Bea

I collect fandoms like eggs <3 random fandom analysis is basically my entire personality (this is a sideblog so when i follow people or like posts, the url that shows up is @a-sparrows-melody please just imagine that it's me)

[w1tch-hazel]

HAPPY PRIDE!!!! some elmax for celebration 🤭

This is what I imagine they would look like in college lol and i gave max glasses and clouded eyes cuz realistically she wouldn't have recovered fully from the attack so i headcanon her as atleast partially blind!

[aarbeaz]

I just wrote the first smut of my life

Oh my god I'm a gay porn author now oh my god

[witchboynico]

for @percicomicrofic | prompt: RAW | word count: 1001 | post-canon, nsfw implied, continuation on ao3 here

Percy doesn't really know how he ended up living with Jason and Nico. It wasn't really on purpose. It's just what happened when it all went down.

It, being when he and Annabeth broke up and he was chivalrous and told Annabeth she didn't have to move. Unfortunately, that meant he didn't really have anywhere to go. He could live with his mom, but Estelle took his room and he's 25-years-old. He doesn't want to live with his mom, as lovely as she is. He couldn't go back to camp either, and he certainly couldn't go anywhere else in New Rome. He was in dire straits until Jason offered his and Nico's guest room after Percy has spent two months couch hopping.

"You have a guest room?" Percy asked at the time. "In New York?"

"Nico's dad," Jason said, and Percy could almost hear the shrug in his voice. "Don't worry about it. At least you won't have to pay rent."

There's that, Percy guesses. Things could always be worse. Things could always be like right now, when Percy knocks on Nico's and Jason's front door only to be faced with a scowling Nico di Angelo.

"Hello?" Nico asks when he seems to register that it's Percy. "What are you doing here?"

And Percy— Percy hasn't seen Nico in years. He can't be blamed for the way that he's staring at the boy in front of him, the man in front of him, long and lean and beautiful. Nico's always been pretty, but now…

"Uh," Percy finally says, blinking the stars out of his eyes. "Jason said I could crash in your guest room?"

"That fucking—" Nico mutters before he rolls his eyes. "Sure. Why not? We could always use another roommate. We already have so many."

"You have another roommate?" Percy asks as Nico steps back to let him inside.

"Olive Garden," Nico says, nodding at the corner. It seems like a non-answer until the corner moves and oh, it's a cat. Dark as Nico's hair and dark as Nico's scowl. "She doesn't pay rent."

"Hello, Ms. Olive Garden," Percy says with a smile. "I heard no one pays rent anyway, so you're probably fine. Is she yours?"

"She's her own."

Percy blinks. "Sure. Where should I put my things?"

"Follow me," Nico says as he ducks down the hallway. "Guest room's next to mine, so try not to be too loud unless I'm in the Underworld."

"How often is that?"

Nico shrugs. "Half the time, maybe? So you can throw ragers six months out of the year. Jason's a pushover and would probably let you."

Percy laughs and Nico watches him carefully before his mouth ticks up in a small smile. It's a good look on Nico. Percy idly wonders if everything is such a good look on Nico. He's almost afraid of the answer.

"I'll let you settle in or whatever," Nico says, waving his hand dismissively. "I'll make dinner."

"You can cook?"

Nico waves his hand again and shuts the bedroom door.

Nico can only kind of cook. He can certainly provide wine well though. He's an expert at it. Percy is sure his mouth is tinged red like Nico's is. Across the couch from Percy, Nico is laughing too, which means Percy is laughing, and then Percy isn't laughing at all and he's crying. He's wine drunk and weeping on his new couch that's actually Nico's and Jason's couch.

"Uh—" Nico says.

"I just don't know what to do," Percy sobs. "She left me and I feel like a newly hatched chicken. She took all my feathers."

"Don't chicks usually have feathers when they're hatched?"

"Shh," Percy shushes. "You get my point."

"Sure. Go on, I guess."

"I feel my life is starting over," Percy sighs. "New house, same but new city, new job, and I'm a virgin."

Nico huffs out a laugh. "I don't think virginity works like that. I don't think it resets when you get out of a relationship."

"No, like, I'm a virgin," Percy says miserably. "In general. All the way, all the time."

Now Nico's laugh is loud and bright. It nearly makes Percy smile. "No way. No way you lived with your long-term girlfriend and you've never had sex."

"She was waiting until marriage."

"No way."

"Way!" Percy cries. "I thought when we moved in together… Well, you get it since you and Jason live together."

