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DoF crumbs (for the next arc which… won’t be the titan’s curse lmao) and with some hints at what’s happening—aka: disaster on all fronts:

“…accident where a truck ran over two children—the driver lost control and died when it crashed and rolled… the tenth one this week…”

That’s a tragedy, Luke thought, pausing in front of a store window where boxy televisions glowed behind glass.

It was hard to make out what the news lady was saying—the screen kept flickering, sound cutting in and out like it had a loose wire.

Do they seriously sell faulty stuff? he wondered, frowning. Very judgmental already, eyes flicking down to the price tag.

The TV snapped back on, but the broadcast still sounded like it was crawling through static.

“…planes down, no survivors… ships gone missing… power grid failures… emergency response overwhelmed… disaster unfolding…”

Luke raised his brows.

Yeah, he decided. Way too expensive for a TV that can’t even hold a signal.

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Don't mind me, just picking up the DoF crumbs you are dropping here, carry on

Lmaoooo. Will do, soldier—while leaving more crumbs.

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okay last ask I pinky promise - but is the caduceus charm on the charm bracelet to keep an eye on Luke? His whereabouts? I’m thinking it’s like Pipo, a safeguard put in place to make sure he knows where his son is and what he’s doing. If this would be a spoiler I’d accept that answer too lol

It’s kind of a spoiler if I answer now, lmao. Just keep in mind it’s not exactly the same as Pipo, and even less like Mercury’s card. But it is symbolic.

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Random hermes and luke sketch

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lmao odyseyus is a short king? How short is he if hes shorter than annabeth? I really like the tension between them…..

He is… tbh, Annabeth’s just tall. I checked the wiki and she’s like 180 cm or something, lol. The miracle giraffe among the bronze-armored gazelle, as Percy would say. But I do imagine Odysseus as a bit of a short king—around 167 cm~ Not that it takes away from his menacing factor; if anything, it adds to it. Imagine this Machiavellian guy in the corner, staring right through your soul with that untrustworthy smile, and what he lacks in height he more than makes up for in cunning.

The tension between them is just so fun to write, so I’m glad you’re enjoying it!

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in the dof universe, why is Hermes’ so obsessed with Luke? because of May? is it because there is something “different” about him? A reason we will find out later? (ur awesome btwww)

It’s partly because of May, yeah. But there’s also the whole anomaly thing, Luke found out about it when he went to San Francisco, had a full-on standoff with the Fates, and was ready to throw hands with them. Plus, when Luke was a tiny lil baby, the Fates tried to off him right in front of Hermes—I wrote that in May’s oneshot, iirc.

Also… don’t you guys ever stop and think about how Luke can ghost his dad, the literal god of roads? Now you’ve got this god who’s experiencing losing his kid, his fav kid, for the first time in his entire existence… and yeah, he’s not gonna react well. Then he finds out his archenemy of all time, an upstart Roman dog, is after his son’s ass? Hermes is ready to crash out, and when he does, the whole world’s gonna feel it.

You’re so sweet 🥹 Thank you so much!

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Presenting to you my writing cycle

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Are you able to share what plans you have for the “ichor born” universe? I love your writing💕🫶

Thank you so much 🥰

I have very, very vague plans for the Hermogenes au. The most I’ve got these days is Luke trying to ditch his father several times, stealing Hermes’ stuff, and failing every single time, while Hermes is there thinking Luke is cute and so much like his father. Look at his little mini-me 🥹 I was thinking of adding some Maia interactions as well, or maybe Dionysus (I just have to figure out if Dio is already an adult or not at this point in time, because I’ve thought of a saddled-with-a-kiddie-Dio situation happening, lol).

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Expanding on my writing process ask, this is my system au brainstorming (don’t pay attention to the grammatical mistakes for the love of God):

percy having his consciousness shoved into his alternate version’s brain.

Smth smth

Not in usa? I think that having this fic happen in greece would be nice, since its the gods’ seat of power—not that they cant leave (they can, thats why american demigods are born and so on) but more greek demigods in general for obvious reasons

Other gods exist too - romans, norse, egyptian, japanese, etc (how? Wont be all that relevant tho)

System is a lukercy truther

Cue: percy awkwardly trying to seduce the enemy, and annabeth’s younger sis protective instincts rising, and thalia as a potential rival?

