#festus the happy dragon

[citrusreadstoa]

Reading The Dark Prophecy: Chapter 40 (SPOILERS)

"Shakespeare, don't bring that / Iambic pentameter" Either the Dodona screaming arrow starts spouting poetry or Meg does. Is the ultimate goal of this series to teach kids poetry?

"'A little warning, perhaps?' Jamie called." Yeah, the greatest danger a person falling out of a window poses is to the people below they may crush. How high up is it, anyway?

"We didn't see him." Oh, so he did fall into the void. Wtf?

"He Lityerses-ly flew out the window." Leo, you pull a muscle from that stretch? A for effort, though. I'll cut him some slack for the hostage situation he was just in.

"The two bumped fists as if they hadn't just spent the last few days talking about how much they wanted to kill each other. They would have made fine Olympian gods." Omg that's literally my family! We'd make great Olympian gods!

"[Thalia's] new gray highlights from my solar blast looked quite fetching." Did anyone else get gray highlights? Do Hunters' hair grow out? And again, skin cancer?

"We're going to need a bigger notepad." Why? Is iambic pentameter usually long?

"must the Lester go;" I'm fucking sorry? That caught me so off guard. I didn't expect his name to be so bluntly stated in the prophecy.

"Apollo starts to jive." Does jive mean something different here than I'm used to? I thought it meant to be on the same page as someone. JIVE (v.): 1. perform the jive or a similar dance to popular music 2. (Informal, US) taunt or sneer at 3. (Informal, US) talk nonsense

"But a full Shakespearean sonnet, complete with ABAB rhyme scheme, ending couplet, and iambic pentameter?" Oh, the horror! Not the couplets! These prophecies and chapterly haikus are slowly convincing me this whole series was an excuse for Rick Riordan to stretch his poetry-writing muscles.

"We will parse our doom later" PARSE (v.): analyze (a sentence) into its parts and describe their syntactic roles / examine or analyze minutely

"It kept me from thinking too much about the lines of the Dark Prophecy." Ay, he said the thing!

"I redesigned him so he's like a Lego kit, built for quick assembly!" Thank-freaking-goodness! He knows Festus is gonna get crunched, so he plans ahead!

"dissolving them into light. Could a quasi-deity such as Commodus do something like that to himself?" We haven't seen much of any of the Triumvirate's godly powers yet. This could be one. I'd be surprised if he died so easily. Anyway, important thing is that the triple-threat battle is still possible!

Hey, wait, why aren't Hades, Persephone, or Thanatos on the Triumvirate's case yet? They're escaped souls! I know we've established that souls escape all the time, but this should be pretty high on the ghost-wrangling list!

"Their bodies desiccate when their spirits pass on" DESICCATE (v.): remove the moisture from (something); cause to become completely dry "Heloise's body crumbled to dust." Okay, so it was just holding together for the funeral. Maybe that means she'll regenerate eventually? Let me cling onto that hope.

"Made this for you. You can take it with you when you go away." Noooo I just know they're gonna pull at our heartstrings with this little doll later down the line.

"if you ever want to talk--" "No, I'm good." Mood.

"Yet I could no longer feel annoyed with her for giving up my gift of divinity." Yeahhhhhh he's understanding

"hide his bald pate." Probably means head or scalp. PATE (n.): a person's head

"What of the Dark Prophecy?" Did everyone just unanimously agree to call it the Dark Prophecy? Do they all just hate it because it's too long?

#reading trials of apollo #reading the dark prophecy #reading toa #reading tdp #toa spoilers #trials of apollo spoilers #trials of apollo #the dark prophecy #percy jackson and the olympians #apollo pjo #apollo #lester papadopoulos #meg mccaffrey #leo valdez #thalia pjo #thalia #festus the happy dragon #festus #commodus pjo #commodus #triumvirate holdings #iambic pentameter #pjo #toa #pjo hoo toa #rrverse

[spicassis]

HAPPY NEW YEAR !! Have a lot of fun in 2024 !!

#heroes of olympus #leo valdez #festus the dragon #riordanverse #hoo #pjo fanart #rick riordan #happy new year

[ssavinggrace]

FESTUS BABYYY

#pjo #toa #hoo #leo valdez #festus the dragon #happy the dragon #Leo's awesome

[softmoonlightmelody]

sleep deprived nico this sleep deprived annabeth that but what about the true sleep deprived one: leo

#look leo does not get sleep #like he's up all night because it occured to him to make festus a dragon friend and now he has basil #(she's named after hestia's epithet basileia #because hestia is the other fire god) #and so piper wanders down to bunker nine to surprise leo after a good night's sleep to see leo drinking HEAVILY caffeinated tea #because he dislikes coffee #with a small dragon and a happy festus #piper asks him why he's still here #leo says he made festus a friend #piper is exasperated but it's leo so she understands #pjo #hoo #toa #leo valdez #nico di angelo #annabeth chase #percy jackson and the olympians #trials of apollo #heroes of olympus #pjo thoughts

[happyk44]

Jason as a bigtime furry who makes fursuits in his spare time and Leo as his reluctant but mostly willing model for the sale photos. Mostly because Jason's body type is outside the average range so he can't fit into most suits besides his own.

#he obvi has a wolf fursona #he made and designed leo one too which is a dragon named festus 🙌 #jason grace #leo valdez #valgrace #leo also makes mechanical bits like moving tails or twitching eats or uhhhh wings? #happy talks pjo

[annabeth-katniss-granger]

I have the worst luck. I just now read the part where Festus died and tomorrow is Leo’s birthday. I feel so bad and nobody understands me. 😢😭

#leo valdez #festus #happy the dragon #festus’ death #the lost hero #lost hero #dragon festus #leo’s birthday

[ryuusei-niu]

BoO spoilers ‼️

Excuse me, ladies, gentlemen and monarchs, I'm going to ramble (angst) about Leo

I can't stop thinking about the days before Leo did you know what in BoO. I JUST CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT HOW HE COULD FEEL

Like, dude, he was about to go and maybe DIE. TO SAVE THE WHOLE FRICKIN WORLD.

