#you can’t look me in the eyes and tell me that Percy’s username would not be Percy jacksoff

[pleasejustletpercyrest]

How I imagine it would be like if the Seven had Tiktok

#percy jackson #leo valdez #percy jackon and the olympians #heroes of olympus #memes #my crappy art #don’t make fun of my handwriting #percy jackson on tiktok #tiktok #drawing #Leo Valdez art #art #percy jackson art #I am pissing myself over this #Leo with a hearing aid #Leo Valdez with hearing loss #you can’t look me in the eyes and tell me that Percy’s username would not be Percy jacksoff #lmaooo #kay draws

[onlyfreds]

Announcement | Family of Four

Title: Announcement

Summary: It’s time to tell the rest of the family the great news.

Warning/s: mentions of pregnancy, mentions of food, mentions of teenage pregnancy (but it doesn’t really occur)

Series Masterlist

“Fred, honestly, calm down.” I said to my husband who was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement.

“I know. I know. I’m sorry.” He said with a small grin as he sat down.

We were heading over to the Burrow, just like we did every Sunday because Molly always insisted that “Sundays were for family.”

“We get to tell them, today right?” He asked, not being able to hide the huge grin on his lips.

I chuckled at his antics that were similar to a child on Christmas eve, “Yes, Freddie. We’ll tell them today.”

I ran my fingers through his hair, “But you better contain your excitement Freddie. Because if you don’t, you’ll ruin our surprise altogether.”

He took a deep breath, “Okay, okay. Just don’t make me wait too long.”

Fred stood up, placing a chaste kiss on my lips, “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?” He asked, resting one hand on my stomach while the other was on the small of my back.

I smiled, “Slow down hot shot. We’re just on step one. Don’t jump to step three.” I joked.

We then apparated to the Burrow.

As usual, we were met with Molly’s bone crushing hug.

“It’s good to see the two of you again!” She said with a huge smile as she went on to give Harry and Ginny a hug.

Ginny caught my eye and gave me a knowing smile accompanied with a small wink.

Hermione, along with Ginny, appeared next to me as soon as Fred went over to George and Ron.

“So, how’s the little one doing?” Hermione asked quietly, sporting a grin.

“Shhh!” I shushed her, looking around to see if anyone heard, “Aside from the morning sickness and throwing up, the little one is doing alright.”

Ginny smiled, “I’ve been so excited to see the look on mum’s face when you tell her the news. It’s been so hard to not just blurt it straight out to Harry.”

Hermione quietly laughed, “For once I’m thankful that Ron can be oblivious at times.”

“Auntie Y/N!” An excited voice squealed, signaling us of the arrival of Bill and Fleur.

“Hey Victoire!” I greeted as I scooped up my niece.

“She’s been missing you like crazy.” Fleur said.

I turned to the little girl in my arms, “Well, I missed you too kiddo.”

“You and Fred make a wonderful couple.” Bill said, placing a small kiss to Fleur’s forehead as he glanced towards his brother. “When are you guys going to have kids yourself?” He asked.

I laughed nervously, “Dunno. Maybe sometime in the future.”

Fleur giggled, “Well, Victoire would love that wouldn’t she?”

The child clapped excitedly, “Yes! Yes!”

That’s when Molly ushered us to the table to have some lunch.

We exchanged stories with each other.

Harry and Ron were debating about the latest happenings at the Ministry while Bill and Ginny were discussing about Ginny’s latest Quidditch match.

I felt Fred interlock our fingers together under the table.

I looked at him and gave him a questioning look.

He shrugged, taking another bite of his chicken, “Just trying to contain my excitement.”

I smiled, taking a sip of water, “Bill asked me earlier when are we going to have kids.”

“What did you say?” He asked.

“I said that maybe sometime in the future.”

He laughed, “But the future is actually the present.”

I rested my head on his shoulder, “Exactly.”

Afterwards, I helped Molly clean up after lunch.

“You never changed.” She said with a small chuckle when I offered to help.

“Some things never change.” I said, “Take a look at the twins for example.”

She laughed, “I never thought that someone would be able to put up with those two. Especially Fred.”

“He can be quite a handful.” I contemplated, “But, in a good way.”

Molly flicked her wand, causing the dishes to wash themselves, “He’s lucky that he found you Y/N. The two of you are a perfect match.”

I subconsciously rubbed my hand over my stomach, “I’m the one who’s lucky to have him, Molly. You and Arthur, have raised a wonderful son.”

She beamed with pride as she gently patted my shoulder, “I’m absolutely positive that when the two of you have children of your own, you’ll be wonderful parents.”

I sighed contentedly, “I hope so Molly.”

I walked over to Fred, squeezing his hand gently, “It’s time.”

He grinned as he stood up, clearing his throat so everyone’s attention was directed to him.

“Y/N and I have an announcement to make.”

George threw a pillow at him, “You’re killing me with the suspense! If you don’t make the announcement now, I’ll do it.”

Fred chuckled, throwing the pillow back to his impatient twin before turning to Molly and Arthur.

“How much would you like to welcome another member to the family?” He asked.

Arthur smiled looking over at his wife, “The more the merrier. Why do you ask?”

But Molly seemed to get the gist as she stared at us with wide eyes, waiting for what we would say next.

Fred placed a hand on my stomach, “Y/N is pregnant.”

Everyone started cheering as Molly and Arthur ran over and gave Fred and I a hug.

“That’s the most wonderful news Y/N. Congratulations.” Molly said, patting my cheek.

Arthur pulled me in for another hug, “Another grandchild! I couldn’t be happier for you and Fred.”

I went over to where Harry and Ginny were arguing playfully.

“You knew?” Harry asked in exasperation, “You knew and you didn’t bother to tell me?”

Ginny laughed, crossing her arms over her chest, “Well Mr. Potter, that’s because you can’t keep a secret to save your life.”

“Keyword secret.” I said causing the couple to laugh harder.

After Ron and Hermione had gave their congratulations Bill and Fleur came over and hugged me tightly.

“I can’t believe that a while ago, we were talking about when you and Fred would be having kids just for the two of you to announce that you’re already having one.” Bill said.

Fleur gave a small smile, “I don’t know about you but I already knew that something was up.”

Her husband looked at her, “What? You knew she was pregnant?”

Fleur shook her head, “I didn’t know she was pregnant. I just knew that something was up.”

I chuckled, “How?”

“Maybe our friendship intuition. Or maybe just the fact that you would subconsciously place your hand on your stomach every now and then.” She said.

Fred then appeared by my side, his hand around my waist as he placed a kiss on my temple, “How’s my princess doing?”

I giggled, giving him a sweet peck on the lips, “I’ve never been better.”

“Ah here’s the couple of the moment.” Percy said as he made his way towards us with his wife.

He reached forward and ruffled Fred’s hair with a huge grin on his face.

“Congratulations! And not just on the baby.” Percy said with a subtle wink.

Fred looked at him confused, “What else?”

His older brother laughed, “On not making her go through teenage pregnancy.”

Audrey playfully smacked him on the arm, “You don’t have to be so mean.”

My husband laughed, “I’m glad to see you joke Perce. But maybe we have to work on your jokes sometime.”

The news of my pregnancy still hung in the air as our friends and family chatted with each other.

Fred absent-mindedly fiddled with the loose thread of my blouse.

Molly stepped forward handing me a glass of water.

“I remember when Arthur and I first had Bill. He was an angel.” She said, smiling fondly at the memory.

“Then when Charlie and Percy came along, they were just like Bill.”

Before continuing, she jokingly pointed a stern finger at Fred, “But when you and George came along. You were absolute nightmares.”

Fred gasped, placing a hand over his chest, feigning offence, “What are you talking about mother dear? We just like to keep you on toes.”

Molly rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to me, “For your sake Y/N, I hope the baby is like Bill. And for your sake Fred, I hope the little one is like you. An absolute nightmare.”

She then turned her attention to Victoire who was trying to show her something.

Fred rested his chin on my shoulder while he rubbed his hand over my stomach.

“I still can’t believe it.” He said quietly.

“Believe what?” I asked.

“That there is a tiny human being inside of you. One that’s a little bit of me and a little bit of you.”

𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝:

@lumosandnoxwriting @whizboingies @wand3ringr0s3 @famdomhideout @nova-darling ​ (if your username is crossed out, that means I couldn’t tag you)

𝚂𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜  𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝:

@the-romanian-is-bae @manuosorioh

#fredweasley #fred weasley fanfiction #fredweasleyimagines #fred weasley fluff #fredweasleyfanfic #fred weasley smut #fred weasley angst #fred weasley series #fredweasleyoneshots #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x y/n #fred weasley x you #pregnancy #dadfred

[lesbian-percy-weasley]

What They Don’t Know by Gay-Natasha-Saves-The-World on Ao3 (aka the username I came up with when I was in my war and peace phase)

Series: At Least I Can Hold You (technically part 3 but it’s a prequel)

Ship: Perciver

Content Warning: Internalized Homophobia and reference to the f slur

Description: Percy Weasley has been acting so strangely. Oliver just wanted to make sure he was okay. But Percy might say something he wanted to keep secret

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A problem has been plaguing Percy’s mind for a while now and that problem wasn’t going away anytime soon. It had been occupying so much of his brain, he could barely focus on his studies. It was only the start of 5th year but with his prefect duties and the OWLs looming in the distance he didn’t have time for this problem.

Usually, he would just ignore it as he was quite good at shutting down his emotions but this time it was close to impossible. It seemed like this problem was always around him. Well, the person this problem would be attributed to was around Percy most of the day. They were in the same year, in the same house, had all the same classes. Hell, the person had shared his dorm with Percy for the last 4 years. The problem was Oliver Wood.

Now, most people who know Percy would expect the problem to be his untidiness, or his schedule, or his seemingly unwavering inability to do any school work on time. But it wasn’t. It was his charming smile, his gorgeous hair, and his practically flawless body. But mainly the problem lies with Percy’s own thoughts about those things.

Percy knew he wasn’t supposed to. He had heard the things people say about boys who like other boys. He knew what his mother thought of it. Merlin knows what Oliver would think about it if he could hear Percy’s thoughts. It was inappropriate and totally something he needed to get over.

The problem was that he couldn’t. He’s been trying for over a year. The fact that Oliver got more fit over the summer didn’t help it either. If he ever knew then he would surely want nothing to do with Percy. It had gotten so bad that Percy couldn’t stand to talk to Oliver anymore. The thoughts would occupy him every time he saw him. It was driving him insane.

Oliver started to notice this strange behavior too. It hurt him that one of his closest friends had suddenly started acting all weird around him. Every time he would even see Percy, he would quickly turn away or act like he was late for something. Oliver just wanted his friend back but how was he meant to go about it when Percy tried his hardest to not see him?

One night in the dorm, Percy was pretending to study. Now, he would be actually studying if his mind didn’t somehow loop back to Oliver every few minutes. Percy was clearly stressed out of his mind. Even the most socially inept person in the entire world could see it.

Oliver just entered the dorm room to see Percy at his desk practically shaking. He knew he needed to ask Percy what was wrong. This recent behavior was so unlike him that he considered telling Fred and George. All he wanted was to know his friend was okay.

Oliver walked over to the desk. “Hey, Perce. I’ve noticed you’ve been acting a bit weird lately,” He put his hand on Percy’s shoulder like he always does but Percy quickly pulled away. He couldn’t stand it anymore. “I was just wondering if everything was okay.” He said the last part with a bit of hurt due to Percy’s actions.

“I-I’m perfectly fine and ordinary, why do you ask?” Percy was rushing his words so much Oliver had to take a few seconds to understand it. “No you’re not, there’s clearly something wrong Perce…” “I don't want you calling me that anymore,” Percy said a bit too harsh than he meant. “I’ve called you that since first year. What is going on with you?” “Maybe I just outgrew it,” Percy said before turning back to his book.

