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jgracie · 1 month

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SAY YES TO HEAVEN — PERCY + DAUGHTER OF ZEUS

masterlist | rules

❝ hiii can i ask for a percy and daughter of zeus hc but in a non stereotypical way? where reader is quite literally the princess of olympus and no one would even think zeus is her dad ❞ — anon

in which percy dates a daughter of zeus

pairing percy jackson x zeus!reader

warnings none

on the radio . . . say yes to heaven (lana del rey)

an they have phones in this sorry !

You met Percy through Jason, your brother dearest

When you’d arrived at camp in the winter, getting claimed as soon as you stepped foot into the border, he’d been there for you and explained everything you needed to know about life as a demigod

One of the first things he told you when you got claimed by Zeus is that you, “aren’t like his other kids.” You didn’t think much of it at first, but then others who got to know you started saying the same thing - you were much too kind to be Zeus’ kid

Despite this, he seemed to have an affinity for you, for he’d claimed you immediately and had a weapon ready in your cabin for you. Once others caught wind of this, they started dubbing you “princess” as you had a heart of gold and seemed to be Zeus’ favourite child

As the months went by, you heard stories about all the quests people had done, the most spoken of being a quest prophesied about in the great prophecy. Your brother, along with six other demigods, saved the world from Gaia

Jason told you all about the six other demigods, but only one of them intrigued you - Percy Jackson

See, Jason wasn’t the only person who’d speak about Percy. You’d always hear his name pop up in random conversations: the great Percy Jackson, two-time saviour of the world. When they talk about him like that, you can’t help but be interested

So when Jason told you that Percy would be arriving at camp soon and to let him in if he shows up at your cabin, you were a little excited

You didn’t meet Percy at Cabin 1, though

It was a particularly hot summer day and after hours of trying to cool yourself down with your wind powers - which had started giving you an awful headache - you decided to go to the beach

Grabbing a packet of biscuits, you ran to the shore, desperate to be rid of the heat around you

When you got there, the first thing you did was make your way to your dear pegasus, Lovely. A month into your being at camp, you found her at this very beach, which you thought was strange as all the others were at the stables. Still, she grew on you, and now you regularly visit her with biscuits

“Hello, Lovely,” you said, giving her a biscuit which she immediately chomped down as you petted her nose. You smiled, breathing in the salty air of the shore

Suddenly, someone interrupted your peace, “what’re you doing with Blackjack?” He asked, an accusatory tone laced in his voice

You turned around, confused, “her name is Lovely, she’s been my pegasus for a couple months now,” you explained, not wanting any conflict to arise

“No, his name is Blackjack. He’s a guy, and he’s been my pegasus for years!” The pegasus neighed and whinnied. You didn’t know what he was saying, but the guy did, as he smirked and gave you a look that clearly said, ‘I told you so’

You made your way over to the guy, “I’m sorry, I only arrived this winter. I haven’t seen you around before, and no one told me this was your pegasus.”

He smiled and you breathed a sigh of relief, glad to know he wasn't offended, “it’s fine, he really enjoys your company. I’m Percy Jackson.”

That was the day you fell in love. All you could think about was Percy, and getting to know him didn’t help either. To you, he felt like a breath of fresh air. He was easy-going, charming, and everything you could ever need in a man

Percy had fallen for you too. He never thought he’d ever crush on a daughter of Zeus, out of all people, but there he was. Everything he hated about your father was absent in you.

You made shapes out of clouds for the younger kids and used your voice to advocate for good

As June turned into July then August, the two of you spent more and more time together

Your crushes on each other remained, of course, but neither of you were willing to do anything about them due to something Jason had said on the day you met

After the Blackjack-Lovely incident, Percy decided to walk you back to your cabin, partially because that’s what his mother drilled into his head when he was 13, and partially because he desperately needed to know more about you

When you got to the front door, you decided to invite him in, not wanting to say goodbye so soon. He accepted, glad to not have to leave you already.

Jason was already inside and they shared a brotherly reunion before he noticed you were there too, “I see you’ve met my sister, Y/N,” he said, smiling at you

While Jason was usually pretty oblivious when it came to love, he noticed a spark had formed between the two of you. With a teasing smile on his face, he said, “well, you two better not start dating!”

You respected your brother’s wishes. He’d been so kind to you when you first came to camp, not dating his best friend was the least you could do

And although Percy was notorious for not following directions, he couldn’t help but obey Jason’s rule, as he didn’t want to create a wedge between you and him

He tried to stay friends with you for as long as he could, but the sea does not like to be restrained

One day, Percy woke up feeling unable to push down his feelings for you anymore. Even if you rejected him, he knew he had to tell you. So he went to the beach, where he knew you’d be

Percy took a deep breath and sent a quick prayer to Aphrodite, “Y/N, I have to tell you something.”

Turning, your lips pursed in confusion and concern at the seriousness of Percy’s voice. You left Blackjack and walked towards the boy, “is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, don’t worry,” he began, “it’s just that I really like you, Y/N. No, actually, I love you. I’ve loved you for so long. From the moment I saw you on this beach, I was a goner,” he sensed you were about to tell him you can’t date because you didn’t want to upset Jason, so he continued, “I know Jason said we couldn’t date but trust me, I’ll prove my worth to him. I’ll even prove my worth to Zeus if you ask me to, I’d do anything just to be yours. Please, can’t we try?”

You felt tears prick your eyes at his heartfelt confession. Who were you to deny him? “Okay,” you said, before throwing yourself onto him, lips interlocked

You promised Jason to train with him first thing in the morning. When he woke up and found that you weren’t in bed, he decided to look for you at the beach, knowing how much you loved Percy’s pegasus

He was, of course, right. You were at the beach. You also seemed to love Percy more than the pegasus. Jason smiled, happy to see his sister and his best friend finally confess to each other, “Y/N promised to train with me, but we can always do that later.”