Until then everything is fine (no, it is not). Because "between fire and storm, the world must fall." He was the fire. It was him or Jason and he didn't plan to die, he had a plan. Of course.

Only maybe that plan wouldn't work.

And I can't stop thinking about it. Like, c'mon! We all know Leo, we know that he is not a coward but he is not very attracted to the idea of ​​putting himself in danger. He is a person, he can't help but not want to die. On few occasions he wanted or avoided putting himself in danger, knowing that someone else was going to be in danger.

So why did he sacrifice himself for everyone? Why did he do it when there was a strong possibility of not coming back from the explosion?

I can't help but think that there was a part of him that didn't really care about not coming back.

Did he have future plans? Yes. Did he have people he cared about and wanted to be with? Double yes. He could have avoided the drama, fixed Festus correctly and with the help of the others, go and save Calypso and end of the history, everyone happy.

Then, why?

It's simple math. Cruel and horrible simple math.

He would always be the seventh wheel.

'But Ryuu, he had friends and his friends cared about him and-'

I don't care, Martha, just hear me out and shut up (with love).

He had no place as such among the seven. It was him. And the metallic dragon, let's not forget Festus. But it was him at the end of the day.

They needed someone who would sacrifice themselves for the group, with the risk of not returning.

I feel like Leo didn't even need to think about it.

Because the loneliness he felt in those few days was enough to make him realize it. The loneliness of his entire life was enough to realize it.

Although he was an important member, he ended up being left over. He was a piece that others could do without, find a replacement. Move on.

(And it makes me angry to know that it was part of Hera's plan, because if he hadn't been rejected his whole life he wouldn't have sacrificed himself.)

I feel that in part, it was easier for Leo to sacrifice himself, maybe come back, and be a hero, or maybe not come back, than stay there. Just like the clown he was. The seventh wheel.

Because maybe, if he didn't come back, they were finally going to miss him a little.

Maybe, if he didn't come back, they were going to feel more than just pity, or anger at him.

Maybe, if he died, he would have a little more presence than if he stayed.

He already saw it once. Two, to be specific. In both of them he came back and in both of them his friends forgot about him not long after.

That also helped him decide that he should be the one to sacrifice himself.

He couldn't leave Piper without Jason.

I feel like Leo thought maybe he was easier to forget. And at the same time he hated that.

At the same time he didn't want to die. But he didn't mind.

And I can't help but imagine what the last days, the last hours, must have been like for him, knowing that maybe he was going to die and none of his friends knew. He wasn't going to get to say goodbye properly. And he felt bad for wanting, deep down, to see them cry over the idea of ​​him not coming back. Because he wanted to feel important and worthy of being missed at least once.

#leo valdez #riordanverse #heroes of olympus #pjo hoo toa #jason grace #piper mclean #percy jackon and the olympians #angst

[iatenicoshappymeal]

I was really, really busy lately, so I haven't been able to read much more of HOO, BUUUUUUUUT I have more comments and thoughts.

Percy is in Camp Jupiter

Annabeth is depressed, just like meeeeeeeeee

Leo is cute

Hera was probably Leo's babysitter or smth, and I'm the only one who thinks that's weird?

FRANK IS A CANIDIAN TERRORIST

Hazel is a child of Hades ofc and died then came back to life

There's someone named Reyna or Raina or Rayna or whatever the heck it is and I really like that name

Piper can convince ppl to give things to her so she abuses the power

Jason has lightning powers

Piper Jason and Leo got attacked by giants

Festus Happy the Dragon dies

SOLANGELO FOREVA

WHY ISNT NICO ONE OF THE 7????!!!!!!?!??!?!?!?!?!??

I keep on thinking Piper's name is Pipey McClean cuz I'm BLiNd

Did I mention that Leo is cute?

#rick riordan #percy jackson #annabeth chase #leo valdez #nico di angelo #jason grace #heroes of olympus #greek gods #frank zhang #hazel levesque #piper mclean #reyna avila ramirez arellano

[suchan3rd]

New Flame - FemReader x Leo Valdez Part 2

Please read part 1 before this one (:

TW: the F-words and a little of bullying but that about it (no smut, yet)

Anger. That's what you felt as you walked through the threshold of Aphrodite cabin. You sat on the bed that Piper said was now yours staring at the wall mentally throwing up at the excessive amount of pink decor.

"I'm so happy you're a child of Aphrodite" Piper said sitting down next to you on the bed. You managed a smile but you know that it looked forced. "What's wrong?" She asked, " you look upset."

"It's nothing really" you said, realizing that you would probably come off as petty and self centered.

"Tell me" Piper said, placing her hand on your arm.

"It's just," you sigh, "this is really important to me, and no one noticed. No one cared" And then, as if on cue, Drew and the rest of Aphrodite cabin walked in.

"Can you believe that he got a girl like that?" Drew said to the crowd behind her.

"Yeah, I don't know what he had to do to get someone that good looking," said a son of Aphrodite. Then Drew stopped and looked at Piper and me.

"What is she doing here?" Drew asked.

"Y/n's a daughter of Aphrodite, she just got claimed." Piper said standing up.

Drew laughed, "Piper you're truly turning into quite the jokester, but she can leave now."

"I'm not joking," Piper said, coming to your defense.

