#I also REALLY need to finish reading trials of apollo. I've had the final book for like 2 years now

[familyofpaladins]

now that monkie kid season 4 is all out now completely, my brain is bebopping between deciding which media to focus on, so help me decide which I should do (first?)

[estherlover60]

Damn Trials of Apollo really be hittin the feels man. Specifically The Tryant's Tomb. I started TOA forever ago and got back into it like a month ago? The first three books aren't bad at all, a lot of good moments, but there's just something about them that makes it hard to get through. Never had I had to push to finish a book. Usually, I can't stop reading, especially a Rick Riordan book. But I knew they would get good and boy, did they get good. Spoilers ahead, but finally they're giving Apollo his character development. The first two and like, a half of the third, books were setting it up (did not need that much but eh) but now we're getting to the part where Apollo admits he wasn't a good person. He hurt a lot of people, either leading to their death or wishing they could die because of their pain. He's finally realizing it and omg the shame and remorse he has for it is amazing. I've never had a main character just think so lowley of themselves. This man is actually offering up his life, not just to save his friends, but also cause he thinks he deserves it. I love finally hearing his thoughts and realizing the full extent of what his quest and the whole of TOA has caused on others. I mean just look at Jason. Also, I have to add I'm loving this more mature plot. It's so reveting. I mean, just look at Harpocrates and Sibyl. That part of the story just makes you wanna weep cause it's so sad. I'm loving it and whatever Uncle Rick did to get back on it and make this series better, I love it. Now I'm gonna go finish The Tryant's Tomb and cry.

[nikatyler]

For the get to know the blogger question, first off how are you doing? What’s a new show/movie/book you’ve recently discovered that you love? For your OCs which OC would you say has changed the most since you created them? Do you have an OC you like that you want to develop more or do more with?

Hiii! I'm doing great! I have a job now which really helped my mental health 🩷

🤍 Not a new show but I've been binging Buffy. Love it! I first watched it when I was far too young for it so it's been really cool to rewatch it now as an adult. I'm on season 3 right now. I've also obviously started Percy Jackson. It's everything I've ever wanted and more 🥹 I'm only on ep 2 there though, I haven't had the time to catch up yet and I don't wanna binge it, I wanna take it in slowly.

🤍 As for books, I've also been rereading Riordan books. I'm on Blood of Olympus now and I can't wait to read Trials of Apollo. I barely remember the first two or three books and I never finished it. And then onto the Nico and Will novel and then the latest one. I'm on a massive Percy Jackson kick right now and I absolutely love it, it's still one of my most favourite series!

🤍 OCs...first that comes to mind is Tyler, he changed a lot. There was this whole thing where I was figuring out my identity alongside them sort of, I guess I sort of projected some stuff on him before I was ready to acknowledge it in me if that makes sense. Also, he's still goofy childish music maniac but there's more depth to it rn.

But also, I could say a lot of the OCs went from having no personality and being just xyz's spouse to being their own person, that's a big thing. Sharon's development was a lot like that. Still have to do that with Rory, I feel like there's not much to her besides being a nice librarian who married Caleb.

Honorable mention: Ross, although I feel like his development was natural in the story, not me going "oh no, he's got no personality, I have to give him one!" or "I have to change what I did with him because I don't vibe with it anymore".

🤍 Which I would like to develop more or do more with...all of them, honestly, which realistically isn't possible, I know 😂 I need to do more with Rosie, Tyler's band. Last year was a major development because I finally sat down and made them in ts4 and finally got them right, now I need to talk more about their relationships and career and all. I'm hoping for a music pack this year because that would definitely motivate me to work on them more.

Okay, I think that's all? I'm doing this in-between work so I may have missed something or lost a thought here or there 😂 But thanks for asking, it's been amazing to talk about them so much again!

[jaxie-the-kat]

doodle dump

I've never posted anything of my own on here so I thought "why the heck not" so I'm gonna post all my recent doodles (they're all in the same art style bc I recently developed it and it gives me so much serotonin that I can't stop)

they're called tatos and they're everything to me at the moment

A lil bit of context for each one because i wanna rant

1: I wanted a cutesy doodleable art style and I started with the top left drawing and it quickly devolved into an oval with a face and I was so delighted by it I decided to stick with it (also the Apollo and Hyacinthus thing was out of the blue, I drew Apollo first and I accidentally gave him a sad face (don't ask how idk) and then I gave him something to be sad over as a coping mechanism I think)

2, 3: exactly what the top says, I drew some greek gods as potatos :D

4: drawing my oc Marcus, a character I designed specifically for Apollo because he needs therapy and hugs and kisses and headpats and I thought he deserved a cutesy femboy. Don't ask why, I'm not even sure, but they're my new comfort ship completely fabricated by my silly autistic brain to cope with the fact that I finished Trials of Apollo and have run out of things to make fun of him for. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

5: my Apollo tato wearing a silly shirt I came up with on a whim

6: more of the silly gay men. (Marcus is mildly silly tism so Apollo has to be on his right side or he has a goofy little meltdown. They did not think this through before putting on the shirts.)

