A KILLER GOT FREE BECAUSE HE WAS WHITE
AGAIN
I WANT TO SOAK AMERICA IN GASOLINE AND TOSS A MATCH ON IT
Anyways, sorry this is late, I didn't want to write the story until after I officially started my ADHD medication. I instead spent the time finishing season one of Supernatural and starting season two, although I must ask to those past season two: UM WHAT JUST HAPPENED IN THE FIRST EPISODE I MEAN THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO DO THAT. I also finished my Christmas present for my friend, which basically took the entire day. It was only after I finished it at midnight did I realize Christmas was still a good month away, to which I just sighed, pushed a stack of books over, and flipped the bird to my computer screen. Fuck everything, basically. OH YEAH I WATCHED OVER THE GARDEN WALL AND EVERYONE MUST SEE IT LIKE RIGHT NOW
I went to the Science Museum, though, which makes me happy! I love it. They have this exhibit of dinosaur bones, and another of butterflies. I even saved a butterfly that flew out of the rainforest thing lol. Now I can officially write the first chapter of that Doctor Who fanfiction I had planned out a while ago involving museums…
Also whoa 20,000+ views thanks you guys! (It's secretly my goal for this story to get at least 420 reviews/favorites/follows/whatever because of the joke associated with 420 haha)
REVIEWS
Unicorns eat Llamas: OMG BESTIES ARE AMAZING BESTIES ARE ALWAYS THE BEST BESTIES I BE YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST BESTIES THAT EVER BESTIED. Also I'm glad that you love it! (Well she can see it if you put it in your review so…) And ttyl!
CheetosPotato: Blackjack says he's not "put up" to it, he'd just do anything for Boss. Yes, they will be. Take me with you, I wanna see what I write lol. But that could create a paradox so yeah.
Evarria: It's nice to see that I have at least one character's personality down pat. Also Blackjack is the shipping queen of Solangelo and none of you can tell me otherwise. Yes, unfortunately, you have to wait for next month for it all to be set gay. And everyone is already looking forward to it, I can tell.
Guest: Rachel is the president of the club. Reyna is vice president, while Nico called secretary and Calypso is treasurer. Annabeth is the club's sponsor. Percy's the mascot.
Rainbowchameleon: I have yet to meet someone prepared for Dobby's death. Same here, although they both did make me cry a little, more so in the movies than the books. I also sorta knew what would happen with TFIOS, I was just like "Oh he's dead? Well that explains those gifs on Tumblr."
SilverDawn1313: So do I, although distracting myself from this story isn't a good thing. Ah yes I could not resist that sweet pun.
HolydiAngelo: I think this is the first review I've gotten regarding my A/Ns as a whole, and can I just say that I'm glad it's positive. Thank you for the compliments on my representation! I believe that it is all important. Ha, I'm more open about things like that online than real life, though, so yeah. And if there was more of me in the world at least fifty countries would have been taken over. So far I'm tackling America. And thank you!
Willico: Yeah, you sorta had to. Sorry! At least I've gotten a TON written out. My break ends like December 1st, and I'm American, so yeah, I guess we do. I'm glad you love it! Ah yes Will and Nico are cuties. Also, speaking of holy Angelos, look at the name of the reviewer below yours.
Spiesareawesome: Plot twist this story is actually about Blackjack and not Solangelo AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
MegglesGG: Fandom references are my thing yo. Ah yes Marina and the Diamonds is beautiful I've heard just about every song (except for a few that I am currently trying to find on YouTube). Yay I am a grasshopper now *chirps and hops away into the grass in the dark of the night*. No no more serious talk only silly talk now *shooshpaps you*. WILL AND NICO ARE BABES THAT MUST BE PROTECTED
Moonshroom420: I can never pass up a good pun like that lol.
I Am Shibuya's Computer: I STILL HAVENT SEEN IT BC I AM STILL PREPARING MYSELF DESPITE LIKING STAR WARS BASICALLY MY ENTIRE FREAKING LIFE. Blackjack is forevermore the best okay. I make everyone laugh apparently, I'll have to tell you guys this one story about this chick at my summer camp some time later. Remind me to do so. Omg thanks. And it suits him so much I s2g.
LOSTcharlie-claireLOST: Omg don't be shocked it could shock your heart and we'd have to get the defilibrator. DO NT CALL ME THE GOD OF SOLANGELO OMG *hides under bed squealing* Omg I'm sorry to have given you false hopes. BLACKJACK GETS ALL THE FOURS, ALL OF THEM.
Vriska: Just as well, I already have aaaaaaaall the eight's, anyways.
Me: And you can have them. I prefer thirteen anywho.