"And why do you hate me?" You say finally speaking up, "if you really don't want to share a cabin with me you could go sleep in the big house instead" Drew flushed bright red and clenched her fists. The rest of the campers that had come In with her filed into the cabin chuckling at their flustered cabin mate.

"Nice one" Piper said holding out her hand for a high five and you happily oblige.The next morning you wake up early, before the sun had come up. After trying, and failing, to fall back asleep you decide to take a walk around camp. You tug on your new bright orange cabin 10 shirt and quietly open the door to the crisp morning air. You breathe in, letting the perfume of pine and strawberries waft into your nose. You smile, you always loved the scent of strawberries. The morning silence was broken by crashes and bangs of metal on metal. And stepping into the clearing was none other than Leo Valdez. Great. He was carrying a large bronze wing in his arms. It looked heavy and you wondered how he could carry that without collapsing. Following him was the large metallic dragon Festus. He creaked Morse code at Leo.

"I know, I know" Leo was saying, " I'm sorry" you took a few steps forwards. You were planning on ignoring him, but your interest had peaked. What was "Mr. Popular" doing up so early? "What do you mean its my fault!" Leo demanded after a few moments of silence. You chuckled a bit at the Crack in his voice. Sometimes you forgot we were all still teenagers. Everyone at camp had to grow up fast. Leo turned slightly and the two of you locked eyes. "Uhh sorry, was I being loud."

"No, no need to apologize" for this, you think. "I just forgot to do something earlier" you say realizing the opportunity suddenly put in front of you.

"And what was that" he asks, the corner of his mouth quirked up, you force yourself to look away. You walk towards him and wind your arm, and throw it forward into his upper arm.

"Oww, fuck" he said dropping the wing and clutching his arm. "I thought you weren't going to punch me" he said looking up at her from his hunched over position, cradling his arm.

"Well now I do have a reason" you said crossing your arms.

"And what reason is that?" He asked with a bit of spite in his voice. You shook your head and turned away

"Asshole" you mutter under you breath. But once you're back in your cabin you can't help but picture the tug at his lips and the depth of his eyes.

#leo valdez #x yn #x reader #pjo fandom #rick riordan #pjo hoo toa #heroes of olympus #trials of apollo #kane chronicles #magnus chase #smut fanfiction #pjo memes #pjo fanfic #read riordan #riordan books

[thatdam-demigod]

Jason: *scratches head*

Jason: You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, "festus" means "happy". You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?

Leo: Yes.

On the godly side:

Poseidon: *scratches head*

Poseidon: You named him Cerberus? You know that in Greek, "kerberos" means "spotted". You want to guard the Underworld with Spot the dog.

Hades: Yes.

#percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #percy pjo #pjo fandom #pjo #pjo hoo toa #memes

[stillcarmine]

Wait, wait, I'm having thoughts about the first time Festus came back online while Leo was building the ship.

Leo must have been so scared and excited and breathless as he connected the last wires or whatever repairs the dragon needed.

Do you think Piper and Jason were there too? Would Leo have asked them to come because he wanted to share the moment with them? Would they have asked Leo themselves when he'd be back?

Were they there staying behind Leo, holding each other's hands and squeezing Leo's shoulders with their free ones in support? Did Leo shut the panel to Festus's control disc and wait with held breath for his lost friend to come back to life? When he finally did, did Leo leap up in exhilaration, wrapping himself around the dragon's head and lifting him up and throwing them both into Jason and Piper's arms?

Or was Leo too afraid to ask them, afraid they'd say no, that they didn't care as much as he did? Afraid that they'd be there and it wouldn't work and he'd failed them and Festus all at once? Was he afraid that they'd come but when he was deliriously happy, they'd be happy for him too, but not truly understand it, and he'd stand there, knowing that he was alone while standing in front of the people he loved most in the world?

Would he have rather done it when it was just him in the bunker, when it was dark and quiet, and he was alone but not lonely?

#argo ii building days you could have been famous #leo valdez #piper mclean #jason grace #the lost trio #the lost hero #heroes of olympus #festus #festus the dragon #hoo

[citrusreadstoa]

Reading The Dark Prophecy: Chapter 27 (SPOILERS)

Alrighty, I'm back from the holiday season! It went fantabulously, thank you so much for asking.

"when a bronze dragon smashes into them." *chanting* FESTUS! FESTUS! FESTUS!

"If you ask me, she's just jealous of their beautiful faces. BOOM!" Another good insult lost to the BOOM... Do you think Apollo would get smote if he insulted the gods? Do you think he's more or less likely to be smote than the average demigod (I say average because we know no one can top Percy's eagerness to piss off the Olympians)?

"Hello, we are your friends. You're going to die. Come with us." Oh, no. Twenty bucks the Hunters will at some point try to recruit Meg. She's exactly the right age and has exactly the right amount of murderous zeal. She probably wouldn't join, but the thought of Apollo having to work for one of his sister's immortal Moon cultists is funny.

"with choppy black hair" THA-LI-A!

"Lityerses, get out there!" "Sire... you were about to relieve me of duty. By killing me?" LMAO the ultimate entitlement.

"Something inside me, no doubt a character flaw, made me feel pity for the wounded Cornhusker." Something doesn't align with your traditional godly morals? Gotta be a character flaw. Honestly, I'm surprised he admitted he had a flaw at all instead of just blaming it on the mortal body.

"What's up, Lesteropoulos?" Apollo had a choice between telling Leo his mortal name and keeping it to himself, letting them continue to refer to him as Apollo. Clearly, he made the wrong decision.

"Can't I just let Festus stomp him?" Valid point, but have you considered: I am a sucker for a redemption arc. "Commodus betraying this swordsman made me almost as angry as . . . Zeus abandoning me in the mortal world for the third time." On that level? That's quite a leap.