“Why are you suddenly like this? Ever since the school year started you’ve been avoiding me and now it seems like you can’t stand me. If you can’t remember, we used to be best mates before all this shit started.” Oliver was getting fed up with Percy in a way he has never been before. Now he could see why everyone thinks he’s such a stuck up dick.

Percy tried to stop it, but the tears were leaking from his eyes. It took a few seconds for Oliver to notice but once he did his whole demeanor changed. “Percy I’m serious what’s wrong?” He’d never seen him cry before now. He tried to touch Percy’s hand but he quickly got up trying to walk away. Just as quickly, Oliver got his wand out and shut the door.

“I’m not gonna let you walk away from this, Percy. I know something is wrong just tell me. I’ve never even seen you cry before.” He grabbed Percy’s arm while he tried to yank it away. That’s when Percy finally broke.

“I can’t stand this anymore!” Percy screamed out, not even making an attempt to hide the fact he was crying. Oliver let go of his arm and took a step back. Surprisingly, he had never heard Percy scream before either. Percy walked over to his bed and sat down on it. Oliver sat down on his own bed right across from him, wanting to give Percy some space.

It took a while but Percy finally opened up. “I’m sick, Oliver,” Percy mumbled out. “What do you mean? If you’re sick you should go to the nurse.” “No not like that,” Percy said, trying his best not to look at Oliver. He was going through all the possible scenarios of how this could play out in his mind and most of them ended horribly.

“Percy, I don’t understand what you mean,” Oliver said. He was more confused than before. “Oliver I’m…” Percy couldn’t seem to get the last word out. He was so ashamed to admit it to him.

“You’re what, Percy?” Oliver said walking over to sit next to him. “I’m gay.” Percy managed to mumble out. Oliver was a bit taken aback. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Percy anymore it was that he didn’t expect it. It had taken a moment for him to process but by that time Percy was already getting up walking to the door.

“Percy, wait. We need to talk about this.” Oliver said following right behind him. “What is there to talk about, huh?” Percy spat out. He assumed Oliver wanted nothing more to do with him. “Why are you running away?” Oliver grabbed Percy’s shoulder. “Because it would only be logical for you to hate me.”

“Why would you say that? What did I do to make you think I hate you?” Oliver said, raising his voice. Percy scoffed at this. “Please why would you ever want to be friends with someone like me? I’m nothing more than a disgusting fa-”

“Percy Weasley don’t you dare finish that sentence. You aren’t, in fact, no one is. Never in my life would I think you were disgusting.” Oliver grabbed Percy’s shoulders and forced him to look at him. “You are the most amazing person I know, Percy. I would never hate you for something like this.” Oliver could feel himself starting to cry.

Percy didn’t know what to say, he felt like whatever he could say would ruin everything. He just stood there in the middle of the room, with Oliver, after everything that just happened. They stayed like this for a while because neither of them wanted it to end. But Percy knew Oliver wanted the full story of why he was acting like a total prick so he thought now would be better than never.

“Oliver there’s something else that I need to tell you.” Oliver looked up at Percy and waited for him to continue. Percy took a deep and somewhat shaky breath. “I don’t just like men, I like you, Oliver.” “You could’ve just said that from the beginning, Percy. I like you too.” Oliver said with a bit of a laugh.

Percy's eyes lit up “Really?” Oliver nodded. “I’ve been trying to tell you since year 3 but I couldn’t get myself to believe you would like someone like me.” “What are you talking about, Ollie, you’re amazing. Anyone would be lucky to have you.” “I could say the same thing about you too, Percy,” Oliver replied, making Percy blush a light shade of red. “But I’m glad we have each other.” He pulled Percy closer to him. It just seemed natural for the two to kiss.

Oliver had kissed other people before, boys and girls, but he had to say nothing felt better than kissing Percy. It was like something clicked. Nothing else mattered as long as he had Percy.

They had moved to Percy’s bed to be close to each other. Percy seemed so peaceful laying right next to Oliver. It was a welcomed change from the past few weeks.

“Does this mean you’ll stop ignoring me, Perce?” Percy sighed. “Yes, I’m sorry.” “You don’t have to apologize,” Oliver said, pulling himself a little bit closer to Percy. He was warm and smelled like old parchment. Oliver always strangely loved that smell but now he knows why.

“Also is it okay if we keep this a secret? I’m just not ready to come out to my family.” Percy said. Oliver could hear some of the sadness come back into his voice. “Of course it is, Percy. I’ll keep this our little secret for as long as you need it to be.” He nuzzled his head into Percy’s hair. “Stop you're gonna ruin it!” Percy said, trying to getaway.

“It’s practically 9 pm I think you can deal with some messed up hair for the night,” Oliver said while laughing. The rest of the night was spent like this. No one would suspect them to be more than friends. The prissy prefect and the star quidditch keeper. People would say they are an unlikely couple but the two would beg to differ. But no one would be saying anything about them, at least not for a great while. Perhaps it would be better this way, just him and Oliver. It was fine for both if no one else knew.

#harry potter #hogwarts #percy weasley #gryffindor #oliver wood #perciver #fanfiction #percy weasley x oliver wood #in love with your best friend #secret relationship #internalized homophobia

[dorkzrul]

32 Reasons Why

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Note: This is after the Second Titan War but Silena and Beckendorf never died and Percabeth never got together :(

<3<3<3

She yawned, sitting up on her bed. She got up to open the curtains of the cabin and “SURPRISE!!!”, yelled half the Aphrodite cabin. “What is going on. What's happening. Ughhhhh. It's too early for this!”, she cried, sleepily rubbing her eyes. “Don’t tell me you forgot, silly. It’s Valentine’s Day today!”, exclaimed Silena, perky as always. “Here you go!”, and she shoved a bunch of little pink bags covered in hearts, into Annabeth’s arms. “These are for the Athena Cabin, and Annabeth, there's something special in there for you”, she winked at Annabeth. Ugh, couldn't Silena know that the only person she’d ever want to receive a card from. Ugh!!! And now that Seaweed Brain was making her sappy. How could he not know that she liked her. For gods’ sake! Even the clueless Ares kids knew. She wanted to run over to his cabin (He was visiting camp for a week) and scream into his ear that she liked him. Here are the hints she has given him:

-She kissed him on the cheek.

-She asked him to ask her to dance.

-SHE FELL OFF A CLIFF FOR HIM!!!

-She refused the hunters for him.

-She agreed to dance with him up on Olympus.

-SHE KISSED HIM IN THE LABYRINTH!!!

-She was mad that he was at Calypso’s island while she thought he was dead.

-She was jealous of Rachel.

-SHE TOOK A KNIFE FOR HIM!!!

It was a pretty extensive list if she did say so herself. Hmm… maybe she should send him a card for Valentine’s Day. Anyways, gotta get to work. She segregated the cards and gifts and gave them to the respective Athena kids, and was rather surprised when she came across an envelope with her name untidily scrawled across the front. Her heart leapt. She’d recognize that handwriting anywhere, Percy’s. “Calm down Annabeth, it may just be a card telling how he thought of her as nothing more than a very good friend or maybe that she was like a sister to him”, she told herself. She opened the envelope and found a folded sheet of paper. ‘32 Reasons Why’, was written in big, bold letters on the top of the page. 32 reasons for what? She looked down and this is what she found.

You call me Seaweed Brain.

You let me call you Wise Girl, even though I know you hate nicknames.

What? Where was this going?

You have beautiful blonde hair.

You defy the stereotype “Dumb Blonde”.

You’re super smart.

You correct me when I mess up.

Your brilliant grey eyes.

Your tan skin that practically shines in the sun.

Your long legs.

Your pink lips.

She blushed at that. Had that Seaweed Brain been staring at her lips?

Just you (You’re beautiful you know)

You keep me on my toes.

You put up with my klutziness.

You put up with my Seaweed Brain-ness

You aren’t afraid of anything (except spiders).

You made me your official spider-killer.

You watch finding nemo and the little mermaid with me.

Oh my gods! The number of times she and Percy had cuddled on his couch and had a Disney movie marathon. She personally thought it was adorable how much he loved them, especially Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid.

My mom loves you.

You love my mom.

You baked a cake for me (with Tyson’s help)

The first thing you ever said to me was “You drool in your sleep”.

You like Tyson even though you hate cyclops.

You kissed me on the cheek.

You fell off a cliff for me.

You danced with me.

You kissed me in the labyrinth.

You were jealous of Rachel (btw you looked adorable when you were jealous)

Wait! Percy thought she was adorable… And he had apparently known that she was jealous and still insisted Rachel come… SHE WAS GOING TO KILL HIM!!!

You took a knife for me.

I turned down immortality for you.

You kept me alive when I was in the River Styx (You are my mortal anchor to the world).

Huh, she hadn't known that.

You are going to march over to my cabin after you read this and either kill or kiss me.

He really did know her. She was going to-Wait! Kiss?

I am in love with you.

32 Reasons Why I Love You

He loved her! That Seaweed Brain loved her! She couldn’t even be mad at him right now. She was just so happy… and turning into one of those Aphrodite girls… UGH! WHAT WAS THIS SEAWEED BRAIN DOING TO HER?!?! She was going to march over to his cabin right now and give him a… hug! NO! That was not what she was going to do! She was mad at him!!! She was going to give him a slap. Right? She immediately went over to his cabin. He was sleeping, drooling all over his pillow. And then he said something; her name. Somehow the combined ideas of her seemingly being in his dream as well as him drooling made Annabeth blush a red so bright, tomatoes would be jealous. “Wake up Seaweed Brain!”, she cried, shoving him so hard, he almost fell off the bed. “5 more minutes mom”, Percy sleepily muttered. Then he opened his eyes. “ANNABETH!”, he yelled in surprise and fell off his bed. She laughed until she noticed he was only wearing boxers. Her face immediately became a blazing red. She turned away,”PUT SOME CLOTHES ON SEAWEED BRAIN!” He didn't seem to have realised until then and immediately ran to the washroom to get dressed, leaving her standing there blushing. She’d never admit it but Percy was HAWT! He finally came out, this time wearing clothes. Half of her was relieved, but the other half, the one she tried to push deep inside, was disappointed. “So. What's up?”, Percy asked, seemingly nonchalant. That idiot! Had he really forgotten about it? Then, the Aphrodite cabin knocked on his door and shoved a box into his arms when he opened it. The box must have had at least 50 letters, cards and gifts from adoring girls. Annabeth could feel the jealousy boiling up inside her. She so wanted to snatch the box from his arms and throw it far away. Percy was HERS! Fortunately though, it seemed to have reminded Percy of the letter. His face was rapidly turning red and was avoiding her gaze. Annabeth decided to make him wait and didn't say anything. For a minute or so, none of them said anything. Then Percy burst out, “Annabeth, I can't take this any longer! Have you read it yet?” “What are you talking about, Seaweed Brain?”, asked Annabeth, deciding to have some fun with this. “The letter!”, exclaimed Percy. “Oh! That letter!” “So you have read it” “Maybeee” “Annabeth! Just tell me please!”, Percy begged. “Yeah, I have read it”, said Annabeth nonchalantly. “Wise Girl, you’re killing me”, Percy moaned and fell on the bed. She kissed him, right on the lips. And he had some nice ones. He made a surprised sound against her mouth and for a moment she was afraid she did something wrong. But Percy immediately pulled her closer and started kissing her back with just as much passion. Annabeth pulled back, gasping for air. “Sooo, does this mean you like me too?”, Percy asked. She glared at him,”DO I HAVE TO TATTOO IT ACROSS MY FOREHEAD?! Yes, I like you Seaweed Brain!” Percy smiled goofily and kissed her again. “Perce, you in there?”, they heard one of the Stolls call and quickly jumped apart. “So there you are”, smirked Connor. “And it seems like it finally happened huh. The great getting together of PERCABETH. Hey Travis”, he called for his brother who came in grinning a minute later. “Time for Plan Percabeth!” “Omg! I knew this was going to happen”, cried Silena as she rushed in, dragging a couple of campers with her. “To the lake”, Clarisse declared, and they dumped the couple in the lake. Underwater, Percy made an air bubble and it was them who had the last laugh as everyone convenienlt forgot that Percy was the son of Poseidon. They stayed down there for ages, just talking and laughing. And maybe they made out a little; but nobody has to know!