Blackberry Explosion: I WANT AN ENTIRE SERIES FROM BLACKJACK'S POV LIKE RIGHT NOW. AND DON'T DIE PLZ DATS BAD. I will drown you in a sea of rainbows lol. Omg I'm glad you like my OCs. Also, when they make the "Looking for Alaska" movie, do you think that they should include the song "Chasing Cars?" *wink wink nudge nudge* Hm, I wanna include more Solangelo club, but nobody's really sent in much lately regarding them. Strange. I actually need a few more chapters, otherwise we'll be seeing Chapter 22 in early December and Chapter 23 at Christmas, which is too far a gap. I like your suggestion, it actually fits in quite well with my plans for part 1 of the epilogue, so I'll put it there. Omg go to sleep you beautiful nerd you *puts you in bed*
Hikarumeaningradiance: Fangirls are amazing, and so is the ff world. No omg I'm not that good there's better out there I swear. References are love references are life.
Shrek: No I am.
Me: NO
Anyways, back to your review *shoves Shrek out of the way* No friend you are not creepy Edward Cullen is. *Tamaki voice* Hikaru! Get back here! We have guests to entertain! Or are you Kaoru…HARUHIIIIIIII! WHICH ONE IS KAORU AND WHICH ONE IS HIKARUUUUUU!
A. : Well, I can get scared easily, but clowns don't bother me at all, sooo…Blackjack is amazing and so is that line. Omg autocorrect why. I agree with the McDonald's thing that is so canon. Although Thalia would be wondering why Nico actually agrees with Will lol.
Readeatcook: HEY I HAVENT SEEN YOU IN A WHILE BRUH. Oh yeah exams suck big time. Yes please leave a nice long review about known characters with Asperger's so I can be fans of all the things that they're from omg. Will honey you can poison Nico by shoving that toothpaste down his throat…
Will: WELL AT LEAST HIS POSION WILL BE MINTY CLEAN
Nico: *choking noises*
I've already decided to make it a one-shot actually, which I will write at some point. It'll definitely have established Solangelo. ALSO BRUH WHAT IS YOUR URL/USERNAME SO I CAN FOLLOW YOU
Sabrina-luna-potter: Sweet! Here's some advice: Lemon repels spiders.
DOA6: Schoolhouse Rock is the best okay. He would totally do that lol.
That Dam Guest: First off perfect username I am in love. Second off yes I will have to at some point. (Spoiler alert: The Hunters are coming in next chapter so Percy and Thalia and Grover will have to have a little "dam" reunion lol). You might want to get your computer an inhaler lol. It's the most popular headcanon I have so far actually lol. And Alex is non-binary, zhe/zher is a pronoun. There's a few others, like xe/xyr and whatnot. Oh, shit, I got so caught up in the homo, man, I'm sorry. Definitely gonna add some non-homo charries, Paul's one definitely. And I'm glad you love it lol!
Random Goddess: "That's So Random" next please bc "That's So Raven" was amazing (Yes you do don't lie). When I first read your review I had to put my kindle down and laugh for like twenty minutes omg. I am definitely including that in the one-shot! I write the most fabulous Will and only the most fabulous Will. I am in denial about every character death actually. Except for Homestuck, but that's because people die come back die again appear in the afterlife and then die in the afterlife usually. Everyone does make out in the stables, it makes for some awkward riding lessons (Haha don't worry me too unless if I'm the one making them or it's a fandom thing. Even then it took me literally years to get the dam jokes from the Titan's Curse. Then again, I didn't know any curse words back in fourth grade). SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR, NICO. Everyone appreciate my Blackjack please. Oh, wait…everyone already does even though I have no idea why I mean why do any of you beautiful people even like this piece of crap that I like to call a barely coherent story holy fucking shit. Dude I think the bonding might have actually killed everyone lol. You have a great Thanksgiving too, and I'll update whenever possible! (He says, fooling around online when he should be writing)
MukunaMatata: HAKUNA MATATA! WHAT A WONDERFUL PHRASE! Haha sorry not sorry. Ah yes my references are amazing. AND ILY TOO. Also thank you bunches!
IShallThinkOfTheUsernameLater: IM SORRY THAT THE PUN WAS SO HARD TO GET AHHH. AND WE ALL ARE DENSE AT ONE POINT IN TIME OR ANOTHER. "DOCOT'S ORDERS" WILL SAYS AS HE NEARLY STRANGLES/POISONS NICO. I'm so sorry furriend have cookies instead *cookies fall upon you*. WHY WERE YOU IN SCHOOL FOR FOURTEEN HOURS THAT'S NOT HEALTHY. John Green references ftw. WE ARE ALL NICO REACTING TO CHARACTER DEATHS WHEN IT COMES TO CHARACTER DEATHS. Ah yes the headcanon is beautiful (COUGH best friends with benefits COUGH). WAIT IS MAGNUS CHASE SERIOUSLY TWO YEARS AFTER BLOOD OF OLYMPUS WTF. YES I GET THE GIST AND CAPS LOCK IS ONE OF MY MANY HUSBANDOS.