"Thalia Grace climbed up behind me on the elephant--which fulfilled a daydream" Very specific daydream. Also, didn't Thalia renounce her last name? Thus, she wouldn't be Thalia Grace anymore, just Thalia. It was mentioned at the start of The Titan's Curse, I think, and definitely reiterated at the start of The Lost Hero when Jason asks what Thalia's last name is and Annabeth says she doesn't use it anymore but says that it used to be Grace, and that's what jogs his memory to recall his own last name. In short, everyone calling her Thalia Grace has been stomping all over her wishes. Thalia is not Thalia Grace -- she's just Thalia.

"Iphigenia, get the rest of the Hunters out of here." IPHIGENIA! I know I'm talking too much through this, but Iphigenia was the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra and when the Greek armies going to Troy could not proceed because Agamemnon had killed one of Artemis's sacred stags (like the dickhead he is), Artemis demanded her as a sacrifice. Agamemnon agreed to kill his own daughter so the armies could proceed to Troy and sacrificed her. In some versions, she just dies. In other versions, they all think she died but she was whisked away by Artemis to who-knows-where. I guess PJO Iphigenia was taken to join the Hunters! This little nod brings me so much joy.

"I'd forgotten how wonderful sunlight felt!" You... really? Ha... really?

"I drank, and my vision cleared immediately." I was going to say, I guess we have our answer to whether Apollo can still have nectar and ambrosia, but the elephant also drank it. "It's moonwater." Ah? So Apollo doesn't know about it. Is it supposed to be a secret and they've just had a serious info leak by Thalia telling it to Apollo? Or is this fine?

"Zeus has forbidden her from seeing you." Bitch (Zeus). "She's not even supposed to give us orders to help you." This was expected, actually. Of course he would forbid Artemis from helping her brother and from directing her cultists to do the same. Still, gods get around rules like this all the time. She must show up at some point. Then again, I just looked up her character art and SHE HAS NONE. So...

"We've been searching for a particular monster for months now" And every time they say that, the monster in question shows up within the book. Tell me it's not Sssssarah.

"Britomartis . . . urging them to come here . . . let's-pretend-that-never-happened." Oh, so Britomartis is good for something other than trapping sofa cushions and looking pretty.

"I was younger then" You have been frozen in time since then, but it's true mentally you've still matured. "I'd just spent several years as a pine tree." You specifically said you hardly felt those years go by. "My vision and reasoning were impaired from sap damage." That is hands-down the stupidest excuse I've heard come out of her mouth.

"he launches a reprisal." REPRISAL (n.): an act of retaliation

#reading trials of apollo #reading the dark prophecy #reading toa #reading tdp #toa spoilers #trials of apollo spoilers #trials of apollo #the dark prophecy #percy jackson and the olympians #apollo pjo #apollo #lester papadopoulos #festus the happy dragon #festus #hunters of artemis #meg mccaffrey #thalia pjo #thalia #i refuse to tag her thalia grace bc that's not her name #lityerses pjo #lityerses #iphigenia #artemis pjo #artemis #pjo #toa #pjo hoo toa #rrverse #riordanverse

[twoidiotwriters1]

Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: The titles are long af bc I find that very funny -Danny Words: 3,948 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Runaway' -by Aurora

V. Memory Lane Has Too Many Stops and I Keep Getting Carsick

Ara has barely stopped crying when Leo Valdez shows up flying the bronze dragon. Everyone stands ready, except Ara. She pushes through the crowd, eyes brimming with tears once again.

"People of Earth, I come in peace!" Leo is the most insane-looking boy she's ever seen. He's dirty from head to toe and looks like he spent the whole night awake. "Festus is just saying hello!"

"That thing is dangerous! Kill it now!"

"Stand down!" Jason shouts anxiously, Annabeth and Nyssa stand next to him. "Leo, what have you done?"

"Found a ride!" He says cheerfully. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"

"Festus..?" Ara echoes hoarsely.

"It—has wings," Nyssa stammers.

"Yeah! I found them and reattached them."

"But it never had wings! Where did you find them?"

"In... the woods," he's hiding something, but Ara couldn't care less about it at the moment. "Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire."

"Mostly?"

The dragon tilts his head and oil falls on top of Leo. He's completely unbothered by it. "Just a few kinks to work out."

Ara's mind catches up with her body and she runs to Festus in tears. Leo jumps out of the way in alarm, but everyone else is delighted. She looks less menacing this way. "You fixed it! You fixed my dragon!"

Leo frowns. "Say what?"

"But how did you survive?" Nyssa asks in shock. "I mean, the fire breath..."

"I'm quick," he turns to his sister. "And lucky. Now, am I on this quest, or what?"

"You named him Festus?" Jason adds. "You know that in Latin, 'Festus' means 'happy'? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?"

"It's perfect!" Ara laughs, the first genuine laughter that comes out of her in days, and gods, it feels so good.

"Okay, so she's as crazy as me," Leo doesn't sound troubled by it. Festus purrs at Ara's touch, she's holding onto his snout. "That's a yes! Now, um, I'd really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the—um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous."

"But we haven't planned anything yet. We can't just—"

"Go," Annabeth stares at them with fondness. "You have Ara, you'll be okay. You've only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen. Go!" 

Jason looks at Piper. "You ready, partner?"

"You bet." The girl's beaming at the dragon.

"Everyone, give our General a proper send-off!" Lily speaks next to her, which causes Ara to jump. She hates it when Lily does that.

The campers lift their shields and swords. Lily places a Tyrian purple cloak on Ara's shoulders and hands her a worn T-rex backpack. "Come back alive," she raises her left hand, and a thin scar can be seen on the side of her wrist. "Deal?"