No Mist AU, so Luke is kinda like a terrorist? Brainstorm: i was thinking maybe the rebellion is done differently here, and luke went MIA for a while and was gathering his forces carefully, which took time. So he only really starts the rebellion at 23~, when percy is 17-18, and everyone is shook at the hubris, and believing its brainwashing (hermes making up people’s minds plus the other demigods and so on). The council in disarray, and the news saying the hero luke castellan, son of hermes, has turned his back on the correct path and yadda yadda yadda, and there is a whole series of consequences in the industry maybe, like interviews to fellow demigods and so on. Hermes making statements. Kronos is the ultimate villain to the public’s eyes. I think that maybe Luke’s quest went differently? Or maybe it got exarcebated, but he still has his eye scar (?)

Backstory: may didnt try to become the oracle bc it never was a problem, it wasnt cursed since there was no pact to be held, but bianca and nico still got the lotus treatment bc of a beef between zeus and hades (?) in any way, may was nice and lucid and all, luke grew more stable, but then hermes decided luke had to go to greece, sent a satyr, arguments happen, may crying, then, in the imminent departure, luke ran away, met with thalia who had issues with her mom (beryl shackled with a greek and then with a roman god so i imagine it was a political landmine since she had children from both zeus and jupiter: who are NOT the same guy 😤) jason had already been taken since romans take their own children FAST, so thalia ran and met w luke. At some point, annabeth came round due to her family issues (neglect? Athena didnt get annabeth to go to greece at this point. Yet.) and they all adventure on the streets for a time before hermes comes round and takes them to greece kicking and screaming.

Hermes is not nice, and luke has some issues. The dynamic is a father who very clearly favors him and loves him but in a way that is not human and forgets to show up or doesnt realize he needs to, plus the inherent squishiness of mortals vs a son who was forcefully separated from his mother by his father who is a creep and makes him go to quests for personal gain and is overall neglectful?

Luke’s personality: idealistic, fights for justice and reform, more emotionally composed, anger is more controlled, strategic, and is using kronos just as kronos is using him. Research revolutionary leaders and so on, political guy. Fatal flaw: righteousness/inflexible idealism

Percy is kinda canon percy: impulsive, stubborn, brave, protective, rash, sarcastic and snarky, empathetic and forgiving, emotionally intelligent, war-weary and tired, tired of gods treating mortals as paws (even more in this au since gods are more godly). Ptsd, survivor’s guilt, hyper responsibility, lived in an abusive, poor household (cant stand bullies, short fuse, hyper vigilant, low tolerance for manipulation or control). Fatal flaw: loyalty

Percy is somewhat of a prince/high status guy due to poseidon (poseidon aint nice - more myth-like, but “nice” to his kid). Also, no Big 3 pact or whatever, since I dislike the mix of real life war with its myriad of issues in the narrative and its implications. So maybe they do have demigods, but Hades isnt one to have extramarital affairs, so he doesnt have many—just the two: nico and bianca, plus it being more a persephone being taken with maria and hades going along with it? Since persephone did have extramarital affairs. Poseidon and zeus have their demigod kids, and they’re kinda important, at least to the mortals—but it invites the retaliation kinda thing.

Demigods still die a lot and gods are still very distant: the hero thing in greek culture, the glory and so on. This time tho, the gods can retaliate and be more involved in their kids’ lives, so its more bloody overall.

Hermes is shooting lasers at percy — the -100 affections points stuff happening until percy gets an achievement for it lol

Kronos being seen as a cradle robber by hermes lol, so maybe he shifted the narrative to the public so luke is a poor boy being manipulated by the Titan

The piper thing being a landmine *spread hands* complicated (maybe her being sent to greece as a peace offering?) so her arrival could be a high stakes political moment where luke might try to intervene or do something which prompts a quest for the demigods.

Ending with percy and luke kinda like agreeing that something must change (percy is not on kronos’ side tho) but leaving ambiguous as how they will do it (?)

Enemies to lovers

A crack fic for fun—not very long

Name - quest: seduce the rebel (?)

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in wmat in ur ships would each have their own lil smutty scenes?

I’m planning to! If that wish actually survives the writing process is another story, lol. For example, Percabeth having time to develop as a relationship AND to do smutty stuff is smth I’m contemplating like a monk in search of enlightenment.