Will: At least Nico isn't one anymore.
Me: THAT WAS A PHASE I THOUGHT HE WAS STRAIGHT OKAY
Will: You're not straight either.
Me: I'm straighter than he could ever be though (pansexual)
Guest: That has already been addressed. But thank you anyways!
Lmb111514: Thanks! But be careful what you wish for…
The Timelord Empress: Me and my brother basically.
221BSuperWhoLocked: Haha your username I like it. OMG WHY YOU ALL LOVE THIS AND WAIT FOR UPDATES? I'm pretty sure some people didn't get it at first either lol. Omg why you guys keep on saying I'm an amazing writer that makes you all laugh is beyond me.
Chapter idea goes to the igneous Ippiki Ookami no Fuyu! (I don't know it starts with "I" plus rocks are badass like whoa) (Also I may or may not be running out of adjectives haha) (Send help plz)
WARNING: This chapter has some mentioning of sex, although it doesn't happen. I know I've danced around it in previous chapters, but this mentioning is a bit more extreme. Just so you know.
Disclaimer: I am actually really good at poetry, which is why Apollo's haikus are slightly better here than in canon. (At least, I think I'm good. I've never had that much feedback on my poems…)
Chapter 16: A Haiku About Pep Talks
The next time that Will heard the chirping of a cell phone, he would literally fill as many syringe bottles as he could with Greek Fire and inject them into everyone he ever met that had a cell phone in their possession.
Border patrol for the tree was still going on, and Will, as a head counselor for a cabin, was roped into a late-night shift. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as it sounded. He had Piper McLean as his partner (not in crime…hopefully), and she wasn't actually that bad for a daughter of Aphrodite. They spent the patrol either dozing off or making small talk, since nothing really happened at the 1am-to-2am Tuesday patrol. Except for that one time when an injured son of Demeter had run in, chased by a hellhound. Will had been able to care for his injuries while Piper laid waste to the huge demon dog. All in all, they weren't so bad of a team.
Unfortunately, Piper wasn't around. It was her father's birthday, and she was out of town for a few days, leaving her friends explicit instructions on what to do with Jason Grace while she was gone. Now, Will was happy that she got to hang out with her dad for a while-after all, he had barely even heard a single word from his own father in years-but her leaving meant a replacement had to be found from her cabin. Will had been fearing Drew, honestly. But now, he was sure that he might consider taking a whiny Drew complaining about her loss of "beauty sleep" than Paul rapidly texting his girlfriend every five seconds for the past twenty minutes.
"Can you not?" Will sighed again, earning him yet another glare from the son of Aphrodite. This must have been the, what, fifty-first glare? You'd think Aphrodite kids couldn't glare, but Paul could do it like nobody's business, like another black-haired boy Will knew…
"Dude, just leave me alone, okay? Besides, nothing ever happens in the middle of the night, anyways."
"Obviously you don't watch horror films."
Paul raised an eyebrow. "You? Watch horror films? Didn't see that one coming."
"There's a lot about me that you don't know."
"I have a girlfriend."
"I'm painfully aware of that, since you keep on texting her pretty much every five seconds."
"Well, of course! She responds every five seconds!"
"That's because she's in a different time zone-what time is it over in Oregon, anyways?"
"Um…" Paul counted back on his fingers. "Like…11 pm?"
"Precisely. You're keeping her up!"
"She's not gonna fall asleep for a while, anyways."
"Because you're keeping her up."
"Shut it, Will."
"You make me."
"I'll make you alright-"
"Oh, now who's coming on to whom?"
Will wasn't usually like this. Sure, he was usually sarcastic and witty, but now it was like he tried to pick a fight with almost everyone that he talked to. His cabin members had been avoiding him, afraid of him exploding all over them, Alex especially. Will couldn't blame zher. He supposed he must have been pretty scary during his episode in the infirmary where Alex had discovered his crush.