<3<3<3

Hey guys, dorkzrul here! Hope you guys enjoyed this fanfic. I may write a partner one-shot thingy featuring other couples like jasper, solangelo, gruniper, etc. so stay tuned for that. And don’t forget to leave a review. It really means a lot. Constructive Criticism is always welcome. Thanks for reading! Dorkzrul, signing off!

This story is also available of Fanfiction.net and Wattpad with the same name and username.

[kadmeread]

Not Over Yet - Chapter 1: A New Pantheon

If anyone is interested, I decided to redo this story, it is currently published under my account on fanfiction.net (kadmeread) there as well. But I thought I might publish this new version on here and AO3 (same username again) as well to hopefully get it out there. Please let me know what you think!

So this story is a PJO/HOO/TOA crossed over with MCGA. Set after Burning Maze and during Ship of the Dead. Basically the summary goes along the lines of; Jason's confused. Where the hell is he? This isn't Elysium...and there are Norse gods now?

Chapter 1: A New Pantheon

So I finally did it, I died. Now I’ve been close to dying before, I’ve even actually died for a minute, but I never expected to go so soon. When I did go I expected to wake up in the Underworld, on my way to be judged. I would hope that I would get judged worthy of Elysium, but it's hard to tell sometimes. Anyway, I did not expect to be holding the hand of a girl riding what looked like a venti. As I started to show signs of being awake she dropped me on this lawn. It was connected to this really large building, like Olympus sized. As I was looking around, the doors opened and I was addressed.

“Ahh, you’re early, oh well come on in Mr Grace.”

The guy who spoke had on a doorman’s uniform, but the rest of him contradicted the welcoming look. He had a distinctly viking like look, with the wild hair and beard. He had a large double bladed axe at this side and his hand hovered over it threateningly. I decided it would probably be the best idea to do what he said as I still wasn’t even sure if I was dead.

As I walked towards him I noticed the lack of pain, in theory I shouldn’t have even been able to walk, even if I had survived. But I couldn’t even feel any of the various wounds I knew I had gotten. When I looked down at myself I saw no sign of the wounds, I also noted that I was in my Camp Jupiter t-shirt, and IVLIVS was in my jeans pocket. I thought this was odd as I knew I had been using it when I died.

The doorman looked at me impatiently, “Well hurry it up,” he said. “You can’t hang out over there all day, we have other new arrivals expected after all.”

I sped up slightly and tried to work pout what exactly had actually happened. I had been fighting Caligula…Piper and Meg and Apollo had been there fighting with me…Oh gods, the Sybil’s prophecy…it had come true...I had died, I was now dead. I felt the weight of this realisation settle upon me. If I was dead then…

“Where am I?” I demanded. I was confident that this wasn’t any part of the Greco-Roman Underworld. Between Percy, and Nico, and Annabeth, and Hazel, and even Thalia, I knew what it all looked and felt like and smelt like. It was kind of sad that most of my friends could describe the entire Underworld to me like going there was an everyday thing.

The guy’s eyes softened, I really needed to get a name for him.

“All in good time lad,” he said, “For now let’s get you checked in.” He put a hand on my back and guided me in.

The foyer was larger than I expected considering the outside appearance, sure the building seemed tall, but large? Nope. I was no architecture expert like Annabeth, but I was pretty confident that it was physically impossible for the foyer to be this big without magic. The walls were covered in polished Viking shields, the floor almost reminded me of how Percy had described Diana’s tent; (that was a story, he was the only man to have gained her respect in centuries) covered in the pelts of various animals, including what appeared to be a dragon skin. On the right wall a large hearth crackled, I bowed my head towards it, Vesta probably wasn’t there but you never know, and she would always have my respect. There were pictures and statues of wolves scattered around the room, which I greatly appreciated, wolves always did make me feel at home after being raised by Lupa.

I found what appeared to be a reception desk and headed over there. Another guy who unless my dyslexia was acting up was called Helgi said “Welcome to Hotel Valhalla, here is your room key, it’s a suite.”

I had no idea what was going on so I decided the best idea was to ask this guy. “Ah...thanks, I guess? Where am I? This isn;t part of the Underworld is it?”

Helgi’s eyes crinkled “No, you are now in Valhalla, the home of the valiant warriors who shall fight in Ragnarok. Congratulations. In Midgard we are in Boston. Your Valkyrie should be by soon to answer any other questions you might have. Hunding…” He glanced at the other guy, well I knew his name now, “Can you please escort Mr Grace here to his room on Floor 19?”

Hunding nodded and gestured to a door through which I could hear the shouts and metal clanging. “Right this was Mr Grace.”

I shifted uncomfortably, I might not be like Thalia and have completely renounced our last name but I wasn’t used to it being constantly used. “Please, call me Jason.”

He looked at me strangely for a second before nodding.

After we went through the door, we came upon a lounge. We were walking through the lounge to the door on the other side, when a guy about my age came in. I noticed him because he wasn’t really bothering to try and avoid the weapons, nobody else really was, but he also wasn’t joining in on the shouting or other games going on. He appeared to be looking for someone. It became obvious who he was looking for when he came over and started up a conversation with Hunding. I stood there awkwardly for 5 minutes as Hunding had forgotten about me for his conversation. Eventually the other guy gave Hunding what looked like some chocolate before noticing me for the first time. He gave a start and looked me up and down before smiling at me and asking Hunding.

“Who’s the new guy?”

Hunding glanced at me and replied “Jason Grace, just came in today. He’s actually going to be your new neighbour.”

“Really? Cool…” he nodded at me “You’ll have the corridor to yourself soon.” He told me before turning back to Hunding, “Would you me to show him around until Sam gets here, I’m guessing he’s one of hers? I know Helgi will have a bunch of other jobs for you to do.”

Hunding beamed at that, “Yeah he’s one of Samirah’s, and I’d really appreciate it thanks Magnus, you’re a star.”

Magnus turned towards me as Hunding walked off. As I got a good look at him, his eyes startled me, they were the same steel grey as Annabeth’s although they were a lot friendlier, that girl was scary.

“Hi,” he said, “I’m Magnus, welcome to Valhalla.” He held out his hand for me to shake.

I took it saying “Thanks, Jason Grace.”

He looked down at my arm and noticed my tattoo, I had forgotten about it. I wanted to ask about his reaction as he almost seems to recognise it but he forestalled me by asking, “So what impressively heroic feat did you do to end up here?”

As I turned to follow him as we got into an elevator to go up to my new floor I told him, “Umm...I got stabbed in the back with a spear.”

He winced “Ouch, I know how that feels.”

He seemed to be a good person to ask what the Hades was going on. “So,” I continued, “What exactly is Valhalla?”

He looked uncomfortable, “I’m probably not the best person to explain this, but basically it’s the Norse afterlife for those who died heroically with a weapon in hand.”

“Ok…” I decided that until I was sure what the Hades was going on I wouldn’t mention that I’m in the wrong afterlife. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t meant to go to the Norse afterlife instead of the Underworld.

After standing in an awkward silence for a few seconds the elevator finally arrived at floor 19. Magnus told me all about my new neighbours as we passed their rooms. “So this is Halfborn’s room, he’s your typical Viking; big, hairy, thickheaded, good to have on your side in a fight. He and Mallory are in an on again off again relationship, so tread carefully there, I think they aren’t currently together. That’s T.J’s room, he was a soldier in the Civil War. He fought with the Union and is obsessed with hills, I think it’s a Civil War thing.”

I nodded, “I have a friend whose grandmother was a slave, she wasn’t happy to hear that my forebears were Confederates.”

Magnus nodded, “Yeah probably best not to mention that to T.J either. Anyway that’s Mallory’s room, she’s Irish and has the brogue to match. Don’t get on her bad side, her knives are always sharp.” I thought that she sounded kind of like Annabeth and noted to be careful where I stepped with her.

I then pointed to a door which had Alex Fierro and a snake like symbol on it and asked, “What about him?”

Magnus hesitated before answering, “That’s Alex’s room...she’s genderfluid, so be careful what you say about her.”

I nodded absorbing that information, “Sorry about that, almost sounds like you have a crush on her.”

Magnus looked kind of panicked “What?! No...she’s just...cool. Anyway, you're here beside me.” He hurriedly pointed to the next door.

I looked at the door for my new home. It was purple and orange, reminding me of the two camps. Magnus looked queasy at the colour choices but it made me feel nostalgic for my cabin on the Argo, it’s door had been the exact same, all the doors had all been like that, in order to remind us what we were fighting for. I opened the door and was transported to the lounge of the Argo, it even had the Camp Half Blood video walls, but it also had Camp Jupiter ones as well.

“How did they do this?” I asked in awe, wandering around.

Magnus grinned and said “Magic, it takes your best memories and recreates them to make you feel at home here. My rooms have a tree. What’s the reasoning behind yours, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Uhh…” I said as I caught sight of the Superman poster in my bedroom, that Leo had hung in my room in the Argo as a joke. “This is the lounge area from a cruise I went on with some of my friends and family. The video walls were created by a genius friend of mine, they show videos of the summer camps we went to, we all met at them.”

“Wow,” he said looking at some photos. “Are these your friends?”

I joined him and picked up one of the photos, which had me, the rest of the Seven and Nico and Reyna in it. We had taken the photo in Epirus, so Percy and Annabeth were still looking a little the worse for wear, but we were all ecstatic to have survived to close the Doors of Death and to have Annabeth and Percy back with us.

I felt close to crying, “Yeah, those are my friends, this one has all of us who went on the cruise and a couple of others who flew out to join us, we’re in Epirus, which is in Greece. That’s Nico,” I pointed as I named them and described them for Magnus. “The goth looking boy, he’s my cousin along with Percy and Hazel. Reyna, we grew up together, she’s one of my best friends, she’s amazing, a natural leader and very strong in all ways. Frank, he's a beast man, I didn’t really know him all that well when we first went on the cruise, but now he’s a good friend. He’s also a distant cousin of Percy’s I think. Hazel, she’s Nico’s half sister, and the sweetest thing alive. She and frank are together and adorable about it. Then it’s Annabeth, she’s crazy smart, and super scary.” Magnus smiled at that for some reason, but I carried on. “When I first met her, she was looking for her boyfriend and thought I might know where he was. She scared the heebie jeebies out of me, when she stalked up to me demanding to know where he was. We’re close now though, my older sister practically raised her as a kid. Next is Percy, Annabeth’s boyfriend, he’s kinda the leader of our group of friends, but he’s really cool, we’re bros. He and Annabeth had just got back from a really hard tramp, which is why they weren’t looking so good. Then it’s Piper, we’re best friends, at the time this photo was taken, we were together, but she broke up with me later because she felt it wasn’t working. Her mum pushed her into it, her mum is a crazy matchmaker and really ships Percy and Annabeth together. Then it’s me, and then it’s my boy, Leo the Supersized McShizzle, he’s annoying and a bit of a jokester, but we’ve been through a lot together. He decided to go AWOL for a bit, and I only just found out where he was.” I choked back a sob, “We were about to see each other again too, when I died. Oh, and this…” I picked up another photo. “Is Thalia, my sister, she had only just found me again before we went on that cruise. My stepmother decided to raise me, and then Thalia ran away because our mum was abusive, and she didn’t even know I was alive. Gods she’s going to be devastated when she hears…” I trailed off lost in thought of all the friends and family that I had lost, and Magnus quietly slipped out the door behind me.

I hope you enjoyed! Please do let me know what you think, and I’ll try and get the next chapter up soon hopefully. Redoing this in part was me trying to get past writer’s block on some of my other projects, but if you guys ever want feel free to send in prompts or requests for me to write, it’s always nice to get feedback etc.