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Como vc cria e desenvolve uma historia? Tudo que vc escreve é tão bem-feito.

mt obgg 🥰 Bem, começa com uma idea martelando na minha cabeça, dps eu anoto ela e tento criar um enredo a partir desse ponto inicial, oq pode ser difícil—ou nn. Eu tento anotar pelo menos os pontos principais que eu quero que apareçam, com alguns outros que os conectam (oq pode mudar no processo da escrita—hj acho que tal coisa eh genial e na hora de escrever pode ser que não caiba). Depende do dia e do humor, mas normalmente (pra mim) não demora mt. Ai eu começo o rascunho, oq eu tbm tento fazer rápido (e é bem mais fácil quando já se tem uma ideia do que vai acontecer—tipo um planejamento do cap, mesmo que solto). Particularmente, eu uso uns app que te força a escrever sem parar por determinado tempo, tipo sla por 5min. Pra evitar procrastinar dms. No começo eu ficava mt presa a essa questão de fazer uma fic perfeita logo numa lapada só, oq hj eu reconheço que não é o jeito mais eficaz de escrever. Se eu tiver num humor de “hmm, que vontade de me torturar hj” eu consigo fazer um rascunho de um capitulo de 5k palavras em 1-2 dias (nn recomendo, mas eu sou meio abirobada das idea as vezes kkkkkk). Dai eu edito, vejo oq presta, mudo algumas coisas. Eu tbm escolho alguns temas em específico que devem ser o foco. Por exemplo, a crown of feathers tem liberdade, delusion of fate tem amor e a relação humano vs deus, we men are wretched things tbm tem humano/deus mas o principal é a natureza humana e o não pertencimento. Acho que conhecer os personagens é importante tbm, e sempre ter em mente como ele iria agir de maneira realista em tal situação. Tive que mudar o meu planejamento de dof, por exemplo, pq o Hermes enlouqueceu e oq eu tinha planejado n iria mais fazer sentido. Mas eu acho que é basicamente isso aqui.

Translation:

Ask: How do you create and develop a story?

Well, it usually starts with an idea hammering at my head. Then I jot it down and try to build a plot from that starting point, which can be hard—or not. I try to sketch out at least the main beats I want to hit, with a few connecting ones (though those can change during the writing process—something I think is genius today might not fit at all when I actually sit down to write). It really depends on the day and my mood, but usually (for me) it doesn’t take long. Then I start drafting, which I also try to do quickly (and it’s so much easier when I already know what’s going to happen—like a loose chapter outline). Personally, I use those apps that force you to write nonstop for a set time, like five minutes or whatever. It helps me avoid spiraling into procrastination. At first, I was really hung up on trying to make a fic perfect in one go, which I now realize is not the most effective way to write. If I’m in one of those “hmm, I feel like torturing myself today” moods, I can draft a 5k chapter in one or two days (not recommended, but I’m kind of unhinged with ideas sometimes lmao). Then I edit, see what actually works, and change things around. I also like choosing specific themes to focus on. For example, a crown of feathers is about freedom, delusion of fate is about love and the human/god relationship, we men are wretched things also has human/god dynamics, but its core is human nature and not belonging. I think knowing your characters is important too, like always keeping in mind how they’d realistically react to a situation. I had to change my dof outline at one point because Hermes went crazy and what I’d planned no longer made any sense. But I think that’s basically it.

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This is a sign from the heavens: there’s someone (aka me) quietly wishing for asks~

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ares and annabeth dynamic? I feel like they would be so sweet idk bc ares is such a girl dad. And Aphrodite will be a menace

Assuming this is about wmawt, Annabeth wouldn’t particularly like ares, but she would definitely like him a lot more than Aphrodite, lmao.

I feel like they would have a lot of conflict centered around the concept of war, bc ares represents a more bloodthirsty facet than athena’s, plus annabeth’s modern sensibilities conflicting with the ancient world’s core values—therefore, Ares’ views. But I see respect being achieved at some point, particularly from ares to annabeth, due to her skills, strategy, and so on. However, what that respect/relationship will look like won’t be anything usual, since we’re speaking of ancient gods. So, in summary, a lot of bickering (the uncanny kind) and clashing, with respect slowly building over time.