Immediately, the two of you started explaining yourselves, apologising for not following Jason’s wishes, confusing him, “why would I be upset about this?” He asked

“You said we better not start dating, remember?” Percy replied

“Guys, I was joking. Couldn’t you tell? I was clearly teasing you.”

You vowed to teach Jason how to properly make a joke after that day

Percy couldn’t be happier. Every morning, he’d show up at your cabin just to walk you to breakfast

He also sits at the Zeus table now. He gets judging stares for it, but he doesn’t care

When people found out you and Percy were dating, he started receiving lots of threats from random campers detailing what they’d to to him if he even thought about hurting their princess

Zeus also left a letter on his bed. That was scary, but he was glad the God didn’t blast him all the way down to Tartarus

Your guys’ favourite place to hang out is on the roof of your cabin. As a child of Zeus, you enjoy being in places with high altitudes, and after Percy had caught you up there a couple times, you decided to teach him how to climb up

You always watch the sunsets and sunrises from up there together <3 they become your thing. Whenever you’re apart, you send each other pictures of the sky so you can still sort of watch the sun rise and set at the same time

Blackjack loves you more than Percy. If he's with Percy and glimpses you from afar, he gallops over to you and nuzzles the crook of your neck

Jason is lowkey sick of you. Especially when he enters HIS cabin to relax on HIS bed and finds you guys making out

Its okay though because you’re camp's prince and princess

#percy jackson x reader #percy jackson x you #percy jackson x y/n #percy jackson #percy jackson x fem reader #pjo #pjo x reader #percy jackson fanfic #percy jackson headcannons #percy jackson x zeus reader #percy jackson x daughter of zeus #zeus pjo #children of zeus #daughter of zeus #cynwrites

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zambomarti · 11 months

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The rebel prince

As if he sensed his friend's thoughts, a large black head poked out from one of the rooms, neighing in glee.

“Hey Boss!”

"Hello Blackjack!" Percy swam over to his friend stroking his muzzle and scratching his fins on his cheeks.

Continue on AO3: LINK

For the Seafam Mermay 2023. I apologize because I absolutely did not follow the schedule but I have been busy.

Tag: Mythological Sea Creatures, sneaking out, little mermaid AU

If you want to see the design for my merman Percy: link

INSTAGRAM: link TWITTER: link

#percy jackson #percy!merman #pjo fanart #blackjack #seafam #seafam mermay #my art #pjo #hoo #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus

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x-bloodrain-x · 5 months

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Come on Annabeth! Lighten up a bit...

Percy: It's not illegal if you don't get caught! Annabeth: We're literally getting chased by the police right now! How can you say that!

Percy: Yeah, yeah. I know! Hold onto your pegusi than, tHiS iS AboUt To gEt FUN! *Blackjack neighs and speeds up* Annabeth: PERCY NO!

#percabeth #percy jackson #percy jackson series #pjo fandom #pjo #percy jackon and the olympians #percy and annabeth #annabeth chase #blackjack #Incorrect quotes #riordenverse #percabeth incorrect quotes

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mauradersmoon · 2 years

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Just a normal day at the pegasi stables

Percy: now watch me whip

Blackjack: watch me neigh neigh

#heroes of olympus #percy jackson #blackjack

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therealnuclearplatypus · 2 years

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percy: watch me whip

blackjack: watch me neigh neigh

#just a normal day at the pegasi stables!#pjo hoo toa #read riordan #rick riordan #percyjackson #camp half blood camp jupiter

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humburgerr · 6 months

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The Maiden’s Dart (a Percy Jackson fanfiction, first part of the “Sacred Blood” series)

Chapter 1: (LEA) “Welcome to my life, I guess…”

I don’t hate flying.

Like, really, flying is cool: I was six when I first had a plane ride. I recall quite clearly how amazed I was when I glanced out of the window and I saw the mountaintops deep below us, and I will never forget how excited I was, two years later, when dad decided to take me horse-riding with him. The old black pegasus neighed quite a bit when the both of us settled on his back, my father’s arms around me, so that I wouldn’t fall off, as he laughed.

- Blackjack, you know that doughnuts aren’t good for your health! - He told the pegasus.

Then, uncle Jason’s strong grip around me as we darted across the sky Superman style, feeling the cool breeze of Summer’s clouded evenings and joking and laughing…

Yeah, flying is cool, a lot of my good memories are associated with it.

Does that mean I love flying?

Hah, nope.

But let’s start by the beginning of the story, shall we?

It all started last winter, when Athena, my divine granny and caretaker had the incredible incredibly terrible idea that I somehow needed to start practicing early to get my driving licence as soon as possible when I turned sixteen.

Now, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea, right? WRONG.

The thing is, although in the last thirty years or so the gods tried to be closer to their half-blood children, and although many of them actually became better parents, they - being these immortal, super-powerful cosmic beings - still had some trouble actually understanding the way mortal bodies worked, and how many limitations they actually had. They just assumed we had been much like minor deities all along, minus the immortality feat and the sick powers.

So, like, if the King of the gods lost his Master Bolt, none of them saw a gargantuan logic fallacy in assuming that it had been stolen by some weird kid with ADHD. Hermes had stolen Apollo’s cattle mere hours after his birth, after all.

You can imagine the shock when Will Solace, the newly appointed GoAT (as in Godly Anatomy Teacher, and not Mr. Underwood’s lower half) explained to them how slowly human grew up, and how they had to learn everything from scratch. Oh, the look of absolute horror on the gods’ face when they learned that humans shed their first set of teeth and grew new ones.

Now, most of the gods were taking these anatomy lessons very seriously, but some of them… well, let’s say that some gods really liked to skip class.

Granny Athena was one of the latter. Being the goddess of knowledge, she felt extremely disgusted by the thought that she would have needed to learn something - anything - from a mere mortal. Being the goddess of wisdom, she also should have known better than to give up a chance to expand her knowledge.

If you know Athena, however, you probably also know that she is prideful. Too prideful for her own good, I might say (but I won’t).