Then it was Cecil and Lou Ellen constantly asking him if he was okay with slightly strained smiles. Being his best friends, they could instantly tell something was up with him, but he wouldn't dare breathe a word about his Nico drama. Alex was the only one who knew about his crush, and he wasn't telling zher anything about Nico's crush on Percy, because zher would try to take matters into zher own hands, which would end quite messily. Jake was next, along with a few inquiries from his boyfriend, Mitchell, but Will just ignored them. Lexi asked next, and, despite how much he wanted to tell her, he wouldn't dare breathe a word to an Aphrodite child, even if he knew Lexi wasn't like an average daughter of Aphrodite. That, and he was wary of her powers.
But the worst of all was Nico. Will did everything he could to avoid talking about it with Nico. To tell the truth, he was hoping that the black-haired boy wouldn't notice. But, of course, they spent too much time together for him not to. So Will changed the subject every time, deflecting every question about it, or pretending that he hadn't heard. He felt as though as he was stretched tight, a rubber band just waiting to snap. He couldn't bring himself to tell anyone what stressed him out, dwelling on the possibilities of what could happen if he did, which in turn only stressed him out even more. So he had to find a way to release the stress by himself.
(A/N: NO NOT LIKE THAT)
And it appeared that the only way to do it was by taking it out on someone.
Will didn't go out of his way to pick fights. That was for Ares children. But lately he was snapping at almost everyone that tried to talk to him (The only exceptions so far seemed to be Nico, Chiron, and Mr. D). Anyone who noticed asked him what was up, not to go around picking fights with them, or simply who had spat in his orange juice. But Will wouldn't answer them. He didn't dare.
"Look, if it's a fight you want, not now, okay? Plus, you'd probably overpower me. Chill, man," Paul said.
Will realized he was glaring at Paul's phone, and shook his head to snap himself out of it. "Right, right. Sorry. Stuff."
Paul raised an eyebrow. "You wanna talk about it-"
"No."
Paul held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine. Just don't hurt me."
A soft laugh came out of the shadows beyond the tree. Both boys jerked up, Paul fumbling with his phone and sword, Will's arrow nocked at the ready.
"Who's there?" Will barked out. "Show yourself!"
"Shit," the voice murmured, as though it was talking to itself. "Shouldn't have laughed."
"C-Come out where we can see you!" Paul stammered, legs shaking. Will rolled his eyes.
"Fine, don't get your drachma in a twist," the voice replied.
A figure shuffled out of the shadows into the moonlight. It was a middle-aged man, in a dark green hoodie. His sandy blonde-gray beard was thick and curly, streaked with dirt. His hood was up, covering his head, but not masking his bright blue eyes. The eyes sparkled with mischief, along with a hint of insanity.
Will lowered his arrow. "It's just some homeless guy, Paul."
Paul lowered his sword, nearly falling over with relief. "Right, right."
The man chuckled. "Lovely job you two are doing, protecting the place."
Will frowned. "How do you know?"
"Seriously? The swords? The arrows? Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to talk to my son."
The man made a move to step across the borders, but Will stepped to the side to block him. The man raised an eyebrow, and moved the other way, but Will followed him. They countered each other like this for a while, until Paul remarked, "You two are making me busy."
"State your business, and who you are. At this close a range, I won't miss," Will threatened, raising the arrow back up.
The man rolled his eyes. "Well, if you insist." He raised his arms and began to recite a haiku.
"Moonlight on the ground
My son blocks my way to camp
I am so awesome."
"What?" Paul asked, confused. "That was terrible!"
But Will lowered the bow and arrow, staring at the man in shock. "D-Dad?!"
The man smirked, and his appearance changed, Gone was the beard, a clean-shaven chin replacing it. His hood fell back, revealing a head of golden curls. His eyes brightened to the color of the midday summer sky, and his skin darkened to a light brown tan. He even seemed to grow a few inches taller.
Apollo looked down at Will-that was weird, seeing how Will was just about six feet tall-and grinned. "Hey there, kiddo."
Paul looked from Will to Apollo, then back at Will and back at Apollo. "Wait, what?"
Apollo smirked and turned in Paul's direction, offering the boy a short bow. "Lord Phoebus Apollo, god of music, poetry, archery, truth, healing, and awesomeness, at your service." He straightened up and gave Paul a once-over. "Is it just me, or do sons of Aphrodite get hotter with each generation?"
Paul stared. "I'm sorry, since you're a god and all, but what?!"
Will groaned and facepalmed. Brilliant. He hadn't even been in his father's presence for two minutes yet, and already he was embarrassed. "Dad…"
The word felt foreign on Will's tongue, despite him saying it over and over again in his healing chants, his prayers at dinner, even his offerings. It may have been because he felt as though he was speaking to someone that wasn't listening. But now, with his dad in front of him? It was an entirely different experience, one that Will thought he might never experience.