#percy jackon and the olympians #heroes of olympus #trials of apollo #magnus chase and the gods of asgard #jason grace #magnus chase #the burning maze #the ship of the dead

[mollymauk-tieflief]

Man to Man

Percy was standing tall, his back straight as a rod, his hands clasped behind him. He was particularly formal, even more so than usual. If Grog and Vax had been there, they probably would have made jokes about something in his ass. They weren’t though there, in fact there was nobody there to make fun of him, not even Vex to smile to herself and admire him before cracking a joke to make him lighten up.

The only one there to see Percy more stiff than he had been in years was Trinket.

The large, brown bear was sitting down under the Sun Tree, sitting almost exactly where Vex had been sitting that morning. That thought alone set his heart racing all over again, but he focused back on the almost black eyes that watched Percy with an intelligence that took him a long time to get used to.

Percy was looking at Trinket as he would any equal, very few ever received such recognition and he hoped the bear understood that he meant it. “I know we don’t spend much one on one time together,” Percy realized that if anyone had told him years ago he would be talking to bear like this he would have assumed it was because he had a mental break. That was technically not wrong, but it was certainly not how he had expected his life to go. Which, he supposed, could be used to describe much of the last couple of years.

Trinket grunted and scratched at his stomach. Percy took it as a good sign, he had seen Trinket when he was not interested and that usually meant someone had to clean up after him. Percy straightened up even more, and took a single breath before he said, “I wanted to tall you that I asked your mother to marry me this morning.” He felt a rush go through him again.

           You could marry me, he’d said with a laugh. It’d been a joke. It’d been a passing comment about how they didn’t want to be like Vax and Keyleth.

           A slow smile formed on her lips, Don’t tease me, darling, I might say yes.

           They were sitting under the Sun Tree, taking in their city, their home, their new life together. It was calm, they had come out to see the sunrise because Percy insisted that there were few places more beautiful than underneath the Sun Tree watching the sun crest the mountains. Vex had to admit, he was right.

           If you think that scares me off you might want to think again, it was still a joke, but it wasn’t a lie. He had known for a long time, he could spend the rest of his life with her.

           I’ll do it, I’ll say yes and then we’ll be engaged and you won’t be able to back out. A teasing threat, but her heart was pounding and she couldn’t imagine being the first to back down.

           Engaged? You’re underestimating how quickly I can put together a wedding, dear. I can have us married by the end of the night. You could have people calling you Lady de Rolo before dinner if you’re not careful. It was true. And…well Percy hadn’t really thought about it much, he’d been so happy with the way things were that he hadn’t thought much about taking it farther. Now that it was out in the open…well it felt right.

           Don’t make a promise you can’t keep, she bit her bottom lip, the smile only growing as she thought about it. Percy. Her husband. A wedding in her home with the man she loved.

           All you have to do is say yes and I can get started right now.

           Yes.

           Both of them were silent, smiling at each other with bright eyes and a sudden swell of adrenaline. I’m going to do it. Right here at sunset there will be a wedding. It was still a warning, Percy was grinning and looking at her like he couldn’t believe that they were even talking about it.

           Do it then. I’ll be here in a lovely dress waiting for you. They fell quiet for a moment, soft smiles gracing their lips. She reached up to touch his cheek and Percy instinctively leaned into her hand. I mean it, Percy.

           We’re really doing this, aren’t we? He covered her hand with his and turned his head to kiss her palm.

           She didn’t exactly answer that question so much as pose one of her own. Marry me?

           Absolutely.

Trinket huffed and started to shift about, drawing Percy out of his memory. “It just sort of came out, if I had planned it I would have come to you first. Talked to you man to man,” man to bear technically, but Percy knew not to underestimate how human this bear truly was. “She wanted to tell you of course, but I asked her if I could.”

Trinket was standing at full height now, towering above even Percy, and looking down at him. Percy could see why so many people believed him to be a threat. Percy adjusted his shoulders and lifted his chin to look up at his fiancé’s bear. “I wanted to make sure that we were on the same page and I, well I know how important you are to Vex’ahlia and perhaps I could have been more upfront about it but you are important to me as well. I suppose I wanted to ask for your blessing. I love her,” his chest felt tight and full to bursting because gods he couldn’t think of her without being absolutely positive all of the love in the world was being contained inside of him, “I love her but I want you to know that—”

A long, rough, and disgustingly wet tongue went over the top of his head with a terrible slurping sound. Percy could feel the spit in his hair and knew that his hair had been flattened and slicked back at the top compared to the fluff over the rest of his head.

And then Trinket dropped back down to all fours and bumped his head into Percy’s chest. Percy raised his eyebrows in surprise, then smiled and scratched him behind the ears, and then said. “Come on, we have a lot of work to do to get everything ready by sunset.”

 Percy was standing under the Sun Tree, candles and ornate (though mismatched due to time constraints) torches lit up the square. Keeper Yennen was standing beside him, looking down at the pages in his hands and mumbling something under his breath, practicing or rewriting perhaps. It’s not like Percy had given him much time to prepare.

His sister was there, people who had been passing by and stopped to see what the Lord and Savior of Whitestone was doing with Keeper Yennen underneath the Sun Tree, dresses in his formal version of his dark blue travelling coat. It was obvious he was in the middle of something big and there were those who wanted to see what it was.

They had decided that this would be theirs, that it was for them and no one else and sure, one day they would tell their friends and the rest of their family, but at least for a little while…it was only theirs.

For a moment though, despite having asked her again a few hours ago, he wondered if she was going to show up. He had gone to her room, a sly grin on his lips, and he had told her once again that he was working on it and pretty soon she wouldn’t be able to back out. She had teasingly answered by telling him if he wasn’t ready he could just say so. And when he had assured her he was more than ready she shooed him out so that she could pick a dress and get ready.

Even so, as the sky began to shift to reds and oranges, Percy wondered if perhaps he had taken it too seriously. What if she really had meant it all as a joke?

Music began to play, nothing major just a few of the locals who could play. It was simple and anyone who had been walking by probably wouldn’t have assumed it was the wedding of two of the most important people of the city, but it filled the cooling air and Percy felt like he was on fire and frozen and above all like he was in love.

He turned his head to look over his shoulder and there she was, walking down the aisle with a huge brown bear at her side. She was wearing a navy dress, one he had always loved on her. The straps fell from her shoulders, the bodice had silver and gold moons, stars, and suns embroidered on it, and on this cool night she wore a cloak on her shoulders.

And she was breathtaking.

She smiled at him as she walked towards him, a bouquet of flowers in one hand and the other on Trinket. And he could see it in her eyes, the overwhelming weight of the love he felt for her that he was positive only he could ever feel? She knew it just as intimately.

Yennen said his words, Percy hoped that later he would remember them, but honestly the only thing in his entire world that night was Vex. Her face the only thing he could see, her perfume the only scent in the air, the sparks where her skin touched his the only thing he felt, the sound of her voice the only one he heard, and her lips the only thing he could taste.

They danced to the most beautiful music in the world, played by average musicians Percy had managed to scrap together last minute, and ate the most wonderful food the cooks had whipped together in record time, and they were married in the most beautiful place on earth, Whitestone at sunset.

---

Feel free to give me a kudos on ao3 if you want to show some love, username inadistantworld since I can’t link you guys to it anymore

#critfic #critical role #vex'ahlia #percival de rolo #perc'ahlia #trinket #sometimes i just think about how much i love them and i have to put it on a page

[xthis-rebelle]

Don’t Let Go.

So I entered the PJO Secret Santa 2017 ( @pjosecretsanta2k17) and here’s my piece for my giftee; @basic-volk ((if you have an ao3, please give me your username so that i can gift it to you there, thanks))

Hope you enjoy it! Special thanks to @rosyredlipstick for beta’ing this for me.

title; don’t let go.

pairing(s); solangelo (Nico di Angelo//Will Solace), jasiper (Jason Grace//Piper McClean); percabeth (Percy Jackson//Annabeth Chase); reynabeth (Reyna Arellano//Annabeth Chase).

rating; general//teen.

notes; you didn’t ask for anything specific and this was gonna be a series, but I didn’t have the time to write it, so here’s 4.8 k words of solangelo angst and fluff instead :) also, nico calls will ‘amore’ (love) and things are implied, but not shown. This also set in a mortal a/u. Read it on the AO3.

Will Solace knows when his boyfriend is keeping a secret. For all the years they’d been together, (eight years, they’d gotten together when they were seventeen, exactly two months after Nico and him went on their first date: an annual Christmas fair that Nico knew Will badly wanted to go to) Nico has kept a secret exactly three times.

The first time, when he was nineteen, he told Will he was fine. In fact, he wasn’t. It had been his first Christmas since his mother and sister died. They were out shopping, and a drunk driver lost control of his vehicle, ran a red light and slammed into the car they were using, and they both, along with the di Angelo’s driver, Jules Albert, didn’t make it. Nico didn’t tell Will that it was eating him up inside. That he felt guilty, because he constantly questioned himself: how could he enjoy himself with his boyfriend and his mother and Bianca weren’t there anymore?

Another time, when he was twenty-one, he kept the fact that their close friends, Percy (who Nico liked at one point) and Annabeth had broken up and Annabeth was now together with Reyna, someone who Nico considered a second sister.

And finally, when he was twenty-three, he hid from Will the fact that he’d quit his job after graduating from college and was going to start to work at the DA’s office. The DA’s office had approved his application as soon as they saw he’d graduated at the top of his law class. Will, a medical prodigy, was going to start residency soon. Nico felt as if that would take a toll on them both and their already tight finances and so he wanted to be able to pick up whenever they fell short. They barely had any funds left for themselves after they paid rent, bills and bought monthly necessities, such as groceries. The drastic increase in salary for Nico would be able to comfortably cover it all, plus there would be enough left over for them to actually start saving properly, instead of depositing some money at random times only to have to withdraw it for some financial emergency, like the time when their rent had raised unexpectedly and they had to dip into the savings pool.

So Will knows when Nico is keeping a secret. He sees the signs. Nico is even more quiet than usual and he avoids looking Will in the eyes. In the aforementioned instances, Nico eventually caved and told Will everything. After talking through them, after letting Nico know that he could trust Will and he shouldn’t hide anything because effective communication was the key to a healthy relationship, all was good again.

But this time, Nico isn’t only keeping a secret, he’s lying. Even though Will gets a bit ticked off when Nico has his secrets, he respects Nico’s privacy, so he doesn’t push it, but something rubs him the wrong way when he knows Nico is lying and keeping secrets.

It’s almost seven o'clock when Will sits on the couch, thinking about all these things, waiting for Nico to come home. He has the night off for the first time this week. His week so far has been really hectic; working in the E.R. is no child’s play; all doctors were always busier during Christmas time, and honestly? He just wants to relax with his boyfriend.

His exhausting fifteen hour shift yesterday also adds to his exhaustion, doing nothing but giving him baggy eyes, a lethargic, sluggish feeling and dull, but normally brilliant blue eyes.

Outside is snowing and the couch is so warm and he has his favourite blanket wrapped around him. The news broadcast plays softly in front of him and the fire in the fireplace blazes bright.

He doesn’t know when he falls asleep.

When he wakes up, he groans and stretches his hand, grabbing his phone from the night stand next to his bed. Blurred numbers meet his eyes for a few seconds as he turns it on, but he gasps when his vision clears. It’s almost nine in the morning. Then, he realizes that he’s in his bed. The other side smells of Nico and the sheets are wrinkled. Nico was there, and it seems as though he’s already left for work.

Will starts to panic when work crosses his mind, and quickly checks the hospital roster he keeps on his wall. He doesn’t have a shift today, thank God, but he does have a twelve hour tomorrow morning at eight.  

He goes to the kitchen, sleepily pushing his blonde hair away from his forehead and makes a cup of coffee, black, just the way he likes it. After, he pours some Frosted Flakes into a bowl. He sits and has breakfast alone on a small dining table meant for two, his heart sinking in further into his chest.

He misses Nico so damn much.

