!

#holy shit madison #poor person didnt ask for a essay #sorry im very passionate lmao #friendlypoltergeist #long post #costume questions

[multiply-xxx]

Eisenberg's blood, sweat and tears

The Social Network star has always suffered from anxiety but he has learnt to harness it creatively, finding solace both in his writing and acting, he tells our reporter.

I really shouldn't feel nervous interviewing Jesse Eisenberg. The worst that can happen in any interview is that the subject is boring, which with his talents and projects - a movie riding high in the cinema charts, a book still a bestseller and a play he's rehearsing in London - seems unlikely. But he has earned something of a reputation for giving journalists a hard time. An otherwise highly flattering portrait of him in Vice recently described him as "ducking broad queries, jabbing here and there with sarcasm" while his interview with Romina Puga for Univision will forever live in the annals of car crash celebrity interviews - at the end he asked her "are you still here?". Yahoo recently piled in, wondering if he is "awkward or just mean".

Based on my experience I'd say neither, particularly. It would be tremendous fun if Eisenberg threw strops but in fact he answers questions with a twinkle of irony in his voice and he's generally self-effacing and charming. He expresses bafflement when I mention his reputation.

Journalists and reviewers are not his enemy, he says, despite his piece in The New Yorker last winter in which he assumed the narrative role of a blogger going to review a movie. "These are the main problems with Paintings of Cole," his story concludes. "It was inconveniently shown on the Upper West Side, written by a guy I envy, screened by a cute intern whose name was too confusing to remember, based on an idea that I poorly executed in grad school, and praised by the Times, which rejected me."

"That was not a criticism of critics," he explains. "It was a satire on how some people use particular forums to express personal gripes. That was why it was satire and that's why it was in the 'Shouts and Murmurs' section of The New Yorker. I obviously don't have any ill will toward critics. They've been great for my career, especially since some of the work I've been in hasn't had huge budgets and all we have to depend upon are kind words from reviewers."

They have indeed been great for his career. The panning of his latest offering, Now You See Me 2, aside, Eisenberg's career has been shot through with memorable roles and standout performances, most notably in The Squid And The Whale - his first big role - and The Social Network, which won him an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. He's also maintained a career as an incredible stage actor and in recent years has revealed himself as a writer of some talent, having contributed pieces to McSweeneys. His first book, Bream Gives Me Hiccups: and Other Stories, is a series of hilarious restaurant reviews, as written by a privileged nine-year-old boy who accompanies his recently divorced mother on spectacularly awkward dates. It seems to be influenced by David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs, both of whom he says he admires. In his film career, he's carved out a niche playing neurotic Jewish nerds with razor sharp intelligence and those characteristics would not seem to be too far from his own personality.

He grew up between New York and New Jersey and his mother trained people in racial sensitivity in a hospital, while his father was a college professor. He was always an anxious child, he tells me.

"My childhood was not boredom and that was part of the problem. I was worried about everything, even things that could never possibly befall me. I carried two tissues every day, one for crying, one for bleeding. I longed for boredom.

"I knew when I grew up I'd have control of my life and surround myself with people I wanted to be around and ultimately reach the nirvana of boredom."

We're told that Americans medicate such traits out of their children but Eisenberg tells me he came along too early for that. "I came of age before medication became in vogue. I'm sure if I was a child now and if my family could afford it, I'd be on a cocktail of drugs. We just had to be naturally miserable. There were no therapists either. It was generational. Therapy was more stigmatised then, my parents probably saw it as something for the elite or the eccentric and possibly a waste of money."

The family had little interest in movies "either as an art form or as casual entertainment" but Eisenberg had a passion for musical theatre and he learned early on that acting was an effective form of self-medication. "I didn't have an appropriate coping mechanism. They become a part of the fabric of my personality, writing and acting were comfortable outlets. I could immerse myself in other people's psyches. I wanted to be in musical theatre but I don't think I had the stamina to succeed in that difficult arena. So I acted in dramatic plays."

While still in his early teens he transferred to a performing arts school in New York and before he graduated had already won his breakthrough role in the independent comedy-drama Roger Dodger. That role meant he had to decline a place at New York University, but he studied anthropology at The New School in Greenwich Village.

Before making a name for himself, he wrote a play about how Woody Allen came to change his name and managed to get the play to the representatives of the famous auteur, in the hope that he would grant his approval for the project.

Instead Eisenberg got a 'cease and desist' letter. Years later the Telegraph would describe Eisenberg as "a renaissance man in the Allen mould", and his play as a "compulsive slice of American neurotica".

If there was any bad blood, it was clearly long before Allen cast Eisenberg in his 2012 ensemble comedy, To Rome with Love. In Allen's new film, Café Society, Eisenberg was promoted to playing a younger stand-in for the director himself.

Like Allen, Eisenberg has made a virtue of his tics and, while he has tried therapy as an adult, it's still art that provides the greatest help.

"Being anxious is not fun but I've found things to channel it into which makes it less uncomfortable. My book was very much about that - taking awkward situations and characters who feel anxious in them - was very much fun for me to write. The book is a coping mechanism made manifest," he says.

Bream Gives Me Hiccups and Other Stories is published by Grove Press.

x

#article #Jesse Eisenberg