Ara lifts her right wrist and lightly presses it against Lily's. "You got it." She turns to look at the campers. "I'll bring you good news this time, I promise," Ara faces Leo, the insane boy, and her eyes fill with gratitude. "I owe you a big one."

"Cash only, sunshine. Or a kiss, if you're feeling generous," Leo jokes, trying to stop her from looking at him like that.

Ara smiles, which is not the reaction he wanted. He's hoping she'll go back to being grumpy soon, but unfortunately, nothing's going to make her forget his great deed. "I'll think about it."

She climbs on top of the dragon, and Leo does an okay job at keeping it together. Ara feels this is where she's meant to be, this will bring back her brother. She's always had a good instinct when it comes to Percy.

I'm weaving baskets when this weird thought crosses my mind: 

Look for Percy!

I saw him fifteen minutes ago, but I tell the naiads and nymphs that are with me: "Go get help." They notice how serious I am—which is unlike me—and follow my plea. I make my way to the forest, something is guiding me.

When Percy fought Ares, I gave him Aphrodite's protection. I told him "Love will keep you safe", and at the time he thought that I was saying it to not be the only one that hadn't given him something, but I knew it would work. I didn't know that it would bind me to him, but I'm not complaining.

When I find him, Percy sounds scared. "You're being used, Luke. You and Ares both. Don't listen to Kronos."

"I've been used? Look at yourself. What has your dad ever done for you? Kronos will rise. You've only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest—the ones who serve him."

I throw my basket at the back of Luke's head, trying to give Percy time so he can grab his sword. Luke turns and holds his weapon tighter. He has a new sword. "I've had enough!"

I stumble and cut my palm on a rock, I grab it and hear Percy's panicky voice. "Don't!" I don't know who he's talking to, but neither of us listens. The rock hits Luke's arm and I roll to avoid his blade but it grazes my skin. I grab a fistful of dirt and throw it at his face.

Percy swats whatever creature is on his leg and draws out his sword, Luke notices and decides I'm not worth the trouble, he makes an arch-motion with his weapon and disappears through a portal. I'm scared shitless and I can feel my back pulsing, I wanna run and hide behind someone again. 

"I'm sorry!" I cry, even though I'm not the one who almost killed Percy.

He stumbles toward me in some sort of pain, and I'll be damned if I don't help him out of this one. I put his left arm around my shoulders, and he places most of his weight on me, but I carry on.

"Cool, right?" Leo's smell is starting to get a little too hard to ignore, Ara tries to keep his oil-covered self away. 

"What if we get spotted?" Piper asks.

"The Mist," Jason responds before Ara can. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."

"You sure about that?"

"No."

"I am," Ara replies. "Don't worry, Piper, the crazier it gets, the harder it is for mortals to notice. If not, I know how to fix it."

"Is it thanks to the cool thing you are?" Leo asks.

"Yeah, Chiron had to readjust my training, not everyone can control the mist, but Thalia Grace is really good at it and she and Chiron taught me, she's the other child of Zeus."

"We're making good time," Jason comments like he's trying to change the subject. "Probably get there by tonight."

"Where are we heading?" Piper questions.

"To find the god of the North Wind and chase some storm spirits." 

"Piece of cake," Ara nods. "I've gone to many quests, follow your instincts and we'll be okay."

"Which reminds me!" Leo adds. "You didn't finish your story! You promised you would explain!"

Ara frowns. "Where was I?"

"That Luke dude went nuts."

She pauses, trying to piece her memories together. "Well, the nymphs took us back to camp..."

Percy's really weak after Luke's attack. Annabeth left half an hour ago, and I'm standing on the porch clinging to my friend's arm. "You're going too, aren't you?" 

The basket I was weaving when I found him is at my feet, I made it for Grover. Percy says he might not come back at all. Grover, Annabeth, and Percy are the closest friends I've had and they're leaving. I want Percy to stay.

"I want to be with my mom, Ara."

"I wish I had a family," I make a face.

Percy pats my hand, I would rather have him glaring, but Annabeth says he's got a soft spot for me. "I thought you were excited to work on the forges?"

I sigh, Percy's words are not enough to distract me. "If I had a family, I'd choose them over camp too," I hold his hand and squeeze it. "Have a good year, Nemo."

He shakes my hand. "Have a fun year, Birdy. Maybe you can come and spend Christmas with me and my mom?"

"You're giving me permission to annoy you outside camp?"

Percy grabs his glass of nectar and drinks from it. "Let's see who gets tired first."

Leo isn't as obnoxious as he pretends to be. He tells them about his connection to Hera, and the girl connects the dots. She doesn't want to use her empath touch on him, but she doesn't need to, Leo gets really quiet after telling his story and keeps his eyes ahead, no longer in the mood for jokes.

Ara process all the information she's gathered, to her it's obvious who the big bad is, but she does not dare to say it out loud, it would mean her future as the daughter of Olympus is bound to that stupid prophecy...

"You know something, don't you?" Piper asks as if reading Ara's thoughts. 

Leo has fallen asleep in front of them so she speaks quietly, though she doesn't need to, the wind is loud enough to hide her voice. "Nothing that could make things better."

"Okay... I just want to say, you know... thank you," Piper squeezes her shoulder. "You must be dead worried about your brother..."

Ara senses dread in Piper, the girl isn't as calm as she appears to be. "He would've wanted me to come. Others are looking for him, so..." She isn't needed. At least here, she feels important. She's a protector, and she likes that these demigods respect her. "And Lily's looking after camp, so I'm not worried."

"Annabeth's sister?" Piper muses. "Is she another daughter of Olympus?"