Anyway, one morning I woke up with the goddess of wisdom storming into my bedroom, up in Mt. Olympus. If I had been a bit more awake and in control of myself, perhaps I would have suppressed it, but given that I had woken up in that same instant and my brain was still set in “this is a dream, you can do whatever you want” mode, I gave her a quick look and burst out laughing right at her face.

She was dressed like a traffic officer, with the uniform and the plastic helmet over her head, the white gloves and the traffic signs hanging from her belt, right near a plastic walkie-talkie. The fact is, the uniform was too perfect, the helmet a bit too shiny, the boots looked like they had never seen a real road in their entire life. She looked less like a real cop and more like a silly tv advertiser, one that stood near a row of happy children traversing the road and said to the camera something like: Make people happy, join our lines! It will be fun, I swear! The kind of propaganda that would have won over the kids in New Rome after like three seconds.

Athena gave me one of her bad looks, and I thanked the Universe that she wasn’t the goddess of gravity, because otherwise my entire body would have been completely splattered all over the pristine clean marble floor. However, her glance still managed to send shivers down my spine and to make my laughter run straight back into my throat.

Finally, she averted her eyes and I started breathing again.

- Gra… Lady Athena. - I caught myself before calling her granny.

- Achillea, - my full name felt like an icy stab in the gut, and she probably noticed, because her voice slightly softened - get dressed, Hatchling. We are going out for a while. I’ll wait for you in the throne room.

Then she vanished into thin air, like she had never been there.

I stared at the door for what felt like a solid minute, with my brain whispering in my ear that it would’ve been pretty sweet if I put my insomniac butt back to sleep. I agreed with my brain for maybe half a second, then the look in Athena’s eyes came to haunt my mind again, and I got out of bed.

“But the pillows! - My brain pleaded - The soft blankets!”

“I know buddy. - I told my brain - but we heard sweet old granny.”

My brain fell silent, which, me being me, was a pretty common occurrence.

The moment my bare feet touched the floor, invisible hands began to fold the blankets, straight up the pillow and generally remake the bed. The maids talked to each other in a sweet, low hum, their words so whispered that I had trouble hearing the full sentences. I cleared my throat, and they became perfectly silent, and totally still, I could guess, since I couldn’t hear their soft breeze anymore.

- Well, guess I’ll be going to take a shower and get dressed. If you need anything, you know where to find me.

I was about to leave the room, when one of the maids spoke up.

- M’Lady, - she started, and by the low hum of her voice, I could identify her as Mia, the First Maid - Lady Athena has sent another servant to your baths.

My veins frosted.

- What.

The maids started whispering to each other, and even tho I couldn’t fully hear them, I picked up a few words: angry… spite… punishment…

It took me an instant to put two and two together. They feared I was angry, and that, since I couldn’t lash out at my divine granny, I would punish them instead. It took me slightly more to realise that I spoke to them in a cold, firm tone, and that I unconsciously channeled some of my power to make that sound even more intimidating.

I regained my cool.

- Hey girls, - I said in a much more informal tone - I didn’t mean to scare you, really. And I am not angry. Neither towards you, nor towards my grandma. It’s just that I felt… surprised.

Surprised wasn’t the word I was thinking at. And, to be fair, I was hating Granny Athena a little bit, but I wouldn’t have dared to punish these friendly spirits just for that.

Mia spoke again.

- If it displeases you so much, M’Lady, I could still tell the servant to leave the place. We truly understand, that after what happened with Rya-

- That was just an incident! - I interrupted her, careful, this time, not to scare them anymore - It was just an unhappy incident.

None of them replied, and if I must guess, they all nodded in agreement.

I waved my hand, and left them to their tidying.

My bedroom was on the farthest side of my small apartment, which was on the farthest side of Athena’s palace, on Mt. Olympus.

Perhaps you might really want to know why I live in Olympus, and not at Camp Half-Blood in New Athens, with the rest of my family? Am I, maybe, a goddess? Did I give up my mortal shell to bloom into a beautiful, undying being?

No, I am very, very human. And well… to say it with an understatement, it is fairly complicated. I didn’t choose to live here, not exactly. It just came with the age, I could say. One day Athena showed up in our living room and demanded for my mom and my dad to give me to her. I don’t remember the details, because as soon as the conversation heated, mom sent me and my big brother, Michael, to play outside.

Then, Athena came out, told me to pack my things, and we both disappeared from our backyard in a ray of cold light.

The End.

Now, now, I can imagine what you are thinking: “OmG LEA WerE yOu AbDUctEd?”

No, I don’t think so. Well, at least I hope not.

From what Athena told me after that, my parents were having troubles with me: my powers were too great, and they were showing up too fast for them to really be prepared to handle the situation. They, however, were stubborn. They really didn’t want to let go of me (and can you really blame them?) but at the same time they didn’t know what to do. Basically, things were getting really dangerous. For me, and for those around me. That’s when my grandmother stepped in and decided to take matters into her own hands.

So, I get to see my parents and my brother during summertime and during mortal festivities such at Christmas and Easter and so on. For the rest of the year, I stay up above the clouds with the gods. I guess I should consider myself lucky, because at first Athena wanted me to stay up here all year round, and trust me, you don’t want to stay up here all year round. Everyone who stayed beside the gods nonstop would either go insane or become as petty as them. And I sincerely can’t decide what might be worse.

Anyway, my apartment had a circular shape, like a Thòlos, although I preferred to think of it as a Monòpteros, the latter not being the direct definition of a Micaenean tomb.

The main walls were surrounded, on the outside, by a circle of twelve white marble columns, each of one bearing the vessel of a different Olympian. It was supposed to be some sort of protection (I didn’t dare to look into it), but to me it mostly seemed like each member of the gods’ Assembly had tried to claim a part of the house for themselves.