They knew it was going to be hard when Will started residency and when Nico started working. They promised each other to face their obstacles together and to talk to each other if it was becoming too much for them to handle. But now, they were doing the exact opposite, and it feels like Nico is slowly drifting away. The distance and lack of communication between him and his boyfriend is slowly taking its toll on him. He can’t help the wobbling in his lower lip. One of the things he was always afraid of was watching their relationship slowly crumble, and Will feels like that’s exactly what he’s doing. He doesn’t have the emotional energy to deal with this so he goes back to bed after, and cries softly into his pillow.

His phone vibrates and there’s a tiny hope that it’s Nico.

Instead, it’s his best friend and fellow resident, Jason Grace.

Hey Will, I’ll drop by in half an hour with Piper to pick up the stuff for the annual hospital children’s Christmas party.

Will drags himself out of bed again, does his usual morning routine of brushing his teeth again after breakfast, showering, then changing into his at-home favourites: a plain, round-neck t-shirt and black sweats (it was too cold for his usual cargo shorts), and then brushing back his unruly hair, only for it to fall over his forehead again.

Finally, he puts on his happy face, smiling at himself in the mirror. The smile looks believable, so he leaves his bedroom.

Will knows outside is still cold and snowing, so he starts to prepare some hot chocolate for Jason and Piper to warm them up when they get to his apartment.

Then, he sits on the couch, picks up the novel he’d begun to read a week ago from the small table next to him, opens it to the bookmarked page and lets himself be taken into a different world for a while.

True to his word, Jason arrives within half an hour after the text within half an hour of the text being sent, Piper at his side.

“Hey Jase,” he greets them both with a hug, “Pipes.”

Will ushers them inside, since Piper is shivering in Jason’s arms.

“Do you guys want some hot chocolate? I just made it, so it’ll warm you up,” Will offered.

Piper gratefully accepts the offer. Will goes into the kitchen while they hang their coats and settle in and he comes back with two tall, steaming mugs of hot chocolate, which he places on the center table for them.

“How are Annabeth and Reyna?” Will asks.

Piper is close with the couple. They hang out every other week, even though Annabeth and Reyna married two years ago. Will never found out the whole story, but from what Nico told him, the whole thing between Percy, Annabeth and Reyna was really, really messy and they didn’t want anybody involved, so it was kept secret. Nico and Piper were the only ones who knew the actual story because they were the closest to the three.

Although Will should have been mad at Nico for keeping the secret (he was, for a few days, until he found out Piper hadn’t told Jason anything either), he let it go because he knew when not to pry. And that was a no-go zone. Whatever happened was so bad, Percy and Annabeth don’t even talk anymore.

“They’re fine. They’re actually starting to consider adoption,” Piper says to Will, a large smile gracing her lips as her eyes sparkle, excitedly.

“Wow, that’s a pretty big step,” Will’s eyes widen.

“It is,” Piper coos, sipping her chocolate, “They think they’re ready to start a family. I might be an aunt this time next year!”

“That’s really good, I’m happy for them,” Will says, with a small smile, “They’ll be really great parents.”

“And what about you? And Nico?” Jason asks innocently, unaware of the couple’s inner turmoil, or rather, Nico’s obliviousness to Will’s inner turmoil and insecurity.

Will sighs, his smile leaving his lips, “We’re fine.”

Jason narrows his eyes in suspicion. Will isn’t acting like his normally bright, bubbly self. He gets the feeling that Will isn’t telling him something, but he feels as though it isn’t his place to point out his observations. They make more small talk while Piper and Jason are finishing their hot chocolate, and the couple doesn’t stay too long after.

Will’s left all alone again when they leave.

He receives a text from another co-worker, Kayla, shortly after. The words makes his heart drop.

Hey Will, don’t mean to alarm you, but I wanted to let you know that I saw Nico walking past the hospital with a dark-haired, surfer-type of looking dude.

Will’s breath catches in his throat.

Dark hair, huh?

Percy.

Although he tries not to think about it, there’s a tiny voice in the back of his head that keeps nagging at him, keeps asking the one question that he’s trying to avoid.

Was Nico cheating on him? Was Nico finally bored of him, like he’d worried?

No. He wouldn’t, Will thinks firmly, silencing the voice in his head, Nico wouldn’t lie to Will without a good reason for doing so. And he definitely wouldn’t cheat. He’s a good person.

Against his better judgement, Will lets it go, picking up his novel again.

He doesn’t know Throne of Glass could be so interesting. Or distracting.

It’s about six o'clock when Nico gets home. Will is in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

“Will?” Will hears his voice call as the apartment door opens.

“In the kitchen!” Will replies.

Will sees Nico walking into the kitchen. He hugs Will from behind, pressing his lips to Will’s cheek as Will cuts carrots on the island. He’s making stir-fried vegetables and, not to toot his own horn, it smells heavenly.

“Percy stopped by, wanna come say hi before he goes home?” Nico asks, burying his face in the curve between Will’s neck and shoulder, arm still around his waist.

Will shoves away the unpleasant, green eyed monster that threatens to unleash itself when Nico lets him go. He turns off the stove and turns in the direction of the living room to tell Percy hi. What kind of person would he be if there’s a guest in his home and he doesn’t say hello?

Percy leaves after saying goodbye to them both and Will goes back into the kitchen to resume making dinner.

Nico follows Will into the kitchen, noticing his cold and detached attitude. It’s not the type of attitude he usually has, and they both know this.

“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?” he asks Will, frowning, “What did I do?”

“What?” Will’s eyebrows knit together, “Look, can you please let me enjoy my day off and make dinner? I don’t have the mental capability to get into this right now.”

“Will,” Will can see the hurt in Nico’s eyes as he says this, “You’ve been acting strange all week. Just talk to me, please.”

“Okay, fine!” Will finally raises his voice a tiny bit, not full-on shouting, but just enough to allow some of the frustration he’s been bottling up free, “You wanna talk, Nico? Let’s talk!”

Will’s phone rings, startling both him and Nico, and they jump in shock. Will looks at the caller I.D.

It’s the hospital. He answers the call.

“Will Solace,” he says.

“Oh thank God,” Will recognizes the voice of his supervisor, Dr. Chiron Brunner, “Will, I need you down at the E.R. stat. We need all hands on deck right now.”

“Is everything alright?” Will asks, keeping his own tone calm, despite the underlying hint of panic in Dr. Brunner’s voice.

“I have the other residents busy with a patient who suffered a stroke and caught a seizure when he was rushed in and victims of a four way crash on an intersection due to a driver skidding on some ice. The ambulance just went for a pick up and we need the help,” Dr. Brunner says in a rush.

“Dr. Brunner, it’s my day off. I’ve been pulling over twelve-hour long shifts all week,” Will responds, while rubbing his forehead, his frustration at it’s maximum point, “Plus I have some personal issues right now that I really have to work out. I don’t think I’m fit to be working at the moment.”

“I understand, Will I really do, but we really need you here. Our hands are really full. Even Jason and Kayla are here,” Dr. Brunner says.

“Dr. Brunner,” Will starts, but he’s cut off.

“Please,” Will can hear the desperation in his superior’s voice.

Will feels upset and agitated, because there are lives that are at stake here and saving them is supposed to be his priority as a future doctor. But at the same time, he needs to talk to Nico, he needs to deal with his own issues, their issues. Will realizes that he has to make the choice he knew he had to make eventually, but was dreading to make.

It’s either his job or his relationship.

“Okay, I’ll be on my way,” Will says and disconnects the call.

Dinner is forgotten as he explains the situation to Nico while grabbing his phone, wallet, keys, hospital I.D. and coat. It’s a good thing he lives almost five minutes away from the hospital.

“We’ll talk as soon as I get home, okay? I promise,” Will says to Nico before he rushes out of their shared apartment.

He doesn’t kiss Nico on the cheek this time. Nor does he tell him he loves him.

The hospital lights shine brightly above him, in the dark December night. Inside the hospital smells of bleach and disinfectant.

He catches his breath, tired from running. He dusts the bits of snow off his hair and clothes. The weather had thankfully held up until he’d gotten to the hospital; it was lightly snowing, unlike this morning. He hurriedly puts on his scrubs in the residents’ office and goes into the main E.R., where, he meets Dr. Brunner. Together, they wait for the ambulance to arrive as Jason and Kayla and two others try to save another patient.

Will is functioning purely on caffeine now. Ten hours have passed since he came to the hospital and he’s on his fifth cup of hospital brewed coffee. It’s cheap coffee and it tastes horrible. Dr. Brunner takes Will into his office after everything settles and asks him if he’s okay. Will mentally adds that to the list of questions he doesn’t know how to answer, ut laughs Dr. Brunner’s question off, telling him he’s okay.

Within those ten hours, however, they’ve saved multiple lives.

The man who had caught a stroke and had the seizure, a teenaged boy, which was the one the ambulance went to pick up, and so far, two of the persons involved in the accident.

Dr. Brunner sends him to talk to the boy, since no one else seems to have any luck.

The boy’s name is Brandon, he notices, glancing at the chart in his hand, and he’s reminded of Nico. Brandon has black hair and blue eyes whereas Nico’s was brown, and whatever they were lacking in height, they more than made up for in attitude. Will looks at the chart in his hand.

He’s reminded of his boyfriend again, of how they’d met. Nico had been hospitalized at fifteen, too, for the same reasons as Brandon. Will’s dad was his doctor and he brought Will to see Nico, to keep him company, so that he wouldn’t be as lonely and he’d have someone his age to talk to. They went to the same school and Will made sure Nico was up to date with all of his work. While they talked, they discovered they  both had lots of things in common and a friendship was born. Will had even been there when Nico’s dad had broken down at the thought of losing any of his family (completely unaware of the tragedy that would later befall the di Angelo’s) and even though he never fully accepted it, which was the reason why Nico had ended up in the hospital in the first place, he tried to come to terms with Nico’s sexual orientation.

Two years later, after being close friends and lots of mutual pining, Nico asked Will out, and soon after, they got together. Nico’s dad was still trying his best to accept it, but he was genuinely happy for both his son and Will.

The world beneath Will’s feet spins uncomfortably. He presses his fingers to his temple and finishes Brandon’s chart. He gets the hell out of the room right after.

He’s sitting in the waiting area, eating a pack of potato chips when Jason finds him.

“Are you alright?” He asks Will, biting his lip worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Will smiles, the lie slipping easily.

Will knows he’s not. God, he must look like a hot mess. He’s too exhausted, he hasn’t had a proper meal for the past day, and his brain feels like it’s being fried inside his head.

Half an hour later, he passes out in the residents’ office.

The rest of the night is a blur. He’s vaguely aware of Nico’s voice arguing with Dr. Brunner. Someone helps him to Nico’s car and then he’s in their apartment.

When he comes to, for good this time, he can hear Jason and Nico talking. It takes him a moment to gain his bearings. He’s in his bed, in his room.

“— Hasn’t been taking care of himself. Something, and my instincts tell me it’s related to you two, is off. So you better man up and talk to him,” Will hears Jason say seriously, “It’s been bothering him all week.”

“I knew it,” Nico sounds frustrated with himself, “I knew that something was bugging him. We were going to talk before he was called to work.”

Will doesn’t want to get out of the bed. He rolls onto his side, yawning. He feels like he’s been hit by a train.

“Dr. Brunner cancelled all his shifts for the next week,” Jason says, after a heavy pause.

“Oh. I’ll let him know,” he hears Nico reply, and then a door closes.

Nico comes into their room. Will see his mess of black hair first, followed by his lithe, small body. Will turns, facing Nico as he lies next to Will, on his side, and runs his fingers through Will’s soft curls.

“How’re you feeling, babe?” Nico asks, pressing his lips against Will’s forehead.

“You want the honest answer or an answer?” Will responds, relishing the small touch.

“Honest answer, always,” Nico answers, furrowing his eyebrows, pursing his full, rosy red lips, “Are you implying something?”

“Do you think I’m implying something?” Will whispers.