"Huh?" Nico asks. "What about me and Jason?"

"You're together?"

Nico leans forward and slaps his hand on Percy's mouth. "Never say that again. Jason and I are not together. We slept together one time and that was it."

Percy moves Nico's hand and he doesn't know why he keeps holding it, but it's nice. "Oh, okay. Cool. That's awesome."

Is it awesome? Percy has no idea what's going on. He's still crying.

"Yeah, okay," Nico laughs. He doesn't move his hand. "You have to fuck someone, Perce. It's the only answer."

"But anyone I would have sex with would have to know I'm a virgin and that's humiliating."

"You told me."

"Right," Percy says slowly. "Neeks, that's brilliant."

"Don't call me— What's brilliant?"

"You already know I'm a virgin. We should sleep together and it would solve my problem."

Nico blinks at Percy a few times. They're still holding hands. "Do you even like men?"

"Yeah, totally," Percy says with a smile. "That's old news. I like men, you're beautiful, and you know I'm a virgin. You used to like me, right?"

"When I was 14?"

"Right, so just tap into that."

"Uh—"

Percy laughs. "Neeks. Nico. Come on. It's literally perfect. Let's have sex."

Nico bites his lip while he thinks now. Maybe he did before and Percy never noticed. All possibilities.

"Fine," Nico finally says. "But not while you're drunk."

Percy uses their joined hands to tug Nico close and smack a wet kiss on his mouth. Nico gives a breathless laugh in reply and Percy, for once, feels light.

for the real “raw”: continuation on ao3 here!

[aarbeaz]

@percicomicrofic | prompt: RAW | wordcount: 1, 302 | universe: post-TOA

༄༄༄

For the first time in his life, Nico feels warm.

Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's the itchy suit he's wearing. Maybe it's the fact that Percy and him have been dating for only a week and they're about to get married in less than an hour.

Nico stands in front of the mirror, adjusting his bow-tie for the millionth time that evening. He exhales heavily, fans his face with his hands, and adjusts his bow-tie again.

The past week, heck, the past month has felt like such a blur. When Nico and Percy had reunited for the last month of Camp's summer session after not seeing each other for almost a decade, neither of them had expected the month to end with their marriage. And despite Nico being utterly, irrevocably in love with a certain Percy Jackson, he still worries if their relationship is actually real or Percy's going to get bored one day in the future and walk out on him. To be fair, everyone had expected Percy and Annabeth to stay together forever - especially considering they fell into Tartarus together, and that place does things to you. Nico knows it all too well. And if Percy and Annabeth can't stay together, what chance do Nico and Percy have? What if getting married is a bad idea? What if Percy hates him?

Nico huffs and reties his bow-tie, then wonders if he should have chosen a sober tie instead. In the mirror of his cabin bathroom, he notices Hazel, clad in a beautiful black gown made by Underworld tailors just for the occasion, walk in.

"Is it really hot in here or is it just me?"

"I'm sure your cold feet will keep you cooled enough."

Nico grimaces, and Hazel sighs in that affectionate, slightly exasperated tone she uses only for Nico.

"Look, I would tell you that you're being silly for getting married so quickly, but I know you love Percy, and the guy loves you too. You're my brother. Don't think I wouldn't fight if I thought you were making a mistake." Hazel smiles. "And the guy in question is absolutely going insane out there, and I'm scared he'll blow up more toilets."

Hazel offers her arm and Nico smiles hesitantly. "Coming?"

༄༄༄

The wedding is objectively beautiful. Camp Half-Blood is covered in a beautiful pink sky, slowly darkening from the impending sunset. A cool breeze tickles through the chattering crowds of various demigods and a random assortment of gods, spreading the sweet smell of blooming strawberries and summer wildflowers. The beach is decorated in rolls of streamers and balloons, with enough chairs for an army of guests. The ocean waves catch the glittering rays of the setting sun, and everything is picturesque.

Occupying an entire row of chairs for himself, even Hades is dressed for the occasion - which basically means he's adorned every individual soul that consists his robe with tiny flower crowns. Sally and Paul are alternatively bursting into tears even though the ceremony hasn't even started yet. Poseidon looks a little confused but mostly supportive.

Nico doesn't notice any of it, though. When he sees Percy standing in the middle of the makeshift altar in his brilliant cerulean suit, Nico can physically feel all his worries subsiding to the back of his mind.

The wedding is objectively beautiful, but in Nico's mind, all it can be reduced to is one overwhelming event of utter happiness, enough tears to last a lifetime, and an entire evening of staring right into Percy's eyes. Nico is living on a high and he doesn't want it to end.