On the inside, it was much more cozy: the Central Room’s marble floor was enchanted so that it could appear like any type of pavement i could wish for, and most of the time it showed a forest soil filled to the brim with beautifully colored leaves, like the ones that fell from trees during Fall. As I walked through, however, I noticed that the floor was showing a different scene: sand. Beautiful golden sand, ad if I looked hard enough, I could even spot a seashell here and there. This made me smile. Christmas time was near, and with that, my homecoming was drawing closer at hand. I already felt nostalgic.

As I passed by, I waved my hand at the little girl who tended the fire, right in the middle of the room.

She somehow had the power to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She was right at the Heart of Olympus, in the Throne Room, to make sure that the gods got at least a bit along, and then she was in her own small temple in New Athens, where old campers could ask for guidance of just stop by to have a little chat. She was in Camp Half-Blood’s dining hall too, making sure that all offerings would be split up evenly among the gods.

Hestia wasn’t a difficult goddess, and she didn’t play favourites.

She simply took good care if the fires, and showed up wherever she felt like she was needed.

Since that day of almost eight years ago, when Athena brought me to Olympus with her, the goddess of the Heart stood by my side every single day.

When she didn’t respond to my greeting, I instantly knew something was wrong. Upon closer inspection, in became clear that something was bothering her. She was looking deep into the flames with a frowned expression. No, not just frowned. I knew that something else was happening, that she wasn’t simply looking at the flames, she was seeing straight trough them, as if they were some sort of holo-screen that let her browse for informations.

- Lady Hestia! - I called for her, managing to get her attention, if only briefly - Is everything all-right?

She looked at me wide eyed for a single second, and then she turned back to the fire.

- Oh, good morning dear… - she said with a soft voice that immediately warmed my heart - Yes, everything’s okay, why shouldn’t it be? Don’t worry, dear. Athena’s waiting for you.

She said nothing more, and focused back to the flames.

Don’t worry. As if. The thing about Hestia is that she is so genuinely kind that everyone among gods, demigods, and even some monsters, tends to grow quite fond of her. This means, obviously, that if Hestia has a problem, it becomes everyone’s problem. Because no-one, no-one, wants to see Hestia suffer.

As much as I wanted to help her, however, I figured that wouldn’t be of much aid if my grumpy granny turned me into dust for being late, so I headed for the bathroom.

As soon as I entered, she smell of saltiness spread through my nostrils, and I felt like I was standing right on the seashore. The bathroom’s walls were painted pearl-pink, with sea-green marble furniture. The style was a strange mashup of minimalism and ancient greek sculpture, which made the gods’ bas-relieves carved into the sides of the sink and the bath tub seem like strangely shaped stick-men. The scene of Stick-Apollo fighting Stick-Hercules over a tripod had ben carved right into the lower half of the toilet, and I was been pretty sure that it had been Artemis’ idea.

When I looked at the figure of Stick-Hercules, my brain sprung shortly back to life.

“That’s where you belong, you scumhead!”

Then it fell asleep again.

I flinched, and for a short instant my hands trembled. A familiar sense of headache pierced my head, as if I had just forgot something vital.

Then I shook my head, and the sensation was blown away like petals scattered by the wind.

Something moved at the side of my vision and I reacted faster than I could think. In the blink of an eye I found myself with one hand pressing against a girl’s neck, and the other closed in a fist, fully loaded with adrenaline and ready to strike right at her solar plexus.

- Oh my gods! - the girl squeaked, barely able to hide the rush of terror that had clearly taken her - Do you try to kill every maid that Lady Athena sends you!?

I blinked a couple of times, while my brain translated those words into informations. Then I paled, and let her go. I hadn’t even realised that I had pinned her against the wall.

- Oh my… I’m so, so sorry, I swear I didn’t mean to-

I tried to mutter some apologies, but she raised her hand to stop me, and released a long, shaky breath.

- No, no, that’s okay I guess. Lord Poseidon had warned me that you were quite the wild horse. I don’t know why I dared to expect to meet you in a different way.

When she named my godly grandfather, I took a step backwards and took a good look at her.

She was slightly taller than me, probably by an inch or two, and her skin was grey. She had wide eyes, perhaps a little bit too wide, and they were totally black. She was slim, athletic, with large shoulders and long, webbed fingers. Each of her nails was carefully painted with stylised images of fishes. She had long, kelp-like hair, although this specific type of kelp was bioluminescent and gleamed neon blue light.

She wore a simple blue chiton, and nothing more.

- A nereid - I guessed. A very strange nereid. But I kept the last part for myself.

- Yep.

After a moment of awkward silence, I extended my hand.

- I imagine you already know my name, but please, do not call me Achillea, nor M’Lady. Lea is good enough.

She studied my hand, probably wondering if it was poisoned or boobytrapped with invisible fart-trinkets, but then she shook it with some good energy.

- Ichtya. And don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on calling you M’Lady anyway.

After this first bizzarre encounter, Ichtya the fish nereid and I got to work. I made instantly clear that I was pretty capable of showering by myself and that, no, she didn’t need to clean my butt for me. What she could do, however, was to help me with the scheduling of the bathroom. It wasn’t much, just preparing my toothbrush while I was busy in the shower, putting my laundry right at hand’s reach while I dried myself… as I said, small things that gave me a few seconds of advantage.

- Thank you, really. - I said while she brushed my hair, a task that I was never capable of bringing myself to do.

Her cheeks assumed a slightly darker shade of grey.

- No need to thank me. - She said, but I could feel she had very much appreciated the gesture.

I took a moment to look at my reflection in the mirror: a blonde, sea-green eyed five and an half feet tall girl looked back at me. The girl’s lightly tanned skin, my skin, was full of old scars and bruises, and a sea of clear freckles spread around my nose and my shoulders. The fact that I could see them, even if with some difficult, made my mouth twitch. I looked at my athletic, slightly muscular body for a more few seconds, then I reached out to Ichtya.

She handed me the white, simple peplum, and helped me put it on. The fabric immediately shifted and began to change. The tickling sensation almost made me laugh again. And then I found myself wearing a pair of worn-out light grey jeans and a sleeveless blue T-shirt with a black hippocampus printed on it.