“Damn it, Will,” Nico says, “If you have something to say, just say it—“

“Are you cheating on me?” Will blurts, looking him dead in the eye.

Nico looks taken aback, as though that’s the most ridiculous thing Will has ever said.

“What?” Nico still looks shocked as he stares at Will.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Will feels like he’s about to cry.

“No, Will. Babe, why would I do that?” Nico asks, grabbing Will’s hand, not breaking eye contact, not even once.

“You’re keeping something from me. You’re hanging out with Percy all the time and you’re lying to me,” Will mumbles, letting a few tears escape his eye, “And I know how you felt about him. So I..I don’t know. I just thought.”

Nico reaches out, hesitantly, and wipes the tears away from Will’s cheek, his pale hand standing out nicely against Will’s evenly tanned skin. Nico’s touches are warm and comforting, and Will wants to do nothing but lean into them, but he resists the urge to do so.

“Amore, what I felt for Percy is nothing compared to what I feel for you. Percy was nothing but a stupid crush,” he tells Will, still maintaining eye contact.

Will feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulder. His heart is not as heavy. He lets out a broken sob, nodding in relief and Nico just shakes his head before he wraps Will in his strong embrace. Will buries his head in Nico’s chest and inhales deeply, taking comfort in his familiar, earthy scent. Just like that, Will is grounded. He’s home.

Don’t let go, he silently pleads.

Instead, Nico holds on to him as he cries, the ugly, loud gasping, hiccupping, snotty type of crying, finally snapping and letting go of all the pain and frustration. Nico runs his hands through the taller man’s hair, rubbing soothing circles into the small of his back. His touches silently reassure Will; I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you. Let it out, babe. I’ve got you.

They stay like this until nightfall, Will safe and tucked away from the world in Nico’s arms, until Will hears his stomach growl loudly, breaking the tension in the room. His face heats in embarrassment and Nico lets go of him with a small smile, gently pulling Will up to a sitting position with him.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Will realizes that throat is sore from all the gasping and sobbing as he asks this.

“Come to the kitchen, I made us lunch. But I guess it’s dinner now,” Nico tells him, furrowing his brows, “We’ll talk more over a proper meal. The only reason you got to come home was because your supervisor pulled some strings. I never realized how badly this was affecting you, amore.”

Will realizes he only remembers bits and pieces of that night as he allows Nico to lead him to the kitchen. He doesn’t care about what he remembers and doesn’t remember anyways, all that matters right now is food. His stomach lightly growls again as he inhales the aroma of whatever Nico cooked.

Nico tells to him not to sit yet, and Will watches curiously as he shuffles around in the kitchen, definitely out of his element, running his hands through his hair and swearing in frustration in soft Italian.

He places a tablecloth on top of their small dining table. Then, he adds silverware, and he places a small candle in the middle of the table.

Will’s curiosity doesn’t diminish as Nico pulls the chair out and motions for him to sit. He does so, and Nico pushes the chair in.

Then, he brings around a plate of what looked like fettuccine alfredo with chicken and places it in front of him.

Will’s favourite Italian dish.

“I, uh, meant to do this on Christmas morning, but that’s, like, two days away,” Nico rubs the back of his neck, “And it seems that now would be the more appropriate time.”

“To do what?” Will asks, totally confused as he takes a bite of the alfredo, but Nico ignores him, going into their room.

He comes back with something in his hand.

“What’s that?” Will questions, looking at Nico, who looks a bit paler than usual.

Nico doesn’t answer, but sits opposite him and sets the small velvet box in front of Will.

Will gasps, his heart beating faster. The tips of his ear tinge red. Oh God. Did Nico get him some kind of jewelry? He never did like jewelry–

“It’s custom made,” Nico explained, “This is what I’ve been keeping from you. Percy was with me when I went to pick it up. And he was helping me come up with a special way to give it to you.”

“Wh-what?” Will gasps.

“So no, I wasn’t cheating on you. In fact, I wanted to ask you if you would give me the honour of calling you my husband,” Nico says, his voice calm. He gets out of his chair and goes down on one knee in front of Will and his hand shakes ever so slightly as he opens the box.

Inside it is a silver band, inlaid with garnet, sapphire and amethyst patterns. A line of amethysts ran in a circle on the outside of the ring, sapphires below the amethysts and garnets above them. It took Will a moment to realize the meaning behind the stones. It was their birth stones; January, Nico’s month, were the garnets and September, Will’s month, were the sapphires, and month they’d gotten together, February, were the amethysts.

“See, I love you, and I’m sure now that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Only you. You’ve seen me at my worst and you’ve seen me at my best and you’ve always accepted me for who I am. You’ve been there for me at my lowest, and you’ve helped me overcome some of the biggest challenges in my life; especially when my mother and Bianca died. You helped me with my depression and my insomnia. You helped me overcome my insecurities, but I wasn’t there to help you with yours. I wasn’t there to reassure you that were my sun and my stars and I wasn’t there to make sure you were taking care of yourself. I wasn’t a good boyfriend over the past few weeks and I’m so, so sorry for that. But I promise, I’ll do better, because I don’t plan on letting go of us, of you, anytime soon. So will you make my year?” Nico asks, softly, “Will Solace, will you marry me?”

Will is in awe. Of all the things he expected, this was not one of them. He put his hand over his open mouth, tears of pure joy running down his face this time. He nods. Nico takes his hand and slips the ring onto his finger, almost reverently, tears of joy streaking his own face.

Perfect fit.

Will looks at it in the candlelight. It’s beautiful. A warm feeling blossoms inside Will’s chest as he looks at his boy—no,  fiancé. The love of his life. The man he was going to marry.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly, getting up from his chair, going down to Nico’s level (he’s still on the ground) and throwing his arms around the smaller man, “I knew you wouldn’t cheat on me but seeing you with Percy so often just made me think about all of these.. possibilities and everything just… kind of spiraled out of control.”

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry,” Nico tells him, tightening his hold on Will’s waist, “You were putting yourself under unnecessary stress because of me. Will, you don’t know how frightened I was when I got the call from the hospital. I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I was part of the reason as to why something happened to you, mio amore.”

“You’re forgiven, darlin’. I love you, so much, Nico di Angelo,” Will sniffs and although his words are muffled into Nico’s shirt, he knows that Nico hears him use the pet name he loves.

“I love you too. You are my universe,” Nico gently pulls Will from the hug and kisses him on the lips, softly, sweetly and passionately, despite the stickiness left on his face from happy tears, “My sun, my stars, my entire galaxy. Merry early Christmas, Will Solace, soon to be di Angelo.”

Despite the cold December, the couple spends the night on the couch in their apartment, their love keeping their souls burning bright and warm, warmer than their fireplace ever could, wrapped up in each other’s loving embrace. There are no barriers between them; everything is out in the open. There are no more secrets, only a sense of love, understanding and blissfulness.

And Will Solace would not trade it for the world.

#solangelo fanfiction #solangelo fluff #solangelo #solangelo angst #au #mortal!au #will solace #nico di angelo #doctor!will #lawyer!nico #the heroes of olympus #hoo #pjo #piper mclean #jasiper #percy jackson #annabeth chase #reyna avila ramirez arellano #percabeth #reynabeth #fluff #love #happy ending #my fic #my post #luna grey writes #ao3fic #ao3 #basic-volk #pjosecretsanta2k17

[missinghmmingbird]

The Cold Shoulder

Peridot and Lapis's roommate arrangement has thus far been harmless and going well. Peridot certainly saw it that way.

After Lapis returns from a day hanging out with Steven, however, Peridot comes to the realization that among watching silly television shows, they've had yet to do one thing, one important thing: talking.

Words: 4116

Notes: Set not too far after "Alone at Sea" ended. This is... obviously long overdue (we in season 5, everyone!), but bear with me! Also can be found on Ao3 (username is MissytheAngle) and check out here for info about my new ko-fi account 

A lonesome quiet echoed through the barn for most of the day, save for Peridot as she tapped away at her tablet. Then wings flapped through the air. Footsteps padded across the barn, and the silence returned with a vengeance.

Peridot placed her tablet on the ground and glanced down to see her roommate, who had her back turned to Peridot. Lapis Lazuli stared out the door, her skirt caught in the light breeze that sneaked into the bark. Her teardrop gem glistened as the sky crackled with lightning.

"Oh, Lapis!" Peridot jumped up and picked a paper off of the floor. She made her way down to the bottom floor and to the other side of the barn. Lapis stayed ominously still, so Peridot persisted. "I'm glad that you're back. I'm sure your trip with Steven was a nice change of pace."

Lapis stayed quiet. Peridot hesitated, but guessed that Lapis simply failed to hear her. Peridot held the paper up, showing a drawn picture of herself and Lapis sitting together while surrounded by lightning bugs. "I decided to do something a little different while you were gone. You came back much earlier than I expected, so—"

Lapis turned, and Peridot's mouth fell shut. However, rather than look at Peridot or reply, Lapis walked to the hammock strung around wooden supports. She collapsed into it, the hammock swinging lazily side-to-side.

Peridot tilted her head. "Uh... is everything alright?"

Lapis's fingers rubbed through her hair. A lone sigh was her response.

Gulping, Peridot walked to the hammock, staring at Lapis's back. "Well, uh, you see, I was starting to work on this new meep morp of you and I. This is technically my first paper drawing, so I was wondering if—"

"Can you just... leave me alone?" Lapis interrupted in a whisper.

Peridot frowned. "Well, I just noticed a few days earlier that you really liked that one episode of Camp Pining Hearts where Paulette learned that Percy actually makes good paper drawings, despite him being afraid of showing off his talent to the rest of the camp and—"

"I don't need you to tell me what happened. I was there. I saw it," said Lapis.

"Fair point, but I figured since you liked it—"

"Except I didn't. The ending sucked." Lapis spun around, eyebrow slanted. "He just forgave Paulette for taking his art and putting it in the main hall, all because everyone else was impressed. Even though she was being awful and taking what wasn't hers." Her expression softened, although a storm brewed in her eyes. "It shouldn't be that easy."

Peridot stared at her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Lapis didn't say anything for a good, long minute, which told Peridot more than words would. "I'm tired. I'm going to try and fall asleep," Lapis finally said, turning back around.

"I didn't know you sleep."

"Steven talked to me about it a few days ago. When he was sleeping over. It sounded weird—you just stop moving, stop thinking and just aren't here, but... it doesn't sound too bad right now."

Peridot smiled. "Perhaps we can try it together. I always found it to be a waste of time unless gems require the recharge, but I suppose it can't hurt to try."

Lapis let out a sigh. "I... I need to go," she said, standing up.

Oh, stars, not again! Peridot knew where she was going, and hadn't seen her do this for quite some time. Lapis did not run off as often as when they first lived in the barn together. They were doing so much better! And Peridot did not want to go back to those first few days.

"Hey, wait!" Her arms reached out, just barely ghosting over Lapis's arm.

Lapis whipped around, her lips curled back. "Don't touch me," she said, her voice cracking.

Peridot stepped back. They stood there, staring at one another in a contest to see who would break the silence first. Lightning cracked from outside, and the rain pounded on the barn roof. Finally, Lapis turned her head with a sigh, her hair shielding her expression. "You could make this easier for me."

"What? I'm just trying to be a good roommate!" Peridot said, shocked.

"It'd be better for both of us if you didn't."

Peridot grimaced, frustration creeping in and threatening to replace any leftover patience she had for Lapis Lazuli. "Or maybe you could start trying more! I'm trying to be nice and friendly—how roommates should be—and you're being... weird again!"

"Weird?" Lapis asked, sounding offended.

Peridot flinched, catching her words too late. "I just... I just liked when we started hanging out more. You know, like friends."

Lapis said nothing.

"I thought we were making progress in our friendship," said Peridot, shaking her head. "We spent that one night looking at those light bugs. You said it was nice. Were you lying?"

Peridot waited for a response. She again received none in return, with Lapis just tilting her head down.

"Were you?" Peridot repeated, her tone lowering.