༄༄༄

The crash comes too, of course, the ill-fortuned shadow of every happy occasion Nico has ever celebrated in his life.

The sun has finally set, dragging the tapestry of the night into focus. The wedding reception is going well, but when Nico's worries get too much to handle, he escapes into a secluded corner of the Big House.

Nico paces in circles around the spot, incessantly tapping the long-empty wine glass. The streamers behind him rustle, but he takes no note of it. On his hand, the simple golden band sits like a weight of thousand tons, either signifying the best decision of his life or his greatest mistake. And that's the problem - he doesn't know yet. Percy has been sweet and loving and basically everything he's ever wanted all week but every happy moment feels like he's waiting for a bomb to explode or this dream to end or for Percy to pop up and say something like 'Yeah, I lied, we're getting a divorce and I'm taking our cat'. They don't even have a cat but Nico's overthought this exact topic so much that he's somehow managed to plan out their retirements.

"Are you having second thoughts?" a familiar voice says, and Nico turns to find a sheepish and worried Percy.

Nico plasters on a smile, about to say something to diffuse the situation, but bites his words back. This is Percy. They're married. He should know what Nico's going through.

"No, it's just... I'm worried. I'm worried that even though you loved Annabeth so much, you still broke up, and if you can break up with the greatest love of your life, what chance do we have?"

When Percy doesn't say anything, Nico bites his lip and sighs, hoping he hasn't gone too far.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything - "

"No, I'm glad you told me this."

Percy sets Nico's glass on a random table and takes his hands in his. "I'm sorry I made you feel like you have to compare yourself to anyone, Nico."

"It's fine, it wasn't your fault."

"It kind of was," Percy presses on. "Please, I never want you to feel like you're... anything less, because you're special to me, Nico. You're amazing and I feel so happy when I'm with you and nothing, literally nothing can compare to finally marrying you today and having you be mine. Annabeth was... different. I loved her but it was the kind of love that fizzles out quickly, you know? And she definitely wasn't the greatest love of my life. You are. Please, don't worry about anyone else."

Nico chews on his lip, all worries not displaced from his mind yet.

"And our love? Is it the kind that fizzles out quickly, too?"

"Do you think it is?" Percy asks, then sighs when Nico still doesn't respond. "Look, I know we've made a very... hasty decision. And I've said this in my vows already, but this marriage, this ring, it's also my promise to you. I promise that every day we wake up, I make the conscious decision to put our relationship first. I promise that whatever happens to us, we'll always go through it together. Everything might be a little raw right now, but I promise, we'll build something so good you'll never doubt anything, Nico. Do you trust me?"

Nico hesitates, then a wide grin cracks across his face. Percy's right - adversaries and troubles are never far from them, but at least they don't have to go through everything alone. They'll always have a home to come back to, and Nico wouldn't give it up for the world.

Nico grabs Percy's face and presses a rough kiss onto his lips.

"I love you, Percy Jackson," he murmurs and he can feel Percy smiling against his lips.

"Percy Jackson-di Angelo now," Percy corrects, and Nico suddenly feels giddy. He's just gotten married to the love of his life. They have an entire lifetime of happiness awaiting them. And Nico knows that as long as they're in it, they're in it together.

"Come on," he says, dragging Percy to the dance floor. "We have a wedding reception to enjoy."

[vyky]

Rick Riordan is looking me right in the eye telling me Annabeth "Hubris" Chase is choosing to go to NRU, in a city she doesn't really like, surrounded by people she doesn't really care about. instead of some top notch ivy league architectural college. he's dead wrong.

[aarbeaz]

@percicomicrofic | prompt: RAW | wordcount: 1, 302 | universe: post-TOA

༄༄༄

For the first time in his life, Nico feels warm.

Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's the itchy suit he's wearing. Maybe it's the fact that Percy and him have been dating for only a week and they're about to get married in less than an hour.

Nico stands in front of the mirror, adjusting his bow-tie for the millionth time that evening. He exhales heavily, fans his face with his hands, and adjusts his bow-tie again.

The past week, heck, the past month has felt like such a blur. When Nico and Percy had reunited for the last month of Camp's summer session after not seeing each other for almost a decade, neither of them had expected the month to end with their marriage. And despite Nico being utterly, irrevocably in love with a certain Percy Jackson, he still worries if their relationship is actually real or Percy's going to get bored one day in the future and walk out on him. To be fair, everyone had expected Percy and Annabeth to stay together forever - especially considering they fell into Tartarus together, and that place does things to you. Nico knows it all too well. And if Percy and Annabeth can't stay together, what chance do Nico and Percy have? What if getting married is a bad idea? What if Percy hates him?