- Wow… - Ichtya whispered, amazed - You really wear these things on a daily basis?

- Uhh… yes? Why shouldn’t I?

She looked embarrassed.

- The only being I’ve ever seen wearing mortal clothes was Lord Poseidon, so I just thought… well…

She didn’t dare to finish the sentence, but she didn’t need too. I nodded sympathetically, imagining a world where everyone wore gross Hawaiian shirts and crocks. The thought alone made me shiver. The girl really needed some good shopping time. This was the least I could think of to restore her faith in humanity.

Then I remembered good old granny, and I left the nereid to her new duties.

Thank the gods I was very, very fast. A normal person would have needed at least thirty minutes to traverse the Olympian Gardens at full running speed. I jogged into the Throne Room in half the time, and yet when Athena looked up from the anatomy text she was reading, I knew that I still was about to get scolded.

- You’re late. - She said. And that was all. But she didn’t need to say anything else. Her cold voice had been harsh enough tor me to tremble before her. I nodded, trying not to look at her in the eyes, but it was impossible. They were like magnets.

As she got up from her throne, I gladly saw that she had changed: instead of the silly advertiser uniform, she now wore her usual sleeveless peplum, adorned with glittering gold edges.

Her stormy grey eyes were still fixed on me. She wore her raven hair down on her shoulders and her pale skin radiated a weak, cold light, that conferred her a certain holiness. If anyone saw me and her side to side, they would’ve never guessed that I was her daughter’s child. Athena looked young enough to be beautiful and old enough to be considered wise. I knew that gods existed in many planes of reality at once, and so that people could see them in totally different ways, but to me she looked like she was in her mid-thirties. An high-school teacher, perhaps. A very lethal high-school teacher.

I averted my eyes from her, and glanced around.

Hestia took care of the Heart, but aside from her, and us, the room was completely empty. As Athena advanced in my direction, her form shrank, until she was about the same size of a normal young woman. She reached her hand out.

I gulped, and then I took it.

Her light blinded me, and the next second we were standing in front of the Bestiarium, the chamber of beasts and monsters. One of the strange additions of my mother’s design, after the Second Titan War.

- Why? - I asked.

- Lesson One. - The goddess replied, before pointing at the enormous bronze doors that towered before us.

They must have been at least sixty feet high, and were adorned from top to bottom with figures of monsters and other mythological creatures. Unlike the ones in my bathrooms, these bas-relieves were so realistic that I almost feared the hellhound would detach from the doors and launch itself straight at me.

- Lesson One? What does it mean?!

The doors opened soundlessly, and the goddess of wisdom escorted me inside.

- It means - she said as we passed through a corridor that was as large as a football field and seemed to have no end - that you will be sixteen soon, Hatchling, and as soon as you age properly, you’ll have to get your godly license.

- My what?!

- Your godly driving license. - She explained, while we walked past one of the cages. The Hydra inside raised her fourteen heads and looked at us, then she went back to sleep.

Athena kept talking.

- Every god has one. Without it, we would be legally restricted from performing air travel, or flying around the world with our godly mounts. Demigods usually do not need it, because they never fly that high, and there is only that much speed that a pegasus can take, but there have been certain… cases… when we had to make an exception.

She then fixed her eyes on me, and I squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze. She kept staring, as if she truly believed that I could give her the names. We walked in silence for another minute, while I tried to remember some of these so called ‘cases’.

- Uhmm… - I said at last - … Phaethon?

Athena nodded.

- That guy was a total mess. - She recalled - He tried to drive the Sun Chariot even before we could give him his first class. You have no idea of how enraged Zeus was when he saw that punk on the heavenly roads.

- Phaethon was a son of Helios, right? - I asked - He set the sky ablaze and created the Milky Way.

- And my father blasted him out of the skies with one of his Bolts. Helios was fired and Selene resigned in protest, and the chariots were inherited by the twins. That - Athena said - had been a very messed up week.

- Anyone else that you remember? - She asked.

I frowned, and then a name came up in my mind. Yes, obvious. It was one of the most famous stories.

- That guy with Pegasus. The one that slew the first Chimera. The one that murdered Bellero, king of Corynth, and took his throne.

Athena’s lips curved slightly upward, and she nodded in agreement.

- His true name was Hipponoos, but people still remember him as Bellerophon, ‘Bellero’s Murderer’. He was one of mine, you know. I gave him the license myself. He was intelligent, knowledgeable. He became a worldwide known hero, who even managed to tame Pegasus himself. He could have lived as a king, but his hybris got the hold of him. His arrogance drove him to think that he could reach the gods, that he could fly even higher than us. Father didn’t like that, and neither did I.

She didn’t need to tell any further for me to know how the poor guy met his demise.

I recalled that one time when Grandpa Poseidon held a meeting with the immortal lord of horses: Pegasus had strange, long scar lines all’over his hide, that reminded me a lot of lightning streaks. Now I knew how he got them.

We walked side by side, and I listened to the many stories she told me. It felt less like a lecture and more like a deep dive into the clean waters of the past. Her tales flooded my mind: tales of demigods and mortals who dreamed of the stars, and tried to reach them in so many ways.

She told me of the first hot-hair balloon, of the Wright brothers and of Leonardo’s tragic attempt at rebuilding Dedalus’ wings. She told me of long dead children and of many former lovers of hers.

Then we stopped.

- Here we are - I heard her say - hi Glaux, long time no see, huh?

[END OF CHAPTER 1]

#percy jackon and the olympians #rick riordan #annabeth chase #legacy of gods #pjo #hoo #fanfic #fandom #fantasy #original character #oc #poseiden #athena

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forabeatofadrum · 1 year

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An imperfect symphony

Summary: Tempest comes to visit Percy in New York. Unfortunately, he has bad news.