"Hey, hey, hey. I get it, kiddo. Awkward to see your old man flirting with someone your age, right?" Apollo chuckled. Then his grin faded and he looked more serious. "But that's not what I'm here for, actually."
"Um-"
Apollo cut off Paul. "Hey there…Paul, right? Your mom says she likes your dedication to getting into the romance movie writing business."
"How…How does she know about it?"
"No idea. Anyways, off you go, back to your cabin! I need to talk with Will here." Apollo twirled his finger lazily, and a golden aura surrounded Paul, taking him back to his cabin with jerky movements. Will could hear Paul's cry of surprise and protest against it.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Apollo turned to Will with a grin. "Boys. You gotta love them."
Will frowned. "What are you doing here?"
Apollo gasped in overexaggerated shock. "What? No hello? No 'nice to see you, Dad?'"
"Nice to see you, Dad."
"Ah, that's better."
"So why are you here?"
Apollo tutted. "Did you not hear me before, Will? I wanted to have a talk with my son."
"Oh, so you've been too busy to talk before?"
The moment the words flew out of Will's mouth, he regretted them. Who knew what Apollo might do to him? He knew how vengeful his father could be, he had read just about every myth that involved him.
But Will wasn't expecting Apollo to look down at his feet, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Yeah, I…I guess I've been a bad dad, huh?"
"Thirteen years, and barely a word."
Apollo winced.
Will felt himself softening at the realization that, hey, maybe his dad felt bad for abandoning him in a camp full of older people at such a young age and then barely saying a word to him afterwards, but remembered that he had felt practically abandoned for over a decade, so he just frowned deeper.
"Look, I'm-I'm sorry, honestly. It's just…stuff. Not just mortal stuff. Godly stuff. And…"
"Yeah, you said this to me the last time we spoke-Second Titan War. Everyone was cleaning up, and you wanted to talk to me."
"You remind me of your mother."
"Funny, I don't remember her."
Will shook his head, scowling. No. Now wasn't the time for flashbacks.
"Let's not dwell on the past."
Suddenly, Apollo was standing next to Will, an arm slung casually around his shoulders. Will yelped. How had his father moved so fast?
Apollo thrust a hand out, as if to show Will something. "We must focus on the present, the here and now, and the future! We can't change the past, we know that. But what we do in the present will change the fu-"
"Don't touch me."
"Oops." As quickly as he had invaded Will's personal space, Apollo slide out of it. "Sorry. Got so caught up I forgot."
"I bet."
Apollo clapped his hands together. "So! I wanted to talk to you, son."
"About what?"
"You see, I've heard about your little troubles."
"Which ones?"
"Your little troubles with the son of Hades, of course!"
Will groaned. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."
"No, no, son. Chill. I just wanted to say that I am in full approval. Hades…not so sure."
"That's wonderful." Will crossed his arms and glanced around the area, being careful not to look anywhere near where his father was standing.
"Don't fret, son, I'm sure Aphrodite will make him see straight! Well, not so straight, in this case…" Apollo trailed off.
Will facepalmed. "Dad, I don't want every god on Mount Olympus up in my business," he said, voice slightly muffled by his hand.
"Not everyone is. A bunch of the minor gods don't care, and Hestia doesn't really either. Most of the gods only took an interest so they could place bets."
"Lovely."
"I wish they'd bet on me like that," Apollo grumbled, crossing his arms. "It's mostly 'how long will it take for him to get dumped.'"
"What, did you come down here to get tips?"
"No, I wanted to give you some."
Will did turn to stare at his father this time, being especially careful to avoid eye contact. "…I'm sorry?"
"Um, you see Will…" Apollo started tapping his fingers together nervously. "When two boys typically are in love with each other…"
"Uh-huh?"
"They like to spend time together a lot."
"Obviously."
"So sometimes they want to do things with each other…"
"I don't know where you're going with this."
"To tell the truth, me either."
"Lovely."
"Anyways, they start these things that they like to do with each other by kissing…"
Will's head tilted to the side. "What?"
"And then they start taking off each other's clothes-"
Will's eyes widened. Oh, god, he knew where his father was going with this, and he hoped that he wouldn't. "Dad-what-DAD-"
"And they'll keep on kissing while doing it-"
"DAD, NO, I ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS-"
"And then when they're completely clothes-free-"
Will started flailing his arms about in his father's face, nearly knocking the god over. "DAD, I KNOW ALL THIS ALREADY!"
"Hang on, I'm not finished! So one of them goes under the other-"
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" Will was about ready to strangle the god.
"Oh, wait, you know this already?"
Will sighed. "Yes, Dad. Just because I've lived in camp nearly all my life doesn't mean I'm ignorant."