Nico huffs and reties his bow-tie, then wonders if he should have chosen a sober tie instead. In the mirror of his cabin bathroom, he notices Hazel, clad in a beautiful black gown made by Underworld tailors just for the occasion, walk in.

"Is it really hot in here or is it just me?"

"I'm sure your cold feet will keep you cooled enough."

Nico grimaces, and Hazel sighs in that affectionate, slightly exasperated tone she uses only for Nico.

"Look, I would tell you that you're being silly for getting married so quickly, but I know you love Percy, and the guy loves you too. You're my brother. Don't think I wouldn't fight if I thought you were making a mistake." Hazel smiles. "And the guy in question is absolutely going insane out there, and I'm scared he'll blow up more toilets."

Hazel offers her arm and Nico smiles hesitantly. "Coming?"

༄༄༄

The wedding is objectively beautiful. Camp Half-Blood is covered in a beautiful pink sky, slowly darkening from the impending sunset. A cool breeze tickles through the chattering crowds of various demigods and a random assortment of gods, spreading the sweet smell of blooming strawberries and summer wildflowers. The beach is decorated in rolls of streamers and balloons, with enough chairs for an army of guests. The ocean waves catch the glittering rays of the setting sun, and everything is picturesque.

Occupying an entire row of chairs for himself, even Hades is dressed for the occasion - which basically means he's adorned every individual soul that consists his robe with tiny flower crowns. Sally and Paul are alternatively bursting into tears even though the ceremony hasn't even started yet. Poseidon looks a little confused but mostly supportive.

Nico doesn't notice any of it, though. When he sees Percy standing in the middle of the makeshift altar in his brilliant cerulean suit, Nico can physically feel all his worries subsiding to the back of his mind.

The wedding is objectively beautiful, but in Nico's mind, all it can be reduced to is one overwhelming event of utter happiness, enough tears to last a lifetime, and an entire evening of staring right into Percy's eyes. Nico is living on a high and he doesn't want it to end.

༄༄༄

The crash comes too, of course, the ill-fortuned shadow of every happy occasion Nico has ever celebrated in his life.

The sun has finally set, dragging the tapestry of the night into focus. The wedding reception is going well, but when Nico's worries get too much to handle, he escapes into a secluded corner of the Big House.

Nico paces in circles around the spot, incessantly tapping the long-empty wine glass. The streamers behind him rustle, but he takes no note of it. On his hand, the simple golden band sits like a weight of thousand tons, either signifying the best decision of his life or his greatest mistake. And that's the problem - he doesn't know yet. Percy has been sweet and loving and basically everything he's ever wanted all week but every happy moment feels like he's waiting for a bomb to explode or this dream to end or for Percy to pop up and say something like 'Yeah, I lied, we're getting a divorce and I'm taking our cat'. They don't even have a cat but Nico's overthought this exact topic so much that he's somehow managed to plan out their retirements.

"Are you having second thoughts?" a familiar voice says, and Nico turns to find a sheepish and worried Percy.

Nico plasters on a smile, about to say something to diffuse the situation, but bites his words back. This is Percy. They're married. He should know what Nico's going through.

"No, it's just... I'm worried. I'm worried that even though you loved Annabeth so much, you still broke up, and if you can break up with the greatest love of your life, what chance do we have?"

When Percy doesn't say anything, Nico bites his lip and sighs, hoping he hasn't gone too far.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything - "

"No, I'm glad you told me this."

Percy sets Nico's glass on a random table and takes his hands in his. "I'm sorry I made you feel like you have to compare yourself to anyone, Nico."

"It's fine, it wasn't your fault."

"It kind of was," Percy presses on. "Please, I never want you to feel like you're... anything less, because you're special to me, Nico. You're amazing and I feel so happy when I'm with you and nothing, literally nothing can compare to finally marrying you today and having you be mine. Annabeth was... different. I loved her but it was the kind of love that fizzles out quickly, you know? And she definitely wasn't the greatest love of my life. You are. Please, don't worry about anyone else."

Nico chews on his lip, all worries not displaced from his mind yet.

"And our love? Is it the kind that fizzles out quickly, too?"