Notes: Alright folks, here’s the deal. I am reading the entirety of the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles for the first time so I am totally new to this series! I finished the Burning Maze and I read the first few chapters of the Tyrant’s Tomb and all I could think of was “what will Percy, Annabeth and Nico think?”. The others of the Seven and Reyna know about Jason by know. I assume Nico felt it. That leaves Percy and Annabeth.

Here’s my take on how Percy finds out. Again, I haven’t even finished this series yet so I do not know how Percy will eventually find out (no spoilers please!) (I assume he does), but this idea just got stuck in my head.

Title is from a quote about horses, because yes, I Googled “quotes about horses”: A horse in the wind – a perfect symphony.

As I said, I am new (hello!) so I can’t remember right now if Percy’s horse powers also apply to Godly horses. I’m pretty sure this doesn’t work in canon since Tempest isn’t really a horse, but a storm spirit, but as they say, it’s my fic and I decide the reality of the situation! Enjoy!

AO3

Horses aren’t supposed to materialise in the living room of a New York apartment, but horses also aren’t supposed to be made of clouds and thunder.

My mom called me. I was in my bedroom, studying for upcoming tests, when she yelled my name. The tone in her voice startled me and I drew Riptide before running towards the living room.

Tempest was standing on Paul’s newly bought rug. I lowered my sword in shock. I haven’t see Tempest in a while and I definitely didn’t expect him to be here in my apartment.

My sword turns back into a pen and I tell mom and Paul that everything is alright.

“Heya, buddy,” I say and I walk towards Tempest. He lowers his head and I scratch him. “Where’s Jason?”

Percy Jackson, his voice echoes in my head. I know my mom and Paul must hear neighing, but as usual, I can perfectly understand him.

“Yeah. That’s me.”

To my surprise, Tempest’s front legs buckle and he falls to the ground. I try to catch him, which is stupid since he is literally a horse, but it’s an instinct. Once he’s on the ground, I crouch in front of him.

I come to bring bad news, he says solemnly.

Bad news. Well. I am used to that. I’ve had enough bad news to last a lifetime and I am still in high school.

“What happened?” my mind is reeling. What could he be referring to? I haven’t heard anything yet, but again, all demigod communication is off. If Tempest is the first to reach me, then what does that even mean.

Where did Tempest even go?

Really, why isn’t Jason with him? Jason is basically his human the same way I am Blackjack’s human and Hazel is Arion’s.

My stomach falls.

In that moment, I know, but I don’t want to believe it.

“Tempest, where’s Jason?” I ask again, sounding desperate, and the dread only grows.

Have you ever heard a horse cry? I have, actually. A lot of horses died in the wars, but nothing could prepare me for the wail that Tempest lets out.

He is dead, Tempest tells me, Jason Grace is dead.

Around me, glasses of water shatter. My mom yelps and Paul also has to jump away from an incoming shard. As for me... for a few second I feel absolutely nothing.

Jason Grace cannot be dead.

I stare at Tempest, as if I am waiting for him to tell me that he got it wrong, but that doesn’t happen. A sob escapes from my throat and I lean my head against Tempest. A small electric shock runs through me, but I don’t care. The next thing I know, I am full on sobbing and my mom puts her arm around me.

She doesn’t ask me what happened. I am not sure if I have the words to say it.

Tempest sadly tells me about a boat and a spear. He tells me that Piper was there too, together with two people he didn’t recognise. A teenage boy with a bow and quiver and a little girl with a bright green dress and glasses.

I recognise them as Apollo and Meg.

Tempest says that Jason’s last words were instructions. Tempest needed to save the others, which he did. And once they were safe, Piper demanded that Tempest went back for Jason, but it was already too late. Tempest carried Jason’s body to shore. When a mortal appeared, he turned around and left.

And then I came here, Tempest finishes his story.

I don’t know how long I am sat on the floor, sobbing in my mom’s arm, holding Tempest’s face. I don’t want to believe this, but Jason sacrifising himself is definitely something he’d do, because he is such a good person. Not is. Was.

He was sixteen. Like me, he was trying to find his way into this new post-war world. I feel sick. I didn’t go along with Apollo and Meg because I needed to study. Should I have gotten along and prevent this? But could I have prevented it?

I feel like I didn’t get to know Jason well enough. We were friends, but I thought I’d have time to get to know him even more. Once Annabeth and I would go to college in New Rome, Jason would be there too, busy with his plans to rebuild Temple Hill. We’d stroll around New Rome together. We’d have friendly sparring matches. We’d travel between the camps with others by our side... but that time is lost.

Tempest and I cry. I’ve seen a lot of death. Being a demigod means that there’s a high chance you die early. I’ve lived through two wars. Still, it never gets easier and Jason was one of my friends.

My friends.

“The others. Do they know? Demigod communication is a mess...”

I do not know, Tempest answers, Piper knows. She will make sure Jason will go to Camp Jupiter.

“But someone needs to tell Camp Half-Blood.”

Jason was part of both camps. Nico is still at camp, so maybe they already know, but even if they do, I have to go to camp. I have to be there.

I wipe away my tears, to no avail, and I try to stand up. My mom helps me. I am still a wreck and grief is overtaking me, but I have a mission. I need to get to camp. I need to tell the others. Camp Half-Blood also needs to remember Jason.

“Can you take me there?” I ask Tempest, but to my surprise, he says no.

Jason was the last person who ever rode on my back, Tempest explains, I’d like to keep it that way.

I nod. I understand

I will send help. Someone else can take you to camp, Tempest says. He gets up as well.

“Where will you go?” I ask.

Anywhere, Tempest answers shortly. That’s fine. He’s a free storm spirit and he can go where he pleases. I was always so grateful for Tempest help.

“I will not forget you,” I pet him again. It’s a goodbye. “We will not forget you.”

Don’t forget Jason, Tempest says in return.

“I won’t.”

And just like that, his body dissolves into the air. A string of dark storm clouds dematerialises, leaving a lightning scorch mark on the rug. For a while, it is silent apart from my sobs. My mom is holding me again and she says nothing. She doesn’t even know what just happened, so I try to tell them, but every time I try to say Jason’s name, a new round of tears hit me.