"Something better," Ara smiles. "She's my best friend."

Lily Saggio is the newest and weirdest camper in this place. She's got pitch-black hair and big gray eyes. Since I came back from Percy's home, I've seen campers give her weary looks when she walks past, they say she's just like Thalia.

"Hi! I'm Ara!"

The girl regards me with distrust, then she glances at the table I was in. I feel like she ran a background check in less than five seconds. "Lily Saggio."

I'll have to carry the conversation. That's okay. "You're lucky you got here during winter and not summer! Where are you from?"

Lily stares at me pondering whether to talk or ignore me. "You're a year-rounder?"

"Yeah!"

"Why weren't you here last week?" I notice she's trying to hide an accent, but I do my best to act like I don't.

"I was invited to my friend's house. Look, he gave me this!" I show her my backpack, which is a teddy bear. I keep priceless things in it: my snacks and the legos Sally gave me as a Christmas/late birthday present. 

"You can leave this place?" Lily's expression shifts.

"Not all the time," I pull Bear and rummage through him. "I promised I wouldn't leave Percy's apartment—and it was Christmas!"

Lily stands up straighter, looking defiant. "I can look after myself, I've fought monsters before," She pulls out a black dagger and shows it to me.

I gasp. "Where did you get that?"

"It showed up on my nightstand after my Nonna..." She pauses and shakes her head. "It's a gift from my patron, so I don't—"

"You don't like it here?" I pull out my box of Legos and Lily's eyes brighten at the sight. "Don't you wanna know who your parent is?"

She frowns. "I know who my dad is."

"Oh! You're an Ares kid? You don't look like Apollo but you'd make an interesting child of Hermes or Dionys—"

"I didn't mean that."

"You know your dad?" I ask, not following the conversation.

"Yes, my mortal parent," she rolls her eyes. "I don't care about the god. They didn't care about me."

To think that way will get her a step closer to joining Luke. I don't want that. "Do I look like I'm Aphrodite's child?"

"What?"

"Do I look it?" I insist.

"You're okay."

This is the first time anyone calls me okay. My brain goes: Well... duh!

"It hardly matters who your godly parent is, you'll grow to love it here," I lock arms with her and place my Legos on her hands. "I'm going to the forges, come and see."

"I don't need a chaperone—"

"You are sooo grumpy," I sigh. "No one would trust me to look after another camper. So!"

Lily waits for me to finish my sentence. "So?"

"They'll leave you alone if I'm with you, I'm not very popular either."

On our way to the forges, I hear a couple of Ares kids shout rude things at Lily, I step in to shut them up and they laugh so hard they forget about her.

"Go away," Lily scowls at me.

I pout a little. "I just wanted to help."

"I don't need you."

"I didn't do that thinking you—"

"I don't care," she clenches her fists. "Never do that again."

When they reach Boreas's palace, two of his children stop them. Zethes stares at the purple cloak covering her shoulders and his smile evaporates. "Ara Jackson."

She gives a start. "Hi. You know my name?"

"You killed Cacus!"

"Who?" Leo asks with amusement.

"It wasn't only me," Ara dismisses the comment. "Can we go in, then?"

Zethes doesn't look pleased. "You'll kill us if we don't let you?"

Ara shrugs. "Sure."

Leo leans closer as they fly down. "So if I get into a nasty fight, could you just smite my opponent? It'd be super helpful if I knew that beforehand..."

"Shut up," Ara scowls, but she's hiding a smile.

When they land, the Boreads get a little nervous about having Festus there. "No, no, no,"  Zethes points at it. "The dragon must be deactivated. We can't have fire in here. The heat ruins my hair."

Ara steps forward. "Stay away from the dragon, then."

"'S'okay, boy," Leo eases the automaton, giving her a reassuring nod. "The dragon's a little touchy about the whole deactivation concept. But I've got a better solution." 

"Destroy?" Cal suggested.

"No, man. You gotta stop with the destroy talk. Just wait."

"Leo," Piper intervenes, "what are you—"

"Watch and learn, beauty queen. When I was repairing Festus last night, I found all kinds of buttons. Some, you do not want to know what they do. But others... Ah, here we go."

Leo sneaks his hand inside Festus's left paw and Ara hears a click, the dragon folds until it's a block of bronze. "Um... yeah. Hold on. I think—aha!" A handle pops up along with four wheels at the bottom. "Ta-da! The world's heaviest carry-on bag!"

"Cool!" Ara gets closer to examine it. Every time Leo gets that reaction out of her, he looks ready to throw himself off a rooftop.

"That's impossible," Jason exclaims. "Something that big couldn't—"

"Stop!" Zethes and his brother suddenly point their swords at Leo.

"Hey!" Ara makes her own weapon appear. "What's your problem?"

Leo raises his hands. "Okay... what'd I do? Stay calm, guys. If it bothers you that much, I don't have to take the dragon as carry-on—"

"Who are you? A child of the South Wind, spying on us?"

"What? No! Son of Hephaestus. Friendly blacksmith, no harm to anyone!"

"Smell fire," Cal gets closer. "Fire is bad."

"Oh. Yeah, well... my clothes are kind of singed, and I've been working with oil, and—"

"No!" Zethes tries to touch Leo but Ara keeps him away with her sword. "We can smell fire, demigod. We assumed it was from the creaky dragon, but now the dragon is a suitcase. And I still smell fire... on you." 

Ara glances at Leo. He is hiding something. "Hey... look... I don't know—Guys, a little help?"

"Look, there's been a mistake. Leo isn't a fire guy. Tell them, Leo. Tell them you're not a fire guy," Jason says, which is not great.

"Um..." Leo's indecision makes Ara uneasy.

