They say, a god's love is the most obsessive, oppressive thing there is. They say, if a god shows even the slightest hint of interest in you, you should run for the hills. But Percy Jackson didn't. Or, the story of how a mortal girl made a god fall to his knees.
they'll name a city after us is an Alternate Universe Fic for Percy Jackson and the Olympians writen by maevel. The fic starts describing the sun god's Apollo's all consuming obsession with female Percy Jackson which culminates with the lovesick god kidnapping her right after Percy's first prophecy is over and Kronos is defeated. The story features the gods as never having truly mellowed out, or grown more modern. Instead they have adopted a more palatable outward behaviour while remaining the same Jerkass Gods of ancient myth and legend.
Can be found on AO3
Tropes contained in they'll name a city after us
- The Ace: Percy Jackson is the most powerful demigod in history, she has the curse of Achilles and her achievements outshine Heracles by the time she hits eighteen.
- Action Girl: Percy is a full fledged one. So are Annabeth, Clarisse, Thalia. Also Artemis, to the point where Apollo hopes that his sister does not still hold a grudge over Orion.
- Abduction Is Love: In typical Greek God fashion, Apollo pulls a Hades and kidnaps Percy the moment the preserve or raze prophecy is over.
- Adaptational Villainy: Apollo is closer to his terrifying and dark mythical self rather than the sunny, haiku spouting playboy shown in the books.
- The Poseidon in this fic actually raped Medusa instead of being in a consensual relationship with her. Which makes Athena's actions even more monstrous since she completely unfairly punished an innocent victim.
- Aphrodite is not the airheaded but mostly reasonable goddess that she was in the books. She is her terrifying ancient self. More than willing to help Apollo, a kidnapper, because he happens to be in love with his victim.
- Age Lift: The author added two years to Percy's age. That means that she is fourteen years old when she goes to recover the bolt. Sixteen when she meets Apollo for the first time and rescues Artemis. And eighteen when she defeats Kronos and is kidnaped by Apollo.
- Most readers would find it a lot more palatable for Apollo to fall obsessively in love with a sixteen year old rather than a fourteen year old. It also means that he forcibly marries an eighteen year old newly adult rather an underage sixteen year old girl.
- Amicable Exes: Sally and Poseidon get along quite well despite having 'broken up'. It helps that both are on the same page. To find their daughter.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: Apollo successfully pulls this on Percy, with Aphrodite helping him. Percy is dragged to an altar where Apollo completes a very solemn and very binding marriage ritual. It works to the point where Hera senses that Apollo has gotten married.
- Badass in Distress: Percy Jackson is usually the one doing the rescuing, but this time she is the one in need of rescue from a kidnapper.
- Being Good Sucks: Percy's main gripe. She does he best to be an Ideal Hero and make both her parents proud, but so far it has gotten her nothing but grief.
- Berserk Button: Do not tell a lovesick Apollo that you will never love him back. Also do not tell Poseidon that he can't search for his kidnapped daughter. Don't mention kidnapped daughters in Demeter's vicinity either.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: The godly side of equation. The Olympians are seriously messed up and it reflects a lot in their familiar interactions.
- Demeter was assaulted by two out of her three brothers and the other one kidnapped her daughter.
- Zeus constantly cheats on Hera, who takes her hurt and rage out on his lovers/victims and the innocent children.
- Persephone was sold like a broodmare by her father to her own uncle and due to the infamous pomegrenate is basically grounded at different places six months at a time.
- Poseidon practices Parental Favoritism towards Percy with no thought on how it might affect the rest of his children.
- Apollo abducts his uncle's favourite child with no consideration of the emotional turmoil that it would cause to his uncle.
- Zeus constantly suspects and verbally abuses his brothers and sons out of paranoid fear that they might usurp him. He also shows Parental Favoritism toward his daughters Artemis and Athena. To the point where Athena suffered no punishment for her part in the Olympian Riot thousands of years ago.
- Ares carries a flagrant affair with his own brother's wife, not caring that it is both hurtful and humiliating to his brother.
- All the gods treat their demigod children as expendable pawns if they are not actively hostile towards them. Often the immortal partners of the godly parent are hostile and even murderous towards demigods. Hera alone has killed and tormented a great deal of Zeus' demigod children.
- A vast number of the demigods joined Kronos even though it would result in their godly parents being subjected to A Fate Worse Than Death in Tartarus should Kronos have won. Quite frankly it is hard to blame them.
- Break the Cutie: Apollo is determined to do this to Percy, to make it easier for her to agree to eternity with him.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Despite having extremely mixed feelings about Apollo she definitely does not like hearing about his long string of lovers. Especially important ones like Daphne, Hyacinthus and Coronis.