7: I drew this immediately after the live stream for the Vengeance Saga because Calypso and Antinous are my favorite crackship and they give me serotonin and I needed to cope with EPIC induced depression (Ship courtesy of @irunaki, fishy Calypso also designed by her. I really like the fishy design I think it's super cute jajabsjsshishq I'm just bad at executing it I'm sorry)

8: Hermes in a fedora. I had the thought of him having multiple hats and pairs of shoes with wings to go with any outfit, and I love it, so I did it. :)

9: my finalized tato designs so far! Ima add more eventually since there's still space. Jimothy was requested by my mom lol

10: I was having a bad day Halloween morning so I had to quickly sketch my silly boys to make me feel better. (I really love my idea for Apollo's Halloween costume lmao. If its hard to read (which I'm sure it is) it says "forgot it was Halloween. Panicked. Snapped an arrow in half, taped it to a headband and called it good")

11: it's Will Solace dressed up as a lamp and Nico D'Angelo dressed up as a moth. I got this idea from a scene in the last TOA book where Will is given a lampshade to wear because he's mistaken for a human light source.

That's it, let me know if you want more silly drawings like this :) thank u for your time :D

[irregularjohnnywiggins]

Well, I've got nothing better to do, talk to me about PJO and whether I should pick it back up (I stopped at Son of Neptune)?

I’d say yes, but with reservations.

At the risk of occurring the wrath of Riordan fans, I’ll goout and say that Heroes of Olympus is… not great. However, the seriesreally pick up on Mark of Athena, which is more or less the payoff from LH andSoN’s very poorly implemented buildup. Whilst I can’t really remember any ofthe major plot elements of MoA (which may be a testament to how long ago itwas, but I haven’t read Titan’s Curse in about five years and can still easilyrecall everything that happens in it, so… make of that what you will) I doremember that the team dynamics were more… fulfilled than in the previous books.Giving Annabeth her own story arc was a note of genius, and whilst Percy hasabout as much to do as he did in SoN, the action scenes he’s in are reallycool.

Really, however, if you’re pressed for time you may as welltry the House of Hades first, because it’s seriously the best of the five. I’llassume since you’re… following me, you’re aware of the plot points surroundingNico, but all the characters are perfect in this. One slight quibble I have isthat I vehemently disagree with most Riordan fans about Percy and Annabeth’splace in the story – some think it’s too angsty, I say it’s not angsty enough,at least compared to the other plots in the book. There is also an entirelysuperfluous Piper chapter that makes her already broken power set even more so,and leads me to question why anyone else needs to be here.

As for Blood of Olympus… idk. It’s a very mixed bag, anddespite spanning half the world (or perhaps because of it) the ostensiblygrander final battle manages to be entirely less epic than the Battle of NewYork in Last Olympian. Whilst we’re comparing it to Percy Jackson, the biggestproblem I have with Heroes of Olympus is how much it reduces the complex war ofits predecessor (where the leaders on both sides were shitty, and the demigodson the Titans’ side may have been misguided and angry – but they weren’t wrong,and Percy had to acknowledge that) to a simplistic good vs evil (everyone onGaia’s side is irredeemable, the antagonistic demigods in the form of Octavian’sgroup are just power-hungry, and there are no stakes beside whether or not yourfaves will make it out alive).

My overall take on the Heroes of Olympus is that you couldreally just read House of Hades and lose nothing, although Mark of Athena isstill fun if you feel like it.

For the two books we have of Trials of Apollo, I’d say sure,go ahead. It definitely wins from keeping Percy in the back – his story wasover by the end of Last Olympian, and the series acknowledges it by only usinghim for action sequences and the occasional joke about how he’s still gettingdragged into this – my favourite being him griping over all the Aquaman jokes.Apollo’s narration is funny, and all of the side characters are cool – which isgood, because the book leans heavily on them to cover up the fact that theantagonists are perhaps the weakest of the lot (from Titan Lords to Primordialsof the Earth to… Bankers. Ohhhh!). Speaking of the supporting cast, one of thebest things about ToA is all the diversity rep, because Riordan does not give afuck anymore. From the first two books, it definitely looks like a fun series.

However, where I would suggest you go is the two side books –The Kane Chronicles and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.

The Kane Chronicles are really damn good, but always getoverlooked in favour of Heroes of Olympus, which may account for part of my distainfor the later. Seriously, though, the Kane Chronicles have engaging characters(the majority of which are actually ethnically accurate, i.e. approaching LukeCage levels of all-black cast), compelling stories (which don’t fall into theHoO foothole of not really having set endings for themselves – the series doesn’trely on cliffhangers, which is a nice touch), and whilst they’re isn’t the samecomplexity of PJ, there is a focus on Order vs freedom, and the series doesn’tcome down on one side or the other – chaos without control is bad, orderwithout change is bad, we need to find a middle ground, a far better moral than‘punch everything’. It’s just… really good. I’d also recommend the Demigods andMagicians book, a series of three short stories that not only bring the PJ andKC characters together, but also go some way to even cross over the theology.

As for Magus Chase, it’s fucking spectacular. Admittedly,that Norse Mythology is my favourite may have some factor in that opinion, butI stand by it. It scales down the scale from HoO, returning it to the oldformula of a mythology explored via one POV, and whilst there are similaritiesbetween Magnus and Percy, I have to say I prefer Magnus, who’s more dry andsarcastic, and also has a firmer grasp on what is going on than Percy ever did.It also has the advantage of a great villain, but it’s Loki, what did youexpect? I actually haven’t finished it yet, but from the first two books it’sdefinitely well worth a read.

So… that was a ramble. Bottom line: HoO is on a ‘If youreally wanna’ basis, Kane Chronicles and Magnus Chase are a must. Hope thishelps!