"Piper," she could do this, but it's better for her sister to get comfortable with her powers. "Talk some sense into these boys, please?"

The girl understands right away. "Zethes? We're all friends here. Put down your swords and let's talk."

"The girl is pretty," he hums, "and of course she cannot help being attracted to my amazingness; but sadly, I cannot romance her at this time." 

"Destroy him now?"

"Sadly, I think—"

"No," Jason insists. "Leo's just a son of Hephaestus. He's no threat. Piper here is a daughter of Aphrodite. I'm the son of Zeus. We're on a peaceful..."

"What did you say?" Zethes snaps. "You are the son of Zeus?"

"Um... yeah," he pauses. "That's a good thing, right? My name is Jason."

"Can't be Jason," Cal says stupidly. "Doesn't look the same."

"No, he is not our Jason. Our Jason was more stylish. Not as much as me—but stylish. Besides, our Jason died millennia ago."

"Wait," the boy continues. "Your Jason... you mean the original Jason? The Golden Fleece guy?"

"Of course! We were his crewmates aboard his ship, the Argo, in the old times, when we were mortal demigods. Then we accepted immortality to serve our father, so I could look this good for all time, and my silly brother could enjoy pizza and hockey."

So many demigods gave up their mortality, and most of them had done it for such stupid reasons! Ara can't believe Percy's the exception to the rule, she's seen him push a pull door way too many times.

"Hockey!" Cal says happily.

"But Jason—our Jason—he died a mortal death. You can't be him."

"I'm not."

"So, destroy?"

"No," Zethes pouts. "If he is a son of Zeus, he could be the one we've been watching for. He's with Jackson, after all."

"Watching for?" Leo repeats. "You mean like in a good way: you'll shower him with fabulous prizes? Or watching for like in a bad way: he's in trouble?"

"That depends on my father's will," a girl's voice announces.

A brief flash of light comes out of Leo as soon as he sees the girl, but it's so short-lived Ara doesn't even distinguish its color. She scowls at him. Really? Right now? But she doesn't say anything out loud, she's the only one who can see those things anyway. 

The goddess is asking Jason to join her father, apparently, he's got some judgment to make, but Leo is not allowed to come. Jason and Piper don't want to leave him, and Ara doesn't want to either, she doesn't trust Leo will stay put. 

He smiles and obediently sits on top of Festus. "It's fine, guys. No sense causing trouble if we don't have to. You go ahead."

Again, Ara's intrigued. Half the time he's hyper and impatient and now he's just... half a smile that does not reach his eyes. She's never met anyone like him, someone made out of halves.

"Listen to your friend," the young goddess tells them. "Leo Valdez will be perfectly safe. I wish I could say the same for you. Now come, King Boreas is waiting." 

Ara wants to sit and have a full-fledged conversation with Leo about his feelings and how he perceives the world, but she's lost practice. Before it was easy to pay attention to others, but Ara's obligations positioned her above many things, including day-to-day interaction with campers.

Lily's impression of me changes after Capture the Flag."This is your first time playing so don't worry, they won't notice you," I undo the clasp of her armor vest before she can stop me and fix it for her.

"What do you mean?" She frowns.

"You're new, they won't ask you to do anything."

She's deeply upset about this. "They should take advantage of all their assets!"

"We're not tools," I tilt my head with amusement. Lily's lived on the streets for far too long. "If you're so sure you can handle it, though... there's something I've always wanted to try."

She wavers. "What is it?"

"I think I can reach the flag faster than our leader. No one ever pays attention to me and it'd be really funny if we get there first instead of our Captain. What do you say?"

Lily makes a face. "That's not a plan."

"Are you a chicken, Saggio?" I don't know why I tease her, but she looks funny when she's angry.

"No!"

"A drachma says I can get to the flag before you can!" I sprint out of sight.

I hear her trying to catch up and that makes me giggle. I move as quickly as possible, but then, just when I'm reaching the limits, Lily comes out of nowhere and tackles me to the ground. We're both lifted in the air and end up hanging upside down from a tree.

"Why did you do that?" I complain. "We could've won!"

"I wasn't letting you get there first, you turned it into a competition!" She says. "What is this?"

"Rope. Beckendorf did it, so we're stuck here until someone finds us. Or so he says..."

"What do you mean?"

"These are designed for heavier demigods," I look up—down, actually—and follow the rope to see where it ends."I'll take your knife, the rope's tied in my direction."

"Turn us around!"

"Are any of your arms free?"

She groans, trying to release herself. "It's my knife!"

"You're bossy," I sigh. "Sit tight while I free us, boss."

I squirm for five whole minutes, but the rope's only getting tighter. Lily tries to stop me, but I'm not giving up. Finally, after a long struggle... Lily's dagger falls out of her belt. 

She lets her head hang in defeat. "I'll scream."

"No!"

"Why not?" She presses. "There's nothing we can do!"

I was telling the truth when I said this was something I'd been planning to do for quite a while, but this is not how I wanted it to go. "We can't be seen like this, your rep will be ruined!"

Two arrows fly through the gap between us, one of them scratches us but we're released in less than a second. Lily lands sideways and I land on my back. 

"Well, well..." a small boy walks up to us smirking. "Out of all the campers, I never thought they'd send you."

I smile sweetly. "Hey, bud, if you can find it in your heart to let us go..."

He seizes two new arrows from his quiver and points them at us. "Get up."

Lily sits up, immensely disappointed... so I start talking. 

"Michael," I charmspeak him. "Hand me your bow." His shoulders relax and the arrows fall at his feet, then he gives me his bow.

"Che cosa..!" Lily whispers in shock.

