Gatekeeping is alive and in the skies
Or Leo Vi
*A year ago today I kicked this blog off with a Jason post. Happy anniversary, readers
When Leo wakes up they have arrived at their destination.
Leo is hit with the sheer sense of history this place has, all crowded buildings and high walls glowing in the winter sunset.
They are headed to a castle in Quebec city. Actually, it's a hotel.
That's not the important part. The important part is that Piper makes a face which Leo is used to (that does not Jive with the makeup), and reveals that she can read. She makes it sound easy too.
“Your dad do a movie about that too?”
“I do re- a -d sometimes, okay? Just because Aphrodite claimed me, doesn't mean I have to be an airhead.”
“Feisty! So since you know so much, what's that castle?”
Isn't Jason supposed to be the one without Dyslexia in this party? As he is Roman instead of Greek? And yet, here is Piper, casually reading.
But like Greek Demigods are supposedly hardwired to not be able to interpret the mortal language such as English, and usually get paired with ADHD. Yes I am reading the Wiki.
Also, apparently Archers of Apollo get a status buff called “new intellect” that gets rid of demigod Dyslexia, at the cost of also being given anxiety, which mixes with ADHD to give powerful speed and strength.
I guess Piper’s Dyslexia is mild, or maybe her rich dad was able to hire people to give her strategies to work with that and help? Is this ever brought up again? Is it a side effect of Charmspeak?
This is probably never going to be brought up again, and I will stay up at night thinking about it.
But back to the Hotel, Piper is right. It is a Hotel. A fancy one.
And like most fancy Hotels, it has bouncers. Sky bouncers.
Angels with nasty looking swords. (Not biblically accurate)
Happy the dragon would like nothing more than to touch them, but Leo decides it probably wouldn't go well.
Jason says storm spirits, but as they get closer, they can see they look like teenagers with icy white hair and feathery purple wings, with jagged icicle looking swords.
As they get closer still, Leo can pick up the fact that they are brothers, but not twins.
One is dressed for sports in a (red) hockey jersey, sweats, and cleats. He has been in fights with both black eyes and missing teeth.
The other looks like he stepped off of one of Leo's moms lame 1980s rock album covers.
-character detail moment for Leo's mom: she likes Journey and Hall & Oates.
Then we get to the second angel guy
I feel this should go into the character describing bingo I might make eventually, but I'm not sure what bit stands out. Is it his-
-long hair (feathered into a mullet), his pointy toed leather shoes, his designer pants (way too tight), godawful silk shirt (top three buttons open), his bad case of acne, or him looking under 90 pounds.
Leo wonders if he thinks he looks like a groovy love god, and calls him that for the bit of time left until the dude introduces himself.
Hockey Oxe (definitely putting that in) does his job of being a bouncer and grunts that they have no clearance.
Groovy Love God adds that they have no flight plan. Leo notes that his French accent is another problem for him. Leo also suspects that it's fake. Thankfully he does not say it out loud.
I wonder how one is supposed to make a flight plan that gets approved. I'm pretty sure most quests are done on short notice.
Jason and the dragon get ready to fight, but Leo stops them wanting to try negotiation. He asks for manners and to find out who has the honor of destroying him.
And then they turn into a bad comedy act. Cal the hockey Ox can not say more than two syllables. Cal introduces Zethes, and Leo praises him on almost completing three sentences.
Zethes tells Cal they were making fun of him, but then turns to flirt with Piper with a “wink that was more like a facial seizure.”
Piper “makes a sound like gagging on a cough drop” and tells them the offer is horrifying.
They don't seem to care about the reality of the response, and go on about how Boreads are a romantic people, ect. Jason cares more about their race. They reply that they are gatekeepers and they can't have people on creaky dragons , and scaring the mortals.
Leo looks down. Mortals are starting to notice, and are confused and annoyed about the presumed helicopter flying too low.
And so conclude that unless this is an emergency Landing, then will need to be painfully destroyed.
Of course that's the KEY words Piper needs to unlock more dialogue in the conversation.
Between the blessing of Aphrodite and the power of Charmspeak, Piper manages to convince the gatekeepers that they need to speak to Boreas (never mind that their sister will have an avalanche), and that their dragon is malfunctioning. It hits Leo and Jason hard too.
Said dragon helps sell it by leaking oil on a Mercedes. Maybe she even convinced the mechanical dragon that it was malfunctioning.
Anyway, they decide to let them land, though their Father has not been kind to visitors lately. They go get orange flashlight cones.
Leo declares that he loves them, and reluctantly the party decides to follow them.
They land in a penthouse suit that has been hit by a flash freeze, and If anyone has or knows of a drawing done of it, send it this way and I will put it on the blog, cause that sounds cool!
Leo express desire to move into the penthouse if the thermostat is fixed.
Jason misses his attempt at levity and says the place creeps him out. Zethes insists Leo deactivate the dragon.
Leo reveals what he was doing last night. He was testing out buttons on Happy the dragon, some of which are scary in yet unspecified ways.
The dragon folds like origami at the press of the buttons to become the world's heaviest carry-on bag.
Jason protests this violation of physics.
Jason's concerns are ignored, because the gatekeepers start hassling Leo because he smells of fire. They assumed it was the dragon.
Leo should protest that he is not a fire guy, but he would be lying and he knows it. So he can't say it. Is he about to be outed?
Piper tries distraction, but is too nervous to pull it off well, and so gets rejected with a line that sounds like it could come from Tumblr, or maybe a poorly translated dating sim.
“The girl is pretty, and of course she cannot help being attracted to my amazingness; but sadly, I can not romance her at this time.”
The brothers agree that they should destroy Leo.
Jason calmly insists No, though Leo is sure that Jason would like nothing more than to go gladiator mode. He then introduces the party, and they take note of him.
Son of Zeus. Named Jason. But their Jason-Their Jason was far more stylish. And died millennia ago.
Jason knows enough Lore to know about the Golden fleece.
They tell him they were cremated on the Argo as mortal Demigods. They accepted immortality for good looks, pizza, and hockey.
Their Jason died a mortal death. Jason confirms he is not their Jason.
But he may be the Jason they were watching for.
Leo asks what kind of watching. I can appreciate that he is attempting humor, but most of the time it is falling flat on me. It doesn't seem to boost party morale either.
Then the most beautiful woman Leo has ever seen in his life walks into the room. If Rick had been feeling poetic he could have made the language come off as snow white-esque, but he is not.
Skin the unnatural pale colour of snow, hair a lush main of black, and eyes a coffee brown . She shows neither a spark of interest or friendliness towards him, but no matter. Leo is in love.
Snow lady understands the situation, and declares their father will want to see the one called Jason, so bring the guests.
Then she freezes him with a look and excludes him from the invite before he can ask her the important questions like Phone and Email.
“Why” he whines like a kindergartener.
“Fire and ice would not be wise.”
Well, we all know how ASOIF went, so maybe she has a point.
Jason wants to bring him. We are going together, or not at all.” She seems confused at his refusal.
Besides, he's kind of the hostage. For good behavior.
She tells the gatekeepers to take care of him and his interesting suitcase.
Jason and Piper give him a look that asks him the silent question of how he wants to play this. He's glad they are willing to fight for him, graceful even. Part of him wants to try to be a hero and light it up, but these people scare him… even if she is pretty and he wants her number.
He tells them to go ahead.
She says her last line a little weirdly.
“Leo Valdez will be perfectly safe. I wish I could say the Valdez will be perfectly safe. I wish I could say the same for you, Son of Zeus. “
Truly, what does that mean? Is his mom secretly alive?
(don’t worry I know better)