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I think I got way too invested… so here’s a bit more of the lukercy system au (chap 2 already 🤡):

“Okay. A quest—a divinely sanctioned quest—broadcast by an Olympian. Very usual. Very, very normal,” Percy muttered under his breath, his fingers twitching against his thighs. 

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Fuck. Who am I kidding? Nothing in this mirror-world is normal.

His hand froze, fingers clenching into a fist. Percy inhaled slowly, then dragged out a long sigh—like that would somehow delay the moment and allow his brain enough time to boot back online.

Obviously, he wasn’t that lucky. When was he ever, really? 

[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: “First Divine Quest—Father-in-Law, this Devoted Son-in-Law Shall Answer the Call of Arms!”]

Percy’s brows twitched. “Look, monster—“

[System is not a monster, Host… (˃̣̣̥ᯅ˂̣̣̥)]

“—or whatever weird… floating, sentient UI thing you might be. I’m not going to play this crazy game you concocted just because you want me to—to—“

Exchange saliva with Luke Castellan. 

A shudder crept up his spine, ears burning as he shooed the mental image away. Nope. Not getting even more traumatized today. Not even by his own mind, thank you.

“Whatever. I won’t do it—doesn’t matter how much you sparkle.” 

Planting his feet wide, like a general about to give an ultimatum, Percy looked down his nose at the flickering screen. Then, mercilessly and with a great deal of spite, added:

“I refuse.”

[Host, you can’t refuse! Σ(°□°˶) !! This System does not wish for Host to face the Punishment Protocol—]

He suppressed a disdainful snort—poorly, considering it was immediately followed by a string of crying emojis flashing right at his face. 

Goddamn, I can’t believe this thing was what yanked me out of my very comfortable bed. And—successfully, somehow—shoved me right into the middle of a flaming hot mess of a multiverse get-the-girl game, Percy thought, rolling his eyes. Exasperation prickled his skin. But the “girl” in this scenario is a revolutionary leader with daddy issues. Great.

Way to go, System. 

Percy crossed his arms, narrowing his gaze at the AI kidnapper like he could force it to babble by employing the greatest force of the universe: shaming.

“Yeah, punish the dude you kidnapped straight out of his bed—poor you, I guess,” he said dryly. 

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random crack fic im writing on my break for fun:

A ping echoed through the air, followed by a chipper robotic voice:

[BOOT COMPLETE! PERCY JACKSON SYNCING CONCLUDED! WELCOME TO ALTERNATE UNIVERSE #7!]

…What the fuck.

“Alternate universe?” Percy muttered, staring at the screen like he could glare it into submission. Or maybe make it vanish. He’d take either.

Then he sighed. “This is definitely god bullshit. Divine, high-tier, signature Olympus-brand nonsense.”

The screen kept going. Because of course it did.

Gods, I just want one peaceful summer, Percy thought bitterly, rubbing his eyes. No quests, no monsters, no gods forgetting where they left their magical items. Just… sleep.

The world disagreed.

[You have been chosen by this System to complete a very important quest!]

A pause.

[QUEST ISSUED: Seduce Luke Castellan and achieve the Happy Ending™! Reward: You get your soulmate and an angry father-in-law! ♥‿♥]

Seduce… Luke Castellan…?

“WHAT?!” Percy exploded, nearly falling out of bed. The screen was flashing text like it had just won bingo, complete with cutesy sparkles and a little heart floating in the corner.

Soulmate? Angry father-in-law? Who writes this shit?!

The screen only responded with another cheerful ping and a new line:

[You can do it, Champion! (ง •̀_•́)ง Love always wins!]

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Do you have any things you can recommend to learn more about hellenization and how the Greek and Roman pantheon are different? I totally thought the roman gods were just versions of the Greek gods before I started reading DoF and later your blog, and now I'm super curious about the Roman gods origins and how they differ from the Greeks.

I do have some recommendations, though most of what I’ve read comes from physical books and a mix of online resources, including Wikipedia and lots of lurking on the historians' side of Reddit, which has taught me a lot. Here on Tumblr, I recently stumbled across mask131's blog, who has some great posts about how Roman gods aren’t just renamed Greek gods.

As for books:

A History of Religious Ideas by Mircea Eliade;

Religions of Rome by Mary Beard.

There are more books I’d like to read eventually, but those two are the ones I’ve checked out so far.