"The quiver too," Michael hands it to me. I look at it, then at him. "Forget this happened and go to sleep." He drops to the ground, snoring loudly. "So..." I hand Lily the bow. "He caught me, you knocked him out and took his weapons before he could take me. Fair play."

The more agitated she gets, the more it stands out that accent she has. "Have you always been able to do that?"

"You were going to lose, and now you're going back with a prisoner. They'll give you a bigger role next time thanks to that."

"But I didn't do this!"

"So what?" I shrug. "Next time you'll do something better, that'll be enough to compensate for the lie. There is no honor in going down by charmspeak, Lily. You're tough and Michael's got a bad temper, it'll make both of you look good."

"But I'm..." I can't tell if she's angry or flustered. "I was stubborn, I don't deserve a win."

"I was pushing your buttons," I admit. "Please, Michael will prefer this over the truth."

Lily's not convinced. "And you?"

"Teach me to be quiet and we'll be even," I pick up her dagger.

"I wouldn't want you as my enemy," she seizes her weapon and places it on her belt. The gash Michael made on our wrists is bleeding, hers is on the left wrist and mine's on the right. "It's a deal."

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @ash-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen

#twoidiots writing #pjo fanfic #pjo hoo toa #pjo fandom #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #leo valdez x oc #leo valdez fanfic #doo #heroes of olympus

[captainsvscaptains]

Battle of the Ships

(Fixed) Round 1 Part 3 Poll 7

Description for the Argo II : Aquatic and flying trireme. Awesome dude Leo Valdez built it. The statue on front is the head of his (mostly destroyed) mechanical dragon Festus who he communicates with in morse code. It has stables and a room in the front so that Leo can rebuild Festus' body.

Propaganda for the Argo II : dragon figurehead that breathes fire that Supreme Commander of the Argo II Leo Valdez is rebuilding. the dragon's name is Festus which means happy in Latin. it has stables for mythological horses. it's just really cool

Description for the Gangplank Galleon : Pirate sailing vessel owned by King K. Rool. Eventually becomes stuck in place. Also spelled as "Gang-Plank" and "Gang Plank"

Propaganda for the Gangplank Galleon : Has a cool theme song with the same name. Now also in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate!

Note :

The picture for the Argo is from the cover of a Chinese edition (yes I know it doesn't really match the description but I love it)

#tournament polls #battle of the ships #round 1 #argo ii #heroes of olympus #hoo fandom #pjo #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #leo valdez #festus #argo 2 #argo 2 crew #gangplank galleon #donkey kong country #donkey kong #super smash bros

[darkestspring]

ok so idk if you read percy jackson/herous of olympus but if you didn't there's this character called leo and he is a inventor and always fix things and he has a robot dragon called festus, now imagine inventor reader didn't claimed a dragon yet after years and said "fuck it i will build one for myself", i would love to see everyone's reaction to it and asking themselves how tf they were able to do it

anyone who knows me (my chosen name is literally nico babes <3333) knows i love pjo and i relate to nico on a personal level, he was literally my "i relate way too much" character but yes, i love this so much.

they grow tired of the whispers of how they're not a real targaryen because they don't have a dragon, they grew tired of the insults of how they're not brave enough to claim a dragon, so they built one for themselves, their own psuedo baby. they're filled with so much pride when their lovely dragon comes to life.

i think similar to how leo names his dragon 'festus' which means happy/happiness. i think they'd name their dragon 'hoskagon' which means pride in valyrian. hoskagon is quite literally their pride and joy. let people talk, they convince themself, i have my dragon, what else could i need?

#pjo was the first book i read when i was coming to term with my gender and sexuality so to see nico be happy was- #like so just emotional for me #inventor! child reader

[banana-breaded]

Leo prioritized Calypso above all else

in "HoO", including himself, obviously.

When Leo decides to sacrifice himself for the sake of ending Gaea, he is portrayed to have a mentality of "well, you can't fight against a prophecy." I thought this was weird, considering that he was the mischievous, trouble-making rule-breaker of the Seven. It just didn't seem like him to accept defeat so easily, even if he did have a plan to resurrect himself. I thought that it would be more in character for him to put up a fight in order to ensure less pain for him and his friends.

And with the case of Calypso and Ogygia, he was willing to bend sea and sky in order to exploit a loophole that would let him find the island again. In all fairness, it can be argued that the Physician's Cure was a loophole in regards to the Prophecy of Seven, but it was so risky it nearly doesn't count.

When comparing these two situations, I had a thought. I bet Leo was so willing to accept martyrdom (albeit temporarily) because it would enable him to find Calypso more easily.

There would be less resistance to his journey from his fellow demigods as they wouldn't be aware of it, for one thing. But the major point would be that, as a corpse, Leo would have absolutely no part in navigating to the island. Festus alone would find Ogygia, and as he was both mechanical and a dragon, Calypso's curse would not apply to him at all (obviously). Previously I had thought that Festus finding the island, even with a conscious rider, would work nicely but now I don't think that would be the case.

This wasn't exactly an astounding revelation, I'm sure many people have thought of this, but to me it helps explain Leo's juxtaposing behaviors as well emphasizes that no matter what he was doing, he had Calypso in mind. He was shaping the fate of the world, but he did consider her and consciously factor her happiness into his plan, no matter how risky it was for him to do so.

What if the pain drove him insane? What if, by dying, his oath to her was broken and he'd be punished indescribably harshly? What if Zeus, Hades, or Thanatos came after him for cheating death? These risks were worth taking, because they gave him the greatest chance of finding Calypso.

#heroes of olympus #percy jackson #rick riordan #the heroes of olympus #pjo stuff #leo valdez #pjo zeus #pjo hades #pjo calypso #calypso #pjo fandom #read riordan #riordan books #riordanverse #riordan universe