- Corrupt the Cutie: Apollo is slowly corrupting Percy. Or at least forcing her to manifest more of her savage godly half.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Apollo is insanely jealous of everyone that Percy speaks to, smiles at and cares for. He even felt furious that Percy consoled Hermes after Luke's death. To the point were he wanted to hurt Hermes for it, and Hermes is the brother he is closest to.
- Defiant Captive: Being held captive by a terrifying lovesick god does nothing to Percy's ability to dish out snark and physical harm to Apollo.
- Desperately Craves Affection: Apollo is desperate to have his Eternal Love and happy ending that has been denied to him for thousands of years. Deep down Percy is the same.
- Did Not Think This Through: Apollo took Percy without much consideration for the consequences. Aphrodite realises it right away that it was him. Likely the other love gods know or at least suspect that it was him and Eros in particular is an old and bitter enemy of Apollo. Hera realises right way when Apollo marries Percy, due to Marriage being her domain. Is only luck that makes her keep quiet and not tell Poseidon. Poseidon has sworn that once he finds out who took Percy, that person will be tortured for eternity in a prison cell in Atlantis.
- Hera deciding to keep quiet about Apollo's marriage. Poseidon is already angry with her and wants to knock her off her high horse. Demeter is siding with him.
- Divine Conflict: Zeus is none too happy that Poseidon is spending his time post war searching for his kidnapped daughter rather than help rebuild Olympus. A furious Poseidon almost starts a war with his brother. Once the truth of who kidnapped Percy comes out, Aphrodite predicts that all the Olympians will take sides and war is innevitable.
- Dreaming of Times Gone By: Ever since being brought in Delos Percy has been dreaming about Apollo's life. She has dreamed of Leto pregnant and being driven away everywhere, unable to give birth. Of Leto granting leave to Apollo to fight the Python. Of Apollo insulting Eros and then being struck by a love arrow. Of him chasing Daphne.
- It might be Delos itself sending her these dreams.
- Gilded Cage: The divine island of Delos to Percy. It is the most beautiful place Percy has ever been. The palace is extremely luxurious, the gardens are dazzling and there even is a lovely illusory sea. She has the most delicious foods to eat and the most beautiful clothes to wear but she she was brought there against her will and there is no way for her to escape.
- Good Powers, Bad People: Percy finds it very unfair that Apollo, whom she sees as a unmitigated menace has nice domains like the sun, healing, music.
- Easily Forgiven: Canon Percy forgave Poseidon fairly easily for abandoning him as a child. Averted with this Fic's Percy notes that it took her everything to be able to forgive Poseidon.
- Eating the Eye Candy: During the events of the Titan's Curse, Thalia, Percy and Nico were oogling Apollo when Artemis calls him to give the demigods and her own Hunters a ride to Camp Halfblood.
- Several gods oogle Percy as well, which infuriates Apollo.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: Apollo is extremely popular. So far the two people that Percy has been attracted two are blonde, Apollo and Calypso. Aphrodite also appears to her as a blonde.
- Fantastic Racism: All gods tend to have it towards mortals, including demigods. Apollo is no exception despite his great loves having mainly been mortals, Percy included.
- Femme Fatale: What Circe tried to turn Percy into, but Percy preferred to stay an Action Girl. Percy does benefit a bit from Circe's lessons to turn the tables on Apollo a bit since she cant defeat him physically.
- Fool for Love: Apollo himself admits that he is one. Aphrodite and Hera both agree.
- Has a Type: Apollo tends to go for dark haired people that are hard to get and are mortal or at least killable. Daphne, Hyacinthus and Percy are all dark haired.
- History Repeats: The premise of the story is that a lovesick god falls madly in love with a beautiful maiden and abducts her. Is it Apollo and Percy, or Hades and Persephone or Eros and Psyche?
- Hope Spot: After the marriage Percy hopes that it is not valid and legally binding since she is mortal and Apollo is a god. Apollo punctures that hope by informing her that Dionysus married Ariadne while she was still mortal and Eros did the same with Psyche. He is right. Hera, the Goddess of Marriage immediately senses Apollo's new marriage bond.
- Insistent Terminology: Hermes constantly insists that Luke was a hero when Apollo calls him a traitor.
- Irony: Thalia vows to find and destroy whoever took Percy. She does so right in front of Apollo, the culprit, who sarcastically wishes her best of luck.
- Apollo returns a spell designed to make someone dream of their worst fears to Hecate. Hecate muses to him that she wishes that she had been able to personally met Percy Jackson before her kidnapping. Apollo is Percy's kidnapper.
- Ironic Echo: Apollo borrows a charm that makes a person have extremely vivid nightmares about their worst fears. He asks Hecate why she created such a thing. She saucily replies that that is a secret that she will never tell. When she asks on who he used her spell on, he replies back with her own line.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Clarisse. When Miranda wants to put the search for Percy on pause and focus on rebuilding camp, Clarisse really lays into her.