"Oh, good!" Apollo grinned. "That clears up half of what I had planned!"
Will groaned again, massaging his temples. His father was starting to give him a headache.
"Everything alright, kiddo?" Apollo frowned. "You're not sick, are you?"
"No. You're giving me a headache," Will snapped.
"Sorry. Anyways, I have some more tips for you."
"Please don't let them be about sex."
"No, they're not. Although be glad that you were born after lube was invented."
"DAD!"
"Lube is a great tool
It helps me-"
"DAD, NO!" Will covered his ears. "LALALA I CAN'T HEAR THINGS I DON'T NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MY FATHER'S SEX LIFE LALALA!"
"That was the last time I'll talk about it, I swear."
"On the River Styx?"
Apollo grimaced and tilted his hand left and right. "Eh…"
Will wished that he wouldn't do that... "Great. Just…just continue so you can get out of here."
"Perfect! Okay, so, on tips on how to woo this di Angelo kid…"
"Oh, gods."
"Don't worry, they don't involve what I did with the girls. Girls are a different thing entirely to woo."
"That sounds wrong, but whatever. Just as long as there's no laurel trees involved."
"That was one time!"
"It's basically your most famous myth."
"Whatever. Oh, yeah, I made these tips into haikus."
Will promptly turned and hit his forehead against the tree. Peleus snorted in his sleep from the other side of it, but didn't do anything otherwise.
Apollo either didn't notice Will or chose to ignore him. "Okay, so rule number one, is that you gotta have fun, and baby when you're done-"
"Dad, that's a Marina and the Diamonds song."
"It's not my fault that my specialties keep overlapping!"
"Start with your actual tips."
"Okay, okay! So, haiku number one:
When you're trying to
Pick up a guy don't let him
Near rocks, he'll jump off."
Will felt his face twist into confusion. Okay. That was a new one. He couldn't recall a myth where his father made someone jump off a cliff, even though he was pretty sure he had at some point. "What myth was that?"
"Leucates. Jumped off a rock when I tried to spirit him into the sunset. Shame, though, his butt was amazing."
Will grimaced. "Urgh. Just go on."
"Second haiku, and you probably know this myth already:
Do not get in a
Discus throwing contest for
Zephyrus will kill him."
Yes, Will did know that one. "That was six syllables on the last line."
Apollo counted them out slowly on his fingers. "Ze…Phy….Rus…Will…Kill…Him. Oh, you're right."
"Of course I am."
"Haiku number three, probably heard this one too:
Do not give him a
Deer for companionship, since
He will murder it."
"The Cypress guy?"
"Cyparrissus," Apollo corrected. "Also had a great butt."
"No, Dad. Continue."
"Haiku number four:
If he's killed by one
Of the Heracleidae, then
You must curse them all."
"Who was that?"
"Carnus."
"Ah." Will had no idea who that was, and had no interest in finding out, either. Godly love lives were confusing.
"Haiku number five:
If he asks you to
Prolong the life of his dad-
Wait, no, di Angelo's the son of Hades, isn't he?"
Will sighed for the fifty-first time since the conversation had started. "Yes, Dad. He is."
"Ah, okay, so the haiku about Iapyx is irrelevant then. Okay, next one, then!"
Will silently prayed to the Fates to kill him now.
"Haiku number six:
When you like a guy
And his name's Branchus, don't let
People think you're related."
"Six syllables again. But what?"
"I don't know, Branchus and I were out one day and someone thought I was his dad, and it spiraled out of control from there."
Will didn't say anything. His head was beginning to throb again. "Is that all?"
"Nope, I've got like seven more."
"Oh, wonderful."
"Now, haiku number seven:
When-"
"Brother."
The voice seemed to reverberate across the entire hill, down into the valley where the campers laid asleep in their beds. The tone was powerful, serious, and the hair on the back of Will's neck prickled.
Apollo jumped about five thousand feet in the air, then turned to face the owner of the voice, quickly plastering a bright-yet-fake smile on his face. "Arty!"
The goddess that walked towards them radiated power as well. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a long braid that thwacked the backs of her knees as she walked. Her tunic was short and silvery, almost the same color as the quiver full of arrows slung on her back. Her eyes were lighter, but the cool steeliness in them didn't help. She frowned disapprovingly, deepening the closer she got.
"Apollo."
"Arty, my favorite twin sister! How are you?"
"I'm your only twin sister."
"Must you always focus on the details?"
"Father has discovered your absence."
Apollo winced, his fake grin replaced by a grimace. "Uh-oh."
Will snickered behind him. He couldn't help it. Apollo shot him a glare over his shoulder.
"Look, brother. Even your son laughs at your misfortune," Artemis pointed out.