But eventually I manage to croak out the three words.

“Jason is dead.”

“Oh. Oh honey,” my mom seems lost for words too.

“I need- I need to go. I need to tell the others.”

“Of course,” my mom sounds strained. The idea of me going away after hearing someone we know has been killed must be terrifying, but she understands that I need to go to camp.

“I will be back,” I tell her.

“Be safe,” she says in return.

She tightens her hug.

“Uh, guys...” Paul trails off. He’s staring at the window and my mom and I follow our gaze.

Blackjack is flying outside of the window. My mom lets go of me so that I can walk towards him. I open the window and the cold airs hits my face. The tear tracks feel cold.

Hi boss, Blackjack sounds sad, Tempest told me you have to go to camp.

“Yeah.”

I’ve never dreaded going to camp this much. I turn around to tell my mom and Paul goodbye for now, and then I leap out of the window and land on Blackjack’s back. Together we fly to Long Island.

Notes: Thanks for reading. If you want some more pain, the fic for even when i’m far away, i’ll always be in your heart by Rehearsal_Dweller is a great one about Nico finding out.

#camp half blood chronicles #riordanverse #trials of apollo #2023 #holy fuck I wrote #ficlet #tbh not the best thing i've written but i HAVE FEELINGS #and expressing them through fic is how i cope

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blackjacktheboss · 3 years

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“I don’t want to talk about it”

The car ride home from school is dead silent. Percy nervously taps his fingers against the steering wheel, periodically glancing over at his daughter, whose arms are crossed as she looks out the window, and he prays for strength.

As soon as he pulls into the driveway, Ruthie all but leaps out of the car and rushes through the front door. Percy sighs, taking his time as he grabs his work bag from the back and gets out of the car to follow her inside. The sound of blaring music carries down the stairs combined with the backpack carelessly abandoned on the landing complete the picture for Percy, eliciting another sigh from him.

He paces back and forth a few times at the foot of the stairs, considering what he should do. He could call Annabeth, but she had said she would be in meetings all day and there’s not much she can do from Chicago for a sullen teenage girl. He could call Sally, but she’d probably just bring cookies over and it doesn’t seem to him Ruthie is in the comfort eating stage of whatever she’s going through.

“You’ve fought gods and titans,” he says, trying to hype himself up. “You held the sky for a hot minute. You can’t go to Camp without a kid asking you for an autograph. You can handle your teenage daughter, Jackson. Come on.”

With a deep breath, he trudges upstairs, headed right for her room. The music has gotten a bit softer in volume, but still floats down the hallway as he approaches. He knocks twice, and places his ear to the door, listening for his permission to enter but it doesn’t come.

Slowly, he cracks the door open and jumps when Ruthie’s face appears in front of his.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” she declares with red, puffy eyes.

Percy bites his bottom lip, unsure of what the right thing to do is. He feels like a teenager again himself, staring at a blonde girl he loves who makes less than no sense to him, which leaves him feeling helpless.

Except he’s not that dumb kid anymore. Well, not on most days. He is a father, but more than that, he’s a dad. It’s his favorite thing he’s ever been next to being a husband, and he’ll be damned if he lets something like a bad day make him forget that.

“I don’t wanna talk either,” he says with a shrug, deciding to fake it until he makes it. “Grab a jacket and a scarf and meet me out back.”

He turns on his heel before she can reply, ripping off his work clothes to change into jeans, a sweater, and his favorite jacket. Ruthie is at the top of the stairs when he exits his room and he follows her down and through the house until they are standing side by side on the deck.

“What are we doing?” Ruthie asks. “I have homework.”

Percy doesn’t answer, just puts two fingers to his lips and whistles as loudly as he can. Ruthie relaxes a bit when she realizes what they’re waiting for, going back inside as a shadow falls over them.

Hey, Boss, Blackjack calls, landing in the middle of the backyard. You rang?

Ruthie reemerges from the house with a handful of sugar cubes, smiling wide as she walks towards the Jackson family’s trusty steed.

“I was hoping you could take us for a ride,” Percy says to his old friend.

‘Course, Blackjack replies, neighing happily as he eats the sugar from Ruthie’s palm. There’s this donut shop in Maine that you gotta try.

“Donuts?” Ruthie asks with a smile as she runs her hand along Blackjack’s side.

Percy winks. “Always.”

#ananbeth #percababies #writing prompt #quarantine content

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life-wise-girl · 3 years

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Just a normal day in the Pegasus stables

Percy: watch me whip

Blackjack: watch me neigh neigh

#percy jackson #annabeth chase #percy jackon and the olympians #leo valdez #piper mclean #nico di angelo #jason grace #percabeth #solangelo #grover underwood

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blackjacks-back · 3 days

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Y'all this glitter in my mane is getting itchy someone help!

#blackjack neighs

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uniasus · 3 years

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Ice Above The Clouds

It’s day on of Summer of Whump! Today’s prompt is freezing, filled for you with Percy Jackson, Blackjack, and a Nico so ready to tell Percy “I told you so”.

Read here, or on Ao3.

--------------

“Are you sure about this?”

Percy shot Nico a bland look, making a show of lifting his backpack higher. “Am I sure about surprising my girlfriend for the holidays? Yes.”

“No, that I get-“

“Giving Will a surprise, eh?”

“Shut up, Percy! No, I just mean. You have your license. Why not just…drive?”

“And miss out on the chance to bond with my best bud Blackjack?” Percy gasped.

Blackjack, in the stall behind them, threw back his head and neighed. I’m offended. Does he doubt me?

“Blackjack also resents the fact that you’re implying he can’t take me there,” Percy shared.

“What, no! Blackjack, you’re a very strong flier. It’s just, have you seen the weather? It’s gonna be a cold flight.”

Percy pointed to his wool hat, double-wrapped scarf, and poofy jacket. “Also got warmers in my shoes and look! Gloves!” He wiggled his fingers. “I’m sweating right now, but I’ll be great in the air.”