"No, I wasn't!" Lapis snapped, yet her voice was still fragile. "Geez, can you just let it go?"

"Then can you at least talk to me?" Peridot stepped closer without realizing. "I mean, did I do something wrong?"

"You don't understand," Lapis muttered under her breath. Her hands tightened into tense fists.

"Haven't I proven that I'm better than the last time we met? That I'm not the bad guy here?" Peridot gestured to herself, leaning close to the hammock and seeing Lapis's vulnerable expression, the tired look in her eyes. "What more could I possibly do to show that?"

"Just... stop," said Lapis, teeth showing. "Please."

"If something's upsetting you, you can tell me. It can't be that bad, ri—" Slowly, Peridot again reached out, her hand brushing over Lapis's arm.

Lapis's entire body tensed, then shuddered. Her expression turned blank, only to rapidly shift into something terrified and desperate. "Don't do that! Just... don't!" She ripped her arm from Peridot's grasp. She stammered before screaming, "Just do yourself a favor and go away!"

Lapis threw her arms to her sides. The rain just outside the doorway skidded to a stop and stormed into the room, like an army at Lapis's command. Peridot looked over and yelped. She froze in place, but raindrops missed her by a few inches. Together, the raindrops made a dent against the weak barn walls and sloshed onto the floor. The large amount of water just barely touched Peridot's feet.

Peridot's hands balled up, and her posture straightened as she whirled back. "Are you trying to hurt me on purpose or something? What the heck was that for?!" she yelled, agitated and unable to hold back the panic that ran through her body. "What is wrong with you?"

Lapis's hardened expression melted into shock as she stared down at her hands. The exhaustion in her eyes was more visible. No longer on edge, Peridot noticed the way Lapis looked down at herself, now that she wasn't focused on Peridot.

Peridot's fingers uncurled. "Uh, Lapis?"

Lapis's eyes darted to Peridot, and she looked panic-stricken. Lapis stepped out fully from the hammock, letting it stand between them. It swayed violently, and the longer they stood there, it began to slow down to a mere creak. Lapis stepped away with light steps padding across the floor. It still sounded so loud as they stood there, both unable to speak up first.

"Lapis!" Peridot shouted, as if yelling would catch Lapis's attention, which was clearly elsewhere. "Look, we just need to talk about this! That's how this should work."

Shutting her eyes, Lapis let out what sounded like a pain-filled grunt. Her grand water wings spread out from within her gem, and she slipped through the door and into the dark sky.

"Wait, wait!" Peridot stuttered and ran out of the barn, her crumpled drawing slipping from her fingers.

Once outside, she searched around the barn, shielding her eyes from the rain, which had lessened. The sky was darker—it was nighttime already. She even checked the tip of the silo in the distance. No one was there. Peridot began to panic. Had Lapis just run off, far away where the gems couldn't find her? Peridot kicked the ground, grumbling to herself in disappointment.  

Even if yelling at Lapis did feel like stress had been lifted off of her shoulders, Peridot did not want it to go like that.

Then she walked around the barn and looked up. Lapis sat at the edge of the roof, her head dipped down and drenched.

Peridot hesitated, wondering if leaving Lapis alone would be best. Some nights Lapis would sit around the barn, only to escape to the tip of the silo to escape company. Despite some nights where Peridot called out for Lapis, she would otherwise let the powerful gem be.

The roof of the barn, however, was a first. And seeing Lapis looking so distressed as rain cascaded down on them made Peridot's decision clear.

Peridot found a nearby trash can and pulled the lid off. Standing on the metal lid, she elevated herself to the roof of the barn, albeit shakily. She sputtered whilst struggling to keep her balance, until she reached the top and jumped off with relief.

"Stupid clodding metal powers!" Peridot hissed through her teeth as she clung to the hinges for dear life. She grunted and kicked her feet in a struggling to fully sit on the roof.

Lapis barely acknowledged Peridot's presence. Her hair moved slightly through the cold air as her empty gaze looked down at Peridot.

Once Peridot gained her footing, she stood up, dusting herself off, and peered down at Lapis. "Uh, hi."

"... Hi."

"To be honest, I just wanted to show you my new paper drawing. I didn't realize it would upset you that much."

"Of course you didn't," said Lapis, not meeting Peridot's gaze. Her hands were balled into fists, pressed into her skirt. She let out a hollow laugh. "Peridots are supposed to be smart, yet everything seems to fly over your head."

Peridot's eye twitched. “Maybe I could better understand you if you told me why I upset you. You know, as opposed to running away all the time.” She crossed her arms.

Lapis buried her face into her knees. “Grr, why won’t you just leave me alone?” she asked with a hint of upset breaking her voice. “Especially after what just happened.”

"It’s just that, you know, I understand that talking about problems helps improve one’s mood.”

“No, it won’t,” said Lapis with unwavering conviction.

“It couldn’t hurt to try.”

“I don’t want to talk.”

Peridot looked at her feet, trying to think of what to say next. Nothing came. Her voice was lost. Lapis did not further acknowledge her; she simply sat there, burying herself in her arms.

So Peridot sat down at the edge beside her, inching herself away just a bit when Lapis startled. Peridot’s feet dangled from the edge, and she looked down at the distance between herself and the ground. For a moment, Peridot waited for Lapis to surprise her by saying that she did want to talk, that she was only holding back for... some reason, and make this all easier for Peridot.

Peridot waited and looked up at the sky. The clouds were beginning to separate, revealing stars behind the gray curtains.

When an idea struck, her face lit up and her eyes shifted back to Lapis. “Are you familiar with constellations?"

Nothing.

“Well,” Peridot said, “if I remember correctly, humans give constellations names based off of these beings who they say could exist but really don’t. It’s weird, but actually fairly fascinating. I have yet to actually find out all about them, so I decided to make up my own. I can introduce you to some, if you’d like.”

Again, Lapis was quiet. Peridot groaned, shoulders sulking, and she closed her mouth.

Minutes passed. The silence was painful and drove Peridot mad. The way Lapis balled herself up confused her; Lapis was hanging out with Steven, someone whom Lapis liked over just about everyone else. Peridot expected Lapis to return a bit more cheerful, possibly enough to join her in watching another episode of Camp Pining Hearts.

Questions roamed through her head, and she wasn’t getting answers!

When one question came out of her mouth at last, however, her desperation faltered. “What… happened?”

“Why do you even care?” Lapis’s voice was sharp, much like the glare she gave Peridot.

“Because we’re roommates!” Peridot exclaimed. “We should be able to get along, talk about things. We’ve been getting along great the past few weeks! But now…” Peridot’s face fell. “It’s like it wasn’t important. You seem… different.” After a moment to think, she relented on expressing a lingering thought. “And you almost attacked me. There has to be something wrong, and I can’t really just forget that.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” Lapis replied, and Peridot only noticed now that her body was shaking. “I really didn’t.”

“Well, I believe you, but I don’t want to just… ignore this!” Peridot said.

“Doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me.”

“It is to me!”

She recalled all those nights where Lapis escaped to the silo, leaving Peridot to herself. Those were the first few nights they roomed together, where Peridot felt like she did not have a roommate at all. Days later, Peridot had tried to talk to Lapis, and it almost worked, with Lapis continuing the conversation. But more often than not, as if Peridot said the wrong thing, Lapis would shut down and followed with the same cycle of hiding away. Somewhere along the way, those days and nights occurred less and less.

“I’ve done some awful things,” said Lapis, with a warning gaze directed toward her roommate. “You really don’t want to know.”

Peridot thought over this for a moment, and shrugged. “Considering I’ve tried to capture and destroy the Crystal Gems multiple times, trust me, it’s just something you come to accept. Now I don’t do that anymore! Now look at me! I’m now part of the team I was trying to destroy.” She jumped up with a new surge of excitement sparking through her body.

“You have no idea.”

“Try me.” Peridot smirk.

Lapis cringed. “Seriously. I’d rather not.”

“Uh… please?” Peridot asked hesitantly, struggling to manage with the right tone. Something about Lapis’s narrowed eyebrows told her she failed, which caused her to groan. “How bad can it be?”

“Gah, no, you just don’t get it.”

“What don’t I get?”

Lapis’s reply was barely above a murmur, something Peridot could not decipher.

“Um… what was that?”

“I’m tired of hurting people!”

Peridot recoiled. She struggled to say anything at first, with something caught in her throat.  “What?” she said.

“I’m so tired of it. And the worst part is…” Lapis let the sentence trail, her fingers stroking one side of her face. “Did Steven ever tell you about… about Malachite?”

“Well...” Peridot stumbled with her words. As she recalled the basics of what Steven told her about, the more of what Lapis said sank in, and she avoided Lapis’s gaze. “He said you trapped Jasper in a fusion.”

Lapis nodded, a slow and tired nod. “I did, and it was awful. It lasted for so long, because I-I didn’t want to let go. When trapping Jasper, I didn’t realize what it would do to me. I felt terrible for what I did; I hated her, I hated me, I hated us.” Her voice trembled, clutching her head. “And it… it was too much. I regret every second I made both of us miserable.”

Peridot just nodded, her mouth dry and unable to form words. An unsettling feeling descended through her body.  

“But I liked it.” A dark shadow fell over Lapis’s face as she peered down at her hands. They curled, just a little, before becoming two aggressive fists. “I… liked having control and no longer feeling like some sort of prisoner.” She stuttered at ‘prisoner,’ like it brought back nightmarish visions. “I just needed to feel like I had some control in my own life, after so long of feeling trapped and alone. E-even if it meant bringing others down with me.”

Peridot’s face fell. Lapis’s voice was drenched in a flurry of emotions—not one prevailed. Peridot looked away, unsure in how to respond. It was probably for the best, because Lapis continued.

“I even almost hurt Steven once!” Lapis laughed bitterly, which caused Peridot to lean back. “Did he ever tell you that? He and the others, they were trying to… trying to stop me from going back h-home! To Homeworld! I stole the entire ocean because I had no other choice. I fought them all, and could’ve won, too.

“And you know what he did? What he did after all I did to him and his friends?” She turned to Peridot. Her eyes, wide and wild, were washed over with stress. “He helped me! He helped me get back to Homeworld! After everything I did.” She sounded... angry, but Peridot wasn't sure who it was directed at.

“That’s because he wanted to,” Peridot added, not needing to know the details of what happened to know why Steven helped her. However, she couldn’t hide the shudder that crawled up her form. “That’s just Steven being Steven. If he could forgive me for constantly trying to defeat him and the Crystal Gems, then I’m certain he’d be willing to help you in your situation.”

Lapis smiled briefly, a small light in the grayness of the sky. “I know.” She paused, and it faded. She bowed her head back down, and her tone quieted as she finished, “Everyone I let someone get close to me… gyuh, they only get hurt in the end—by me!” Lapis emphasized this by poking a finger directly against her chest. Her hand fell, anger simmering as she added, “Even you.”

“That? That was an accident… wasn’t it?” Peridot asked.

“Yes!” Lapis cried out with desperation that only made Peridot even more uncertain.

“You don’t want to hurt me, do you?” Peridot asked, fighting to hold back the fear gripping at her, the part of her that worried if this was true or not. The realization that she knew very little of her roommate smacked her right in the stomach only now.

Lapis said nothing for a second, but because of that, it was as if the second lasted forever. Peridot placed her hands on her chest. Then, to Peridot’s relief, Lapis shook her head, quick but nonetheless a reply.

“Then that’s good!” Peridot replied, forcing a small smile. “We can start from there.”

“Good? What if I do something… awful? What if I actually hit you with that water, just because you were being annoying,” Lapis said. She sighed, digging her fingers into her bangs. “I didn’t want to… but I couldn’t help it. I really am just awful.”

“If you were awful, you wouldn’t feel that way. That has to mean something.” The tension in Peridot’s body began to lessen.

Lapis looked away, eyes lost elsewhere. “I feel like if I could start everything over, knowing what I know now, I’d do it all right this time.” She paused, a hand on her chin as if pondering. “But other times, I think…” She shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t.”