"Do you think it is?" Percy asks, then sighs when Nico still doesn't respond. "Look, I know we've made a very... hasty decision. And I've said this in my vows already, but this marriage, this ring, it's also my promise to you. I promise that every day we wake up, I make the conscious decision to put our relationship first. I promise that whatever happens to us, we'll always go through it together. Everything might be a little raw right now, but I promise, we'll build something so good you'll never doubt anything, Nico. Do you trust me?"

Nico hesitates, then a wide grin cracks across his face. Percy's right - adversaries and troubles are never far from them, but at least they don't have to go through everything alone. They'll always have a home to come back to, and Nico wouldn't give it up for the world.

Nico grabs Percy's face and presses a rough kiss onto his lips.

"I love you, Percy Jackson," he murmurs and he can feel Percy smiling against his lips.

"Percy Jackson-di Angelo now," Percy corrects, and Nico suddenly feels giddy. He's just gotten married to the love of his life. They have an entire lifetime of happiness awaiting them. And Nico knows that as long as they're in it, they're in it together.

"Come on," he says, dragging Percy to the dance floor. "We have a wedding reception to enjoy."

[aarbeaz]

So I was rewatching ST4 and you know the Rink O Mania scene where everyone forgets Will's birthday? Yeah Jonathan does not. He asks if Will is going to be okay going to the Rink with milkvan because he's realized by that point that all the Wheelers except Holly have their heads so far up their asses they're basically making an ouroboros with themselves.

[cabingold]

can we take a moment to appreciate that one of our characters like. genuinely can control blood + tears + poison etc., and he's done it before. graphically. a tad bit violently. like stranger things-level shit.

now i should be deeply sobered by the fact that the innocent 12yo from book 1 learned how to use blood magic in tartarus. instead the only thing i'm thinking about is how if percy figured it out like a year or two in advance, Kronos and his dumb 'my skin is invulnerable your stupid sword can't kill me' gag would have been so fucking cooked fried eaten up. like come on the potential. can you imagine kronos acting all cool and macho and then this random 14 year old skater just starts bloodbending the shit out of him

[theseventhcrow55]

THE OCEAN BURNED?????????? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?????????????

[bayetea]

there's just so many layers to the tragedy of thalia joining the hunters built into the glaring issues of consent, free will, and external pressures that forced the decision - thalia had no choice. this isn't recognized by readers because well, of course she had a choice. artemis made an offer and she accepted it. she willingly dumped all of the responsibility for the great prophecy onto percy, a younger peer whose judgment and leadership she spent an entire book criticizing. but I think this is a facile understanding of what really took place - it's true and factual, but there were more machinations at work here

first it just has to be recognized that thalia was not the right person to be the child of the great prophecy. I don't mean this in a fatalistic sense; ttc shows repeatedly that she simply cannot do it. thalia wants to be in control - evidenced by all the times she snaps at percy for going against her plans. thalia cannot be trusted with power - percy observes the "hungry" look in her eyes when she touches the ophiotaurus, who could grant omnipotent power to the person that kills it. in her proclamation where she accepts eternal maidenhood, thalia recognizes that kronos is capable of tempting her. thalia struggles to limit herself, which you see clearly in the sword of hades story: her self-destructive impulse to roll sisyphus' boulder over and over because she thinks she can do it, even though the task is intrinsically impossible to complete

these traits of hers are incompatible with the demands of being the prophecy child. consider the information that rachel risked her life to tell percy during the battle of manhattan - "you are not the hero." percy internalized that. thalia wouldn't have. she's got too much hubris, she's too stubborn, she's a control freak that can easily falter and lose control. who knows what would have happened had she actually turned 16 on the winter solstice, how different the second titan war would have gone. it probably would have been very very different than what actually happened, but whatever alternate universe in which she assumes the role was doomed to end in even greater tragedy than what happened in tlo. again, this is why she absolutely cannot be the prophecy child. action must be taken in order to assure it doesn't happen

so it matters a lot that thalia is aware of this. as mentioned previously she knows that kronos can tempt her in his direction - and that's dangerous. she cannot be the prophecy child, so she had to join the hunters. the only other option to avoid it was to die on the quest to save annabeth and artemis (I have to imagine that she considered this; it was known beforehand that two people were prophecized to die on that quest, and she definitely was not willing to join the hunters until after reconciling with zoë). but she didn't die, so the hunters were the only alternative