Will laughed even harder. Artemis grabbed Apollo by his ear, causing the blonde god to "ow."
"Arty, please let go of my ear, Father's gonna cause me enough pain as it is already-"
"Hush, brother. We must go, before you torture your poor son further. I've heard enough of this "Solangelo" business from my hunters as it is."
Will stopped laughing. "The Hunters know?"
"Many of them have siblings in the camps. And word travels fast."
Will groaned and put his head in his hands. "That's fantastic. The Solangelo club must be thrilled," he muttered.
"You sure you alright, kiddo?"
Will lifted his head up to glare at his father. "Can you please stop with that?" he snapped.
Apollo tilted his head in the direction that Artemis was tugging his ear in. "Just wanna make sure you're happy. And that you really want to try a relationship with Nico. Y'know, typical dad stuff."
Will blinked. That wasn't really what he had been expecting. "Um, I guess?"
"Perfect."
Artemis started walking away, dragging Apollo along behind her, ignoring his protests of pain. "You're doing alright, I guess, kid," she called out over her shoulder.
Will blinked. "Um, thank you, Lady Artemis?"
"Don't I get a thanks?"
Will sighed. "Thank you, Dad."
"No problem, kid!"
"Before we go." Artemis stopped, and Apollo sighed in relief. She turned her head to look at Will. "You might want to tell Chiron to prepare the cabin."
"What?"
But Artemis and Apollo both started to glow, and Will was forced to turn his head. By the time he looked back, they were gone.
*The linebreak of me screaming after finishing "Over the Garden Wall" at 1am*
Nico flinched as Will stabbed another piece of bacon with his fork. The blonde had been moody all morning, even more so than Nico had grown used to these days. He had barely spoken a word than his gruff "hello" that morning.
Nico figured Will didn't feel like talking. Nico had some of those days too. Well, if Will didn't really feel like talking, Nico wasn't going to pressure him into talking. But that didn't stop him from worrying.
Their breakfast continued in silence like that for a while, until Will muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Why do people want to meet their godly parents so damn much?"
"What was that, Will?" Nico asked.
Will jerked his head up, looking surprised. "What?"
"You said something about meeting godly parents."
Will sat more upright, eyes widening as though he just injected himself with espresso, which didn't sound particularly healthy. "What? No I didn't!"
"You did."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"I did not!"
"Is this another secret you're gonna keep from me?"
Will stared at Nico (once again not in the eyes). "What?"
"Secrets. Something's been stressing you out for the past few weeks, ever since Halloween. Care telling me what it is?"
Normally, Nico wasn't so hellbent on dragging other's secrets out of them. He knew the feeling. But this could affect Will's health, he'd already become snappish with Cecil and Lou Ellen, not to mention several other people. And yet nobody knew what it was. Nico had even asked the Apollo cabin if they knew anything, and they all said that they didn't. Seeing how Apollo kids couldn't exactly lie, Nico had to take their word for it. Although Alex did look slightly guilty when zhe said zhe didn't know anything. But Nico wasn't really focused on that. He just wanted to make sure Will was okay.
Will glanced around the dining pavilion, tapping his fingers out on the table in the beat of "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." It was a nervous tic of Will's to tap out a random song beat, even if he had barely any musical talent. Nico had first seen it during his three days in the infirmary, and noted that many other Apollo children seemed to do the same thing. Although the song choice was weird. He thought Will didn't like Taylor Swift.
"Well," Will sighed, and Nico sat up straighter. "There is this one thing."
"What is it?"
But when Will opened his mouth to speak, a loud, out-of-tune conch shell blow filled the air.
Campers squawked and yelped, many dropping their cups and silverware. The plates at the Hermes table went flying, as did the Aphrodite's silverware. Every Apollo child covered their ears and cringed, as did many of the other campers. Jason accidentally stabbed his hand with his fork, while Leo set Calypso's pancake on fire. A loud voice from the Ares cabin yelled, "WHAT THE FU-"
"Sorry, sorry! The conch shell's broken! Hasn't worked right since somebody used it!" Grover Underwood snapped, shaking the conch shell at fault violently while glaring in Leo's direction. Grover's girlfriend, Juniper, laughed beside him.
"I wanted to upgrade it!" Leo yelled back, awkwardly dumping his orange juice on Calypso's pancake. The daughter of Atlas lurched back, obviously trying to avoiding either catching fire, being splashed by orange juice, or her crazy boyfriend. Quite possibly all three.
"How do you even upgrade a conch sell? It's not mechanical!"
"Anything is mechanical if you try hard enough!"
"Leo, that's possible, not mechanical."
"Same difference, Jason."