- Jerkass Gods: When she refuses godhood Percy realises just how inhuman gods are.
- Apollo kidnaps her when she actually preserved Olympus and thus his own skin.
- Aphrodite helps Apollo keep her kidnapped. And drags Percy in chains to the altar to be forcibly and permanently married to Apollo.
- Zeus actively tries to prevent Poseidon from finding and rescuing Percy.
- Hera discovers that Apollo is the kidnapper but she keeps it a secret because, Apollo is now legally Percy's husband and Hera personally dislikes Percy.
- Since Medusa was an innocent victim, it makes Athena's actions toward her even more monstrous.
- Dionysus takes his sweet time to inform Poseidon that his daughter has been kidnapped. Annabeth raised the alarm mere hours after Apollo took Percy. Yet Dionysus waited until the next council meeting to inform Poseidon.
- Hypnotize the Captive: Aphrodite suggests to Apollo that he could use one of Eros' arrows on Percy. Apollo refuses. Not only Eros' arrows are a Trauma Button for him but also he wants Percy to love him for real.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: When Poseidon learns that Percy was kidnapped he sheds his easygoing fisherman persona and goes around solely on armour. When Zeus tries to put a stop on the search for Percy and enraged Demeter sheds her golden haired appearance in favour of a darker haired, golden eyed persona that is much more intimidating.
- Love at First Sight: Apollo falls madly in love with Percy the moment he sees her.
- Love Freak: Aphrodite, as is fitting for a goddess of love. She willingly aids and abets Apollo with his plans for Percy, even though Poseidon will be extremely unhappy about it. Just because she hopes that Apollo and Percy will become her new favourites. Her previous favourites? Helen and Paris. Aphrodite really has a thing for lovers that cause wars.
- Love Hungry: Apollo, he resorts to kidnapping the girl he loves.
- Also Percy, given that she had only her mother growing up, she does crave love but not if it compromises her freedom. Calypso decided that she and Percy would not make a good couple since Percy burns with her craving for love. Had Apollo tried conventional courting he might have had much better success.
- Love Hurts: No one knows it better than Apollo. Eros has been really, really hard on him. First Daphne, then Coronis, Hyacinthus and a lot of others. His actions with Percy are fuelled by his fear that he will lose her just like the rest.
- Love Makes You Crazy: Aphrodite puts it the best, one has to be crazy to kidnap Poseidon's favorite child.
- Love Potion: The effect of Eros' arrows. In her dream, Percy sees the effect it had on Apollo when the Daphne thing happened. Aphrodite also suggests to Apollo to use a Love Arrow on Percy.
- Light Is Not Good: Apollo is the god of the sun, light, music, art and has a very golden appearance. As Percy discovers, he is the furthest thing from a good person.
- Love Hurts: Apollo has been on the receiving end of this trope too many times. His greatest fear is that Percy might end up like Hyacinthus.
- A Match Made in Stockholm: Apollo seems determined to invoke this on Percy. It is slowly working.
- Meaningful Name: Percy, a variant of Perseus meaning destroyer, which really fits with her darker impulses and nature. But also is a variant of Persephone and guess who gets kidnapped by a lovesick god?
- Her legal first name is Perseis, the feminine variant of Perseus but also the name of the Oceanid that married Helios, the original sun deity. So another daughter of a sea deity marries a solar deity.
- Mercy Kill: Given by the flashback of Medusa's monologue to Percy, is likely that Medusa was trying to kill the daughter of Poseidon as a twisted act of mercy. Percy is very beautiful and just the type to attract godly attention, Medusa likely thought that killing Percy before she could be sullied and turned into a monster would be better for the demigod.
- Metaphorically True: Artemis demands to know why Apollo is late on a meeting regarding Percy's kidnapping. Apollo claims that he was held up by his date. Technically he was having a one sided date with Percy.
- No Periods, Period: Averted. Percy gets her period the day Apollo marries her, and it spares her from having to consummate it right away.
- Not Good with Rejection: Percy tells Apollo that she will never love him back and that considers him a monster. He retaliates by trapping her in a dream that plays out her worst fears. In the ancient past he arranged for Artemis to murder Coronis for cheating on him. He did not accept Daphne's rejection either, driving her to beg to be transformed into a tree.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Percy despises the gods but she is closest to being them than any other demigod. Both Apollo and Aphrodite point this out to her.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: When Dionysus reports that Percy was kidnapped and Poseidon roars demanding to know who was responsible Demeter wastes no time to throw shade at Hades.
- Papa Wolf: Poseidon. His wrath at having his daughter kidnapped has already destroyed several cities, wrecked havoc on the fishing and seafaring industries and he is leaving no stone uncovered to find her. Annabeth predicts that it will get worse the more time goes on. Aphrodite noted earlier than Annabeth that when Persephone was taken, the world almost did not survive Demeter's wrath. Poseidon is worse than her.
- Parental Favouritism: Percy as always is Poseidon's favorite child.
- Proud Beauty: Apollo is extremely attractive and he knows it.
- Questionable Consent: The author warns in the tags. Apollo consummates his marriage to Percy. She promised not to fight or refuse him if he gave her a few days to brace herself. While Percy enjoys the experience is very clear that she has no real choice.
- Really Gets Around: Pretty much all the gods except for the sworn virgins. One of the reasons that Percy wants nothing to do with Apollo is the long, long line of lovers and sexual conquests.
- Hermes and a pretty nymph have sex right in front of Apollo during a party at Olympus. Apollo refrains from partaking despite being invited in.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Poseidon gives one to Zeus, calling him a paranoid king who will not let his own brother search for his kidnapped daughter. Demeter gives one to Hera, calling her a sorry excuse of a mother. Athena has to intervene to avoid a war.
- Secret-Keeper: Being the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite knew immediately when Apollo fell in love with Percy. She is the first to realise just who has kidnapped the demigod daughter of Poseidon.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Hera senses it right away that Apollo is now married. Given the very beautiful Percy's recent abduction she adds two and two. However she choses not to inform her brother Poseidon since marriage is her domain and she does not want to actually harm a new marriage.
- Strongly hinted that Hermes and Artemis might suspect.
- Shout-Out: The godly marriage ritual that Apollo uses to marry Percy is inspired by the Valyrian wedding in House of the Dragon .
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Percy's beauty was what drew Apollo her her in the first place. Sally is well aware of this and advised her daughter to immediately ask her father for help should any of the gods show any interest in her.
- Stalker Shrine: Apollo has a ballroom sized room full of paintings of Percy. It utterly unnerves the demigod when she finds it in Delos. A bit ironic for a god to make a shrine for a mortal.
- Stalker with a Crush: Apollo to extreme levels. Being a god allows him pretty much watch Percy every single moment.
- Tempting Fate: Hera thinks to herself that if Poseidon figures out that she knew that Apollo has kidnapped Percy but chose not to inform him, Poseidon's rage will be immense. Lets hope the Fates are listening and give Hera her much deserved reckoning.
- As several commenters have noted, naming your daughter with a variant of Persephone is just asking for the Fates to set a kidnaping lovesick god on her.
- Too Dumb to Live: No one seems to have told Coronis that it is a very bad idea to cheat on a god.
- Torture Technician: Poseidon seems to be one, given his plans of making his daughter's kidnapper beg for oblivion.
- Trauma Button: Percy's kidnapping is this for Demeter, reminding her of her own desperate search for Persephone. She deeply empathizes with her brother Poseidon's anguish, rage and despair to find his own daughter. Is pretty much guaranteed that in the upcoming Divine Conflict Demeter will stand by Poseidon.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Zeus actively tries to hinder Poseidon from searching for Percy, despite owing her his existence. Hera is quick to dismiss Percy as just a demigod, much to Poseidon's rage.
- Wicked Stepmother: As Demeter points out, Hera did nothing to help her when Persephone was kidnapped. Likely because while Persephone is Hera's niece, she is also her husband's daughter with another woman.
- The worst fears nightmare that Apollo inflicts on Percy as punishment for her rejecting his love, show him that she herself had a wicked stepfather in Smelly Gabe.
- Wild Card: Aphrodite considers Artemis this. She is unsure if once the truth comes out Artemis would support her brother or be angry at him for abducting a maiden. After consummating the marriage, Percy is no longer a virgin, so Artemis might not be compelled to help her like she was with Annabeth and the Sky.
- What Did You Expect When You Named It ____?: Sally named her child after Perseus since he was the only hero to get a happy ending. But she accidentally also named her after Persephone, which leads to Percy suffering the same fate.
- World's Most Beautiful Woman: Aphrodite for certain. Psyche is also mentioned. But Percy herself is a very strong contender. Aphrodite herself told Percy that she is beautiful. Apollo turns into a lovesick mess at first sight. It is hinted that Ares and Hermes are also attracted to Percy.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: After finding herself in Delos Percy avoids eating or drinking anything, since that was what trapped Persephone. Apollo has to spell it out for her that Delos is not the Underworld and blackmails her into eating.
- Unequal Pairing: All god/mortal pairings are by design. But it especially applies to the case of Apollo and Percy since he has kidnapped her and trapped her in Delos, which is practically an extension of his will.
- Yandere: Apollo to terrifying levels kidnaps his love interest and locks her up in Delos, his personal divine island. He also sends a team of demigods on a mission to find her into a deadly trap. He also plans to either burn the world or plunge it into darkness should Poseidon take Percy away from him. Since he is the sun god, that is a very valid threat.
- Aphrodite advises him not to behave like a Yandere to avoid scarring Percy off, but Apollo wants her to love him for his true self rather than an act.