and I imagine there may be some instinct to still assert that there was a third option, that she could have joined luke. there are many people who wish she had gone down this route, which I honestly find absurd (why would she do this after luke's actions endangered annabeth, the person she cares most about? why would she do this when she knows what luke did to percy when he was 12? why would she do this after luke taunted and insulted her on mount tam? why should she trust luke or kronos? what if kronos used her body as a vessel instead of luke's?) but that's beside the point; within the logic of the narrative, the prophecy child is not supposed to align with kronos. this too is a complex and arguably under-justified position for the narrative to take, but I see no point in giving weight to the premise of thalia joining luke; it never could have happened and both prophetically + metatextually was never meant to happen

in this way it becomes evident that thalia didn't have a choice, never mind the fact that emotions were high after zoë's death and she may have even felt obligated to honor zoë by taking over her role as artemis' lieutenant. thalia is also described as "still feeling like she's twelve" post-revival, which opens up interpretation to her possibly being mentally 12 years old (which I don't personally abide by very much insofar as I interpret her character) - and this age confusion that she struggles with draws her capacity to consent to being a hunter under even more legitimate scrutiny

it's just why her entry into the hunters is so incredibly tragic and upsetting I think. considering how disturbing and uncomfortable rick's portrayal of the hunters is (i.e. artemis targeting prepubescent "virgin" girls to enter a lifelong purity contract with her, just to name one), I could never be happy about this outcome for her as a thalia fan - even though I recognize how necessary it is. in tlh thalia is written like she's really happy with her life in the hunters, and sure that's better than being miserable, but how much freedom does she really have living beneath the eternal watchful eye of a god that will always have more power than her? she's supposed to have sworn off the company of men (even though you see her in close proximity to men numerous times post-ttc) and her foremost allegiance is necessarily to artemis and her fellow hunters. she could have spent a lot more time meshing back into jason's life, which never really got to happen in-text almost certainly due to the constraints of her obligation to artemis

this ties into what I think is the final tier of the tragedy. another reason thalia gives for joining the hunters is her desire to "have a home". I have some gripes with this line from a writing perspective but I'll take it for what it is here. thalia has had a chaotic life, and now she wants a home. had she never joined the hunters, she could have had that with her friends (namely percy) and her family (annabeth, jason) eventually. we know that she hated being alone in the horrible zeus cabin (jason didn't like being there either), but she could have had a real life with her most important friends and family elsewhere. jason dies in toa, and they never had the means to have that home that thalia wanted all along because she simply could not become the child of the prophecy

(this isn't what I want to end this post on lol but pls no luke hate in my notifs btw - I enjoy luke as a character and have always empathized with his motivations, and I have so much distaste for pjo fans who cannot grasp the nuances of the second titan war, which includes both uncritical luke apologism and vicious anti-luke takes. save that stuff for your own blogs thanks 👍)

[bayetea]

back when pjotv s2 was airing I basically ragequit halfway through the season because I was fed up with the show's approach to tyson and its disability messaging (or lack thereof) but then two of my close friends were interested in the show, neither of whom had ever read a percy jackson book in their lives or knew anything about the series going in, so we all watched the entire show together (and I finally finished s2) and something I found funny (or maybe just sad) was that all 3 of agreed that clarisse was the best character while this percy jackson guy was remarkably difficult to care about

[bayetea]

percy is probably the most popular character in the fandom and when you investigate why exactly that is you'll probably find a consensus that while percy's zero-to-hero journey from tlt to tlo is fine and good, what people really respond to is his hatred of cruelty, his ability to stand up for others even under challenging circumstances, and his capacity to be kind and caring towards disadvantaged people because he himself knows what it's like to be disadvantaged. these are not only aspects of percy that endear him to the audience but they're the entire reason why percy is the most important character in this story

so why would I, someone who cares about percy as well as his role in the narrative, enjoy a version of him that guiltlessly supports sacrificing clarisse's undead soldiers to her face? why would I, someone who cares about the tyson-percy relationship, about the fact that one of the only times percy cries in the entire series is when tyson leaves him to go work in the forges, enjoy a version of them that dedicates more screentime to percy's shortness and annoyance with tyson than his protectiveness of and genuine love for him? why would I, someone who appreciates percy's tendency to struggle with communicating and understanding his own feelings, his petty arguments with annabeth, his insecurities and awkwardness and lack of confidence, enjoy a version of percy that is capable of saying "I'd burn down olympus for you" as early as season 2? (never mind the fact that this line means nothing because this show has done very little if anything at all to establish what significance olympus even has to percy, much less given me, the viewer, cause to care about its hypothetical destruction this early in the series... it's almost like you have to establish why something is important in order for lines like this to land emotionally or something)

all of this is why I imagine there's just always going to be a critical disconnect between fans of the show who defend it no matter how lackluster the writing is and me. because they don't care about the same things that I do and they probably don't know why I care in the first place

[howcouldifearanyhurricane]

i’m fucking dying

[aarbeaz]

Look I'm so sorry but I'm losing my mind over here. While I was rewatching ST4, I noticed the weirdest thing ever and I don't know if it's a coincidence or not.