"Just shut up and help me get this fork out of my hand."
"Why'd you blow the conch, Grover?" Someone from Nemesis yelled.
"Oh, yes." Grover cleared his throat. "I am pleased to announce that-"
"Don't bother, we'll introduce ourselves."
A girl in a silvery parka walked up behind Grover. She slung an arm casually around his shoulder and pulled her hood back with the other, revealing a girl's tanned freckled face with electric blue eyes and a silver circlet resting lopsided on her blue-and-black hair. Behind her, several other girls in parkas walked up. Some had their hoods up, others down. All had quivers of arrows strapped across their backs, along with matching bows. Some of them grinned and waved at the campers staring at them in awe, others just crossed their arms and rolled their eyes. A few younger girls stood there awkwardly.
Thalia Grace grinned at the slack-jawed demigods gathered in the dining pavilion. "Hellooooooo, Camp Half-Blood!"
Yay, Hunters! I love Hunters, don't you? (Also I'm secretly Thalia/Bianca trash but don't tell anyone shh)
So I couldn't find anything about Will's backstory, and last year me and MrsEDarcy (I created a collab story with her last year) created one where Will's mom died when he was two and he's been in camp ever since, so I decided to go with that.
Fun fact: I originally forgot the word for "syringe" and had to call my friends. I'm going down the drain…
ALSO I FOUND A MULTI-FANDOM CRACK SHIPPING MEP ON YOUTUBE AND THE SECOND ONE WAS PERCY JACKSON AND JEAN KIRSTEIN FROM ATTACK ON TITAN IVE NEVER LAUGHED SO HARD IN MY LIFE OMG
Just so you guys know, whenever I get a compliment in a review, the first time I read it I just sort of flail my arms and roll around making high-pitched whining noises. Which means I make my throat raw from squealing, which is sorta a weird feeling. Oh, look, I'm a poet. I can make rhymes, I know it! If I can't find another career, I'll make one in poetry-have no fear! A rhyme is really a simple thing. It's like pulling a kite attached to a string! You mix up the words with the similar endings, and then you concoct a few sentence-bendings! Sometimes words are created that weren't there before, but that's the fun of it, or it'll just be a chore! People say that it's boring but I know the truth: Poetry is fun, for our old and our youth! Don't listen to the lies that people like to tell, for they want to put you in their poetry-less hell.
Welp. I actually made a rhyming poem. To tell the truth, I'm a whole lot better at free verse than I am rhyming poems, although in May for the annual Theatre Banquet at my school everyone that was an eighth grader who was leaving wrote like a little letter. Me? I wrote a poem. Apparently I nearly made this one guy cry, and basically everyone else in the auditorium at that performance was in tears. It took a while to get organized again after that.
Also, remember that story contest thing I said I was entering a few chapters back?
…
Yeah.
I sort of…
Um…
Didn't.
The limit was too small for me to do much with, and plus I used one of my own more personal characters for this, and she's not straight, so I wasn't sure what the magazine would think of that. Also, the backstory alone for all of the characters would've taken up ten magazine contests alone, so it was just sorta confusing. I'll try entering their next contest, though. Maybe. Depends on what it is.
And finally, the big chunk of the author's note that you've all been waiting for!
The cover art contest winners! Unfortunately, I had only two entries, so there's no third place or honorable mentions, although IShallThinkOfTheUsernameLater get a shout-out for wanting to enter but not finding the time.
Second place is the amazing A. ! Just so you know, her first story on this site involves the saving of the Oracle, a happy-go-lucky Apollo in a mortal disguise (poor Will), Aphrodite vouching for Solangelo over Percabeth (amazingly), and Will being so gay for Nico that I'm surprised my computer and phone doesn't erupt into rainbows every time I read the new chapters.
And first place is LOSTcharlie-claireLOST! Her Instagram is chock full of amazing posts! Please ask her for the name, however, it's not my place to give it out. I don't have Instagram, by the way. Just as well, I'd just post weird things of me at 2 in the morning, and I'm not a pretty sight at 2 in the morning.
I'll start dedicating the chapters next chapter, and don't forget that you two will be appearing as characters! So please let me know via PM what you want you as a character to be like. My only rule for the character thing is that no children of the Big Three or any other god that shouldn't have children. And if you want a romantic interest, either give me the name of a single minor character in the series, a character you have created, or just let me draw one up for you (please specify gender if so).
And keep on leaving your favorite lines! I love hearing them all!
Deranged Shadow Fangirl
P.S. Also "Over the Garden Wall" more like "WHAT JUST HAPPENED WHAT IS THIS PLOT TWIST WHAT WHAAT WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT"