Previous Apollo Awards entries for your reference or entertainment!
Voting is closed. Thank you to everyone who participated in last year's Apollo Awards, and congratulations to the winners! Stay tuned for information for 2024!
Contest presented b...
*Oh gods... What the fuck!?* Nico buried his head into his legs. He wasn't even listening to Jason as the wind howled around him. His knuckles turned white as he clutched Diocletian's Scepter. The day was chilly and his dark black hair whipped around him. Nico was too aware of how vulnerable he was right now. He wanted to drown away everything and flood everything in anger, but he was too tired. Every last ounce of darkness had been unleashed just moments before. Then he felt the hot tears in his eyes as they spilled out onto the ground. After a moment of terrible silence, Nico felt a ray of warmth. He realized it was Jason's hands.
"Dammit all..." Nico hiccuped, his voice was raspy, and his tone defeated. The son of Hades curled into an even smaller ball.
Jason sighed softly. He wasn't frustrated, or angry, or judgemental. He was just worried. He had never seen Nico like this. Nico was always the mysterious one. The, sometimes, terrifying one. Not... the sad, defeated boy that was sitting next to him. Jason's blue eyes wandered over Nico's hunched form. *How am I supposed to help?* Jason thought desperately. He ran over what had just happened; Cupid had forced Nico to confess, Nico unleashed whatever hell was inside him, and... Oh gods, it was too much for Jason.
"Nico..." Jason murmured as he gently rubbed the boy's back. His golden blond hair dipped into his face, obscuring his view. With a grunt, Jason waved his hair back and refocused on Nico. He continued on hesitantly, "S-should we go back...?"
*No. Absolutely not,* Nico screamed inside his head. More tears burned at Nico's eyelids and slowly dropped down his cheek. As much as Nico hated that Jason was here to see him cry, it would be worse if the whole crew were to see him. There would only be judgment, hate, fear... Nico hated all of that. Why couldn't he be understood!? Why did he deserve this!? Why couldn't he have a proper life!? More tears ran down his cheeks. The wind chilled the drops, making them uncomfortably stand out to Nico. He tried to ignore the feeling of helplessness as he stuttered out, "Please... no..."
Jason nodded to himself. He figured Nico wouldn't want to go back. The son of Hades was closed off and, Jason now understood, was way more vulnerable than he seemed. It wasn't a bad thing... Jason just understood him more. He slowly rubbed his hand along Nico's back. How could he help the boy?
"Nico... I- I think we both need to hear this... I'll admit it, I was afraid of you at first. I thought you were scary. You were so mysterious, so aloof. But now..." Jason slowly rambled. At first, he was hesitant. He was scared of how Nico would react, but now he just wanted to get through his words. Jason continued, more confidently, "I just realized who you are. You're not some mysterious figure, you're just like all of us. We all have silly crushes, we all have the same feelings as you. And I think... it's okay to let that out. It's normal to let your feelings take control sometimes."