In Episode 2, the Rink-O-Mania scene, Angela implies she's going to wreak havoc on El and Mike and the song that plays in the background is "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco. Immediately as she plans all her devious plans, the words "Amadeus" keep repeating over and over in the background.

Amadeus etymologically means "made of god" or "lover of god".

All throughout the season, the main narrative seems to say that the devil resides in Hawkins. In the first on-screen encounter we see with Chrissy's visions from Vecna and his first look (though it's mostly of his feet), when Chrissy escapes, the song that plays is "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" by The Cramps. Just as she steps out of the bathroom, the song plays something like "the devil is here in America". Right after Chrissy's death, when the police takes interviews of people in the trailer park on TV, a woman says something like "the devil lives right here in Hawkins". In Eddie's first scene, he reads an article that basically says DnD is satanic, AKA, of the devil, but this is a completely different analysis comment altogether.

Ever since the first season, the "devil" has always been associated with the Upside Down creatures. And hence if we say that right now, Vecna is being analogized to a devil.

In S4, we also see that Will can't feel any influence of the Upside Down because he's far way from it. Far away from the devil -> near god (just assume). And without all the unnecessary details as well, Hawkins = Hell and California = Heaven for most of the characters (read: Will) because he's finally free from all the demons.

Hence I think it has something to do with religious connotation or social commentary on religion. Like you ran away from cosmic horrors, congratulations, you've escaped the devil. But the land of god is just as bad, AKA, Angela and her bullying El. So is believing in Heaven or Hell really that different? Is cosmic horror really that terrifying when compared to humans?

To be fair, S4 does push the narrative on us that the Upside Down is just human nature gone bad.

I can go on and on for hours about this but I need I need to shut up now thanks everyone for coming to my ted talk

[bayetea]

singlehandedly undoing years of fandom misogynoir by only discussing nico in context of hazel instead of the other way around

[bayetea]

[aarbeaz]

@percicomicrofic | prompt: RAW | wordcount: 1, 302 | universe: post-TOA

༄༄༄

For the first time in his life, Nico feels warm.

Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's the itchy suit he's wearing. Maybe it's the fact that Percy and him have been together for only a week and they're about to get married in less than an hour.

Nico stands in front of the mirror, adjusting his bow-tie for the millionth time that evening. He exhales heavily, fans his face with his hands, and adjusts his bow-tie again.

The past week, heck, the past month has felt like such a blur. When Nico and Percy had reunited for the last month of Camp's summer session after not seeing each other for almost a decade, neither of them had expected the month to end with their marriage. And despite Nico being utterly, irrevocably in love with a certain Percy Jackson, he still worries if their relationship is actually real or Percy's going to get bored one day in the future and walk out on him. To be fair, everyone had expected Percy and Annabeth to stay together forever - especially considering they fell into Tartarus together, and that place does things to you. Nico knows it all too well. And if Percy and Annabeth can't stay together, what chance do Nico and Percy have? What if getting married is a bad idea? What if Percy hates him?

Nico huffs and reties his bow-tie, then wonders if he should have chosen a sober tie instead. In the mirror of his cabin bathroom, he notices Hazel, clad in a beautiful black gown made by Underworld tailors just for the occasion, walk in.

"Is it really hot in here or is it just me?"

"I'm sure your cold feet will keep you cooled enough."

Nico grimaces, and Hazel sighs in that affectionate, slightly exasperated tone she uses only for Nico.

"Look, I would tell you that you're being silly for getting married so quickly, but I know you love Percy, and the guy loves you too. You're my brother. Don't think I wouldn't fight if I thought you were making a mistake." Hazel smiles. "And the guy in question is absolutely going insane out there, and I'm scared he'll blow up more toilets."

Hazel offers her arm and Nico smiles hesitantly. "Coming?"

༄༄༄

The wedding is objectively beautiful. Camp Half-Blood is covered in a beautiful pink sky, slowly darkening from the impending sunset. A cool breeze tickles through the chattering crowds of various demigods and a random assortment of gods, spreading the sweet smell of blooming strawberries and summer wildflowers. The beach is decorated in rolls of streamers and balloons, with enough chairs for an army of guests. The ocean waves catch the glittering rays of the setting sun, and everything is picturesque.

Occupying an entire row of chairs for himself, even Hades is dressed for the occasion - which basically means he's adorned every individual soul that consists his robe with tiny flower crowns. Sally and Paul are alternatively bursting into tears even though the ceremony hasn't even started yet. Poseidon looks a little confused but mostly supportive.

Nico doesn't notice any of it, though. When he sees Percy standing in the middle of the makeshift altar in his brilliant cerulean suit, Nico can physically feel all his worries subsiding to the back of his mind.

The wedding is objectively beautiful, but in Nico's mind, all it can be reduced to is one overwhelming event of utter happiness, enough tears to last a lifetime, and an entire evening of staring right into Percy's eyes. Nico is living on a high and he doesn't want it to end.

༄༄༄

The crash comes too, of course, the ill-fortuned shadow of every happy occasion Nico has ever celebrated in his life.

The sun has finally set, dragging the tapestry of the night into focus. The wedding reception is going well, but when Nico's worries get too much to handle, he escapes into a secluded corner of the Big House.

Nico paces in circles around the spot, incessantly tapping the long-empty wine glass. The streamers behind him rustle, but he takes no note of it. On his hand, the simple golden band sits like a weight of thousand tons, either signifying the best decision of his life or his greatest mistake. And that's the problem - he doesn't know yet. Percy has been sweet and loving and basically everything he's ever wanted all week but every happy moment feels like he's waiting for a bomb to explode or this dream to end or for Percy to pop up and say something like 'Yeah, I lied, we're getting a divorce and I'm taking our cat'. They don't even have a cat but Nico's overthought this exact topic so much that he's somehow managed to plan out their retirements.

"Are you having second thoughts?" a familiar voice says, and Nico turns to find a sheepish and worried Percy.

Nico plasters on a smile, about to say something to diffuse the situation, but bites his words back. This is Percy. They're married. He should know what Nico's going through.

"No, it's just... I'm worried. I'm worried that even though you loved Annabeth so much, you still broke up, and if you can break up with the greatest love of your life, what chance do we have?"

When Percy doesn't say anything, Nico bites his lip and sighs, hoping he hasn't gone too far.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything - "

"No, I'm glad you told me this."

Percy sets Nico's glass on a random table and takes his hands in his. "I'm sorry I made you feel like you have to compare yourself to anyone, Nico."

"It's fine, it wasn't your fault."

"It kind of was," Percy presses on. "Please, I never want you to feel like you're... anything less, because you're special to me, Nico. You're amazing and I feel so happy when I'm with you and nothing, literally nothing can compare to finally marrying you today and having you be mine. Annabeth was... different. I loved her but it was the kind of love that fizzles out quickly, you know? And she definitely wasn't the greatest love of my life. You are. Please, don't worry about anyone else."

Nico chews on his lip, all worries not displaced from his mind yet.

"And our love? Is it the kind that fizzles out quickly, too?"

"Do you think it is?" Percy asks, then sighs when Nico still doesn't respond. "Look, I know we've made a very... hasty decision. And I've said this in my vows already, but this marriage, this ring, it's also my promise to you. I promise that every day we wake up, I make the conscious decision to put our relationship first. I promise that whatever happens to us, we'll always go through it together. Everything might be a little raw right now, but I promise, we'll build something so good you'll never doubt anything, Nico. Do you trust me?"

Nico hesitates, then a wide grin cracks across his face. Percy's right - adversaries and troubles are never far from them, but at least they don't have to go through everything alone. They'll always have a home to come back to, and Nico wouldn't give it up for the world.

Nico grabs Percy's face and presses a rough kiss onto his lips.

"I love you, Percy Jackson," he murmurs and he can feel Percy smiling against his lips.

"Percy Jackson-di Angelo now," Percy corrects, and Nico suddenly feels giddy. He's just gotten married to the love of his life. They have an entire lifetime of happiness awaiting them. And Nico knows that as long as they're in it, they're in it together.

"Come on," he says, dragging Percy to the dance floor. "We have a wedding reception to enjoy."

[notrobinbuckley]

the party in the 2000's

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୨୧ ⏔⏔⏔⏔💙💛❤️♡💚💜🧡⏔⏔⏔⏔ ୨୧

[aarbeaz]

THE FORESHADOWING OH MY GOD