Peridot blinked.

“I wouldn’t hurt anyone, or I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone, but I know I’d still do it again. Part of me knows that. I wish I could forget it, all of it, but I can’t. It’ll always be part of me. If I could end this terrible cycle—” For the first time that night, she looked at Peridot, truly looked at her with a genuine gaze, “I would, but I don’t know how.”

Peridot turned her head, staring down at the ground feet below. “Did… you ever tell Steven this?”

Lapis shook her head. “I couldn’t… well, I tried. But I don’t think he believed I would do any of the things I did. I broke his dad’s leg, I tried to steal the ocean, what I did to Jasper—but he still believes in me.” She played with her hands. “I don’t think he realizes what I’m capable of. I want to tell him that, but… that’ll only disappoint him. I can’t disappoint Steven.” She gave a smile that did not seem sincere or warm, but rather sad. “He’s the one good thing about this place.”

“Hey, I’m here too!” Peridot said without thinking over her words.

Lapis glared at her.

“But it’s true! You don’t have to be alone with all of… this.” Unable to clarify what she meant, she waved her arms vaguely toward Lapis. “At least Steven is there for you, and hey, so can I.”

“I don’t want someone to just be there for me!” Lapis shouted, throwing her arms out. Peridot jumped back, making Lapis lower her arms with dark glint in her eyes. “I don’t know what I want. I guess… I guess I want to be better.”

The air was cold, and the night was so dark now. Peridot wrapped her arms around herself.

“But I don’t know how,” Lapis repeated, eyes watching over the near full moon hovering above them. It shone over the both of them with a pale glow.   

Peridot was stunned into silence for a whole minute, one where she tried to find the right words as she scrambled through her mind. Stars, her mind was still scrambling just to take in what Lapis said. Part of her wanted to run away, but another side of her knew that that was just… wrong. She looked down at the balled up gem sitting atop the barn roof beside her.

Small comforting words came to mind, but they were too weak and meant nothing. “It’s okay” “It’ll be okay” “everything’s fine.” They were nice, certainly, but were any true? No, no, and she refused to lie or sugarcoat. That just wasn’t Peridot.

With a gulp, she said, “I want to believe in you.”

Lapis’s head spun around to look up at Peridot. “Believe in me? What, are you crazy?”

“Not as crazy as Steven, I suppose.”

Lapis scoffed. “You’re joking, right?”

“Somewhat, but what I’m saying is still not entirely wrong.”

“I…” The crazed look in Lapis’s eyes calmed. She looked exhausted, but also weary. She grimaced. “Why? Why would you trust me?”

“I want to,” Peridot corrected, hands held close to her chest. “Which is different. If we want to make this whole roommate thing work, then we have to settle some things. Perhaps open up to each other more! And be more honest.” She hesitated. “Aaaand perhaps not try to hurt one another, too.” She forced an awkward, hopefully amusing grin.

Lapis stared, observant eyes watching over Peridot. Then her gaze fell at Peridot’s feet but also at nothing. Her eyebrows knitted down. “That’s not exactly easy. You know that, right?”  

“Then we’ll work on it.” Peridot shrugged. “Like us trying to live in this barn together. We can work on this together.” She gestured between the two of them. “We need to better understand one another to actually live together, given the circumstances.”

“You really think that’s a good idea?”

“Probably one of my better ones,” Peridot said, smirking.

Lapis blinked. Slowly, her head dipped to look at her hands. They curled up but then relaxed. She brushed her fingers against her skirt.

“Okay.” She looked back at Peridot. “I’ll try.”

Peridot nodded.

They sat there for a few moments, which passed and turned into a full minute of silence. Peridot awkwardly looked around, wondering if there was something to do afterward. Did they hug, or… no, something told Peridot that the last thing Lapis wanted was physical contact.

Lapis stared at her, but said nothing.

Peridot gave her an awkward smile. “I, um, I’ll just leave you be, then.” She spun around to elevate back to the ground.

Before she could reach the other side of the barn, a gentle voice stopped her.

“Hey.”

Peridot turned around. Lapis brushed her fingers through her bangs, which partly shielding her eyes. “Look. Can you at least stay here?” she asked, her gaze averting from Peridot. “Maybe you can tell me about those constellations you mentioned.”

“Umm… yeah.”

Peridot sat down again, her feet kicking midair. Lapis didn’t say anything, but Peridot swore that she saw a tiny smile at the edge of her lips.  A sincere smile that lit up Lapis’s face. Peridot smiled lightly, point up at the stars.

#steven universe #su fanfiction #lapis lazuli #peridot #alone at sea #lapidot #umm should I tag this as lapidot ? #it's not even shippy but oh well #missy writes

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Episode 106

Returning after several weeks away from writing these! Huge thanks to @loquaciousquark​ for jumping in. <3

The episode begins with Matt and Marisha lint-rolling Darin’s suit.

Marisha officially started as CD of Geek and Sundry back in January or February and finally feels like she can start talking about how the work she’s been doing has been coming to fruition.

No TM next week due to travel.

There were four police helicopters circling Matt and Marisha’s place, during which a police dog came through their backyard and destroyed their backyard couch.

Marisha’s doing an AMA on the subreddit tomorrow.

Brian: “Banned from every single Critical Role Q&A as of this moment are any and all High Noon-related questions.”

Once the party rested for the evening before going to find Ioun, Matt knew they would be too late to prevent Vecna’s ascension, and from there he was just waiting for a good narrative beat to reveal it.

Darin thought Sprigg was going to have to sacrifice himself to keep Ioun alive. Matt wasn’t sure how that was going to end, either, but as soon as Sprigg started offering his services, Matt and Darin both saw the opportunity for a redemption arc 37 years in the making. 

Sprigg never actually learned anybody’s names in the party.

Sprigg’s advice to Vax was something Darin took to heart during a hard time in his life: “Life is loud, and noisy, and it should be a celebration.”

Marisha points out that just because Keyleth’s taking a more neutral or cynical worldview in some situations, that doesn’t mean she’s losing the empathy that’s the core of her character. The two aren’t mutually exclusive; she mainly sees it as Keyleth becoming less “stubborn in her self-righteousness.”

Matt felt Percy was beginning to fall into the nature of someone who was a seeker of knowledge, but it was knowledge that he coveted for his own enlightenment, as opposed to sharing it with others. “He prided himself on knowing things and being the one who knew things.” Not so much even keeping the guns secret, which was more about the danger involved, but more “just his personality and his lack of faith in the gods in general.” Matt thought about Scanlan, who’d spent his life learning about the world and then conveying and sharing that knowledge to uplift and inspire other people. Between Ioun being a goddess devoted to the sharing and spreading of knowledge, and Scanlan’s newfound interest in faith, those elements came together and made Scanlan “a more pure candidate than what Percival was at the moment.”

Matt didn’t have any idea how everyone was going to solve the puzzle, what groups they were going to break into, etc.---he’d thought of a few possible ways for them to succeed, and then had to sit back and hope they’d figure it out.

Keyleth doesn’t think being faithless would necessarily disqualify her in Melora’s eyes, especially given the conversations she’s had with the gods thus far; it’s the difference between belief and reverence. She’s more concerned about time right now than anything else.

The gods can only give their gifts once. If they give it away to the wrong people, it cannot be given again, which is why they’re running these tests (also because it’s more fun that way). If Scanlan had failed the test, Ioun would not have given him her blessing, and would’ve waited for another powerful adventurer to come by. Matt points out that while Vox Machina are among the most powerful people in the world right now, there’s a lot going on in the world, and other candidates could potentially arise.

Darin thinks Sprigg is going to enjoy accumulating so much knowledge and living everyone else’s adventures; it’s his version of heaven.

Vecna fundamentally seeks knowledge; he hangs onto it, keeps it secret, and kills anyone else who knows it. Brian points out that Sprigg is also essentially hoarding knowledge (he’s chaotic evil, but he’s not necessarily a villain: he’s selfish), but now he’s learning to give a bit of that back since Ioun shared some of herself with him and he returned it to her.

Keyleth is genuinely delighted for Percy and Vex, but thinks Percy is “a little bit of a fucking dick for not telling me.” Keyleth’s also got some jealousy going on given Vax’s situation right now. “Good for her. Good for her. Good for Janet.”

Matt points out that the gods they’ve seen are just the most readily available ones to them, and so it’s possible for them to actively seek out the others: Kord, Erathis, etc. But now they have to weigh it against the time (and other things) they’ll lose in doing so, versus deciding to engage in the final conflict earlier. Marisha points out how much Matt loves his timed challenges.

Matt: “Someone please make a half-orc named Thigh Gap as a D&D character.”

After it appears in somebody’s screen name, Darin learns what “grundle” means. Pointing to his suit: “You know what, this is linen. I spent a couple bucks on this. There’s a fake carnation. Thank you for your username.” Matt suggests “grundle” be replaced by “humble bundle” in the common vernacular from now on.

Matt and Darin agree that Sprigg’s alignment has shifted more toward chaotic neutral. Darin: “You get older, you change. You can’t stay the same.” Marisha: “People change you. If you’re left alone, you stay the same.” 

During the discussion, Darin and Matt segue naturally into a brief scene together as Sprigg and Dimitri the imp.

Marisha talks about the parallels between Keyleth’s connections with Kerrek and Sprigg: both arrived right in the midst of her being stuck in a rut where she didn’t feel like anyone in the party was available to mirror her inner worries back to her. Sprigg talking about forgetting his companions’ names brought up a new fear in Keyleth about her future, but at the same time, his statements about the importance of memory are helping her start to process the possibility of losing Vax.

Darin talks about how roleplaying can let you tell a friend how deeply you feel about them without having to say it directly. Brian points out that the genuine openness and emotional honesty between the players is one of the biggest draws of the show.

Matt is deeply moved that the show fits into that rare space where people watching the show can relatively easily go out and emulate it themselves. It’s not just knowing people like the show, it’s knowing the show pushed them to start their own adventures and make their own connections that could play out for years... possibly even 37 years and two generations of players.

Matt loves having a villain that can pop in and taunt VM whenever he likes. Vecna’s pretty much just going around and trolling everyone who doesn’t believe he’s already won. Having a recurring villain like that also gives Matt more opportunities to develop him as a character and to build more interactions with the players.

Brian thinks of the Raven Queen-Vax interactions as a Galadriel-Frodo relationship... but if Galadriel were played by Helena Bonham Carter.

Blocks Machina:

The inspiration for Vecna’s voice is a bit of Orson Welles with some gravel and a little rounding.

Marisha and Darin encourage Matt to look into voice directing, and he thinks he’d enjoy that, but he also thinks there isn’t really a gap there right now with all the wonderful folks directing at the moment. He also finds directing exhausting and has one or two other things on his plate right now...

Darin on taking risks like traveling across the country for something you’re passionate about: “You can only take the first step.” Marisha: “It’s good you’re scared. You should be. That’s healthy.” Matt talks about how it’s important to go into it knowing that persistence may not be enough to pay off, and you have to keep checking in with yourself to make sure it’s still something you’re passionate about. It can take a long time, and you have to be prepared for bad years among the good years. Brian points out that wherever you start out, you should already be doing your craft there, because you’re not magically going to find inspiration and the ability to do the work by moving across the country. Marisha talks about the isolation of moving to a new place, and also talks about checking your ego at the door and trying to find ways to pay it forward as you go.

Matt talks about how he grew up with the old-school tabletop RPG communities and always wanted to be an ambassador to help bring the old-school fans into the newer/transformative stuff, so in spite of himself he still gets very bummed out when he stumbles across a whole thread of D&D fans talking about how much they hate him and think he’s singlehandedly ruined the game and the genre. Getting that kind of negativity is almost inevitable, but getting it from a group that he considers himself a part of hits a lot harder.

Darin mentions that Sprigg’s last thank-you was, of course, to Matt rather than Ioun.

#critical role #critical role spoilers #talks machina #talks machina spoilers #long text post