Nico still looked unsure.

“It’s always cold when you fly,” Percy continued. “Winter or not. And I did look at the weather – it’ll be sunny. No storms between here and California.”

“Fine,” Nico huffed. “But if you lose a finger to frost bite-“

“You can tell me ‘I told you so’”. Percy unlatched the stall door. “Ready, Blackjack?”

You bet, boss. I’m eager to stretch my wings. The pegasus stretched out his black wings, then shook his body before trotting outside. California, here we come!

Nico watched him mount up. “Tell Annabeth hi. And IM when you get there.”

“Yes, mom.” Percy rolled his eyes and mounted Blackjack. With a whinny, the pegasus took three running steps before lifting into the air. Percy whooped with joy.

###

Percy wasn’t stupid. He had checked the weather and put on all the layers he thought he’d needed. It’s not like he’d be up in the air long – Blackjack was fast and estimated one long day of flying to get to San Francisco. Percy had had long days before. And honestly, after the events of the Giant War and all that quest encompassed, he preferred the cold to heat anyway.

That said, he might have underestimated how cold the trip would be. They’d left camp at dawn to maximize the light, and on-the-ground temperatures had been 35F. Cold, but not too cold. Especially with the right gear. Things would get warmer as they traveled west.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated the drop in temperature at the heights Blackjack flew. The pegasus had gone slightly higher than normal to start, avoiding a slew of small planes flying over New York state, and stayed there. Faster winds up here, boss. We could get there faster, maybe.

“Let’s do it!” Percy could barely hear his own shout over the wind, but Blackjack’s more sensitive hearing had picked it up. Still, at that height, with the winds sending cold air down his throat, Percy couldn’t talk much. Instead, he listened to Blackjack ramble in his head and responded with leg and arms taps. It was a system they’d worked out before.

Percy had brought along sunglasses, the sun might be rising behind them but it was still bright in the sky, but he was wishing he brought other things too. A pair of stretch gloves, to wear under his current ones. Extra toe warmers to put all over his body, like each shoulder. He wished he had a balaclava to protect his face – the wind they flew into was harsh. He kept his eyes closed for stretches at a time to prevent them from drying out.

He wondered how cold it was, ignoring Blackjack’s declaration of a personal quest to sample the grass from every San Francisco park. Below freezing, that’s for sure. What about the windchill? Had they hit negative numbers?

-35F was when they closed schools for fear of kids getting frostbite while waiting for the bus in Minnesota, he heard. Certainly it couldn’t be that cold. He could move all his fingers. He clutched at Blackjack’s mane tighter, trying to focus on his friend’s chatter. He didn’t want to think about the pull of the wind on his coat and backpack, the increasingly numb parts of his skin where the wind found gaps in his clothes, his scarf stiff with his frozen breath and the ice cube on his nose. The wind was loud, his eyelids heavy. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, the sharp peppermint bit of the icy wind with each inhale keeping him awake. But really, it would be so much better if he could just fall asleep. Sleep through the cold and wake up when Blackjack flew at lower heights into the warmer west…

An impact against his sternum jerked him away. He felt groggy, slow, and uncertain of his limbs.

Boss! Boss!

“ ’ackjack?”

Are you okay? You fell! Why didn’t you tell me you needed a break?

Percy might have made a noise. He wasn’t sure. His lips felt too numb to move right. Gods, he was cold. He wanted to sleep, to bury himself in a blanket and bake in a bed oven. He tried to grab something, but only succeeded at swinging his dead weight of an arm through air. The warmth against his stomach slipped, someone shouted Boss! but he didn’t care who.

The wind in his ears sounded like a lullaby.

###

Percy woke, shivering and hungry and cocooned in a black hole that he slowly identified as a tight pocket created by Blackjack’s body. The pegasus was curled as tight as he could be around Percy, wing extended to surround Percy. As Percy shifted against Blackjack’s side, the pegasus woke up.

Boss?

“Blackjack?” A shudder ran through Percy’s body and he huddled deeper into his coat. “What happened?”

Blackjack lipped at Percy’s knees, head halfway into the wing-cavern. You fell asleep and fell off. Twice. I caught you.

Percy rubbed his chest. No wonder it hurt, if he slammed into Blackjack’s back at the speed of gravity. Probably not worth nibbling on the emergency ambrosia he always carried though. “I’m getting you a whole box of donuts when we get there. Where are we?”

Not sure. But we haven’t hit the Rockies yet.

Iowa or Nebraska then. Unless the cold had gotten to him really early and they landed in rural Illinois.

“Nico’s gonna tell me ‘told you so’.”

Why didn’t you tell me you were cold? I could have flown lower.

“Didn’t think we’d be up that higher. Or that it would be that cold.” Percy stroked the part of Blackjack’s neck he could reach. “Don’t think I was thinking right for awhile. How long have we been here?”

An hour?

“I don’t have the supplies to stay here. I didn’t pack food. We’ll need to get going again.”

Once you stop shivering.

“I can handle a little cold.”

Blackjack shifted his wing so Percy could feel the full force of his stink eye. It wasn’t the best stink eye Percy had ever seen, but with the removal of the wing came full exposure to the outside air. They were in an empty field, didn’t help pinpoint where they were sadly, and the wind that cut across the ground had Percy instinctively pull back into Blackjack’s warmth.

Blackjack replaced his wing.

“It’s winter, I won’t not be cold,” Percy pouted.

Once you stop shivering under my wing, we’ll go.

Percy sighed, but he knew Blackjack was right. He nestled into Blackjack’s side, bringing his knees up close. Part of the reason for the trip was guy time anyway. “Do you think the grass at Land’s End will tasty salty?”

I hope so!

Smiling, Percy dived into a conversation way too deeply about a food he would never eat. He’d get to surprise Annabeth eventually.

#summerofwhump #summerofwhump1 #pjo #fic rec #my fanfiction #percy jackson #h/c #blackjack

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