#I'd want this to ultimately be a happy ending for Percy

[ofswordsandpens]

thinking about a world in which RR actually committed to the path he set Percy on in hoo (wherein Percy has become jaded, angry, and resentful at the gods for breaking their sworn promises, is frequently sympathizing with Luke, is getting more and more powerful, and frequently losing himself to wrath) and instead of the subsequent Percy Jackson books being about getting recommendation letters, we could have gotten a trilogy exploring a fallen hero arc for Percy (that would ultimately have a positive resolution to it.)

[aeithalian]

Hermes: the ultimate middle child

And now for the other promised meta!

There was a great discussion on the TOA discord earlier that I got the chance to read once it was over that was basically exactly what I wanted to talk about - Hermes as a character and how he is very subtly contrasted with Apollo in multiple ways.

First, for a curiosity I've had ever since I finished TON. We learn several very interesting things about Hermes in the scene when Apollo returns to the Council:

He initiated the bets on Apollo's success (and then has the nerve to say he was worried about Apollo)

He bet against Apollo (and it was enough money to make him look visibly upset by the loss)

He was not among the gods who looked happy at Zeus' proclamation of Apollo's success (Artemis makes sense for being happy, Dionysus makes sense for not, but Hermes is supposedly a close brother figure in the myths, so what gives?)

He immediately suggested that Apollo cause outright harm to some mortals with his renewed power, despite displaying no such malice in his previous appearances

There is an interesting play of contrast here when you look at Hermes' other notable scene in the Riordanverse - his conversation with Percy at the end of TLO.

Hermes is generally portrayed as much more serious right here. He's grieving Luke's death at this point, but Hermes knew that was coming, and this demeanor is consistent with his other appearances up until this point: put-together, down-to-business, pragmatic, and so on.

This doesn't seem like the same person we see at the end of TON: making jokes, placing bets, and the like. And THEN you go back to the myths and the Hermes there seems much more similar to the one we meet in TON.

My point being, there is a very obvious disconnect here between who Hermes used to be, who he is now, and who he is pretending to be.

And it has a lot to do with Zeus, and as a result, Apollo.

I think there's a twofold reason for this dichotomy: one, Hermes and Apollo have fundamentally contradictory views on both fate and change which have larger implications for Hermes' overall morality; and two, Hermes resents Apollo for being Zeus' favorite when Apollo probably doesn't deserve it (or Hermes believes he deserves it more).

Part I: Fate and Change

I'd like to go back to that conversation between Percy and Hermes at the end of The Last Olympian. The entire conversation is so strange to me: here's a sixteen-year-old who has never had a positive father figure in his life (save Paul, who is still a recent addition to his family at this point) trying to comfort a 4,000-year-old god that he's not a bad father:

"I thought you were a bad father," I admitted. "I thought you abandoned Luke because you knew his future and didn't do anything to stop it."

The main point of that conversation comes from Hermes' response to Percy's statement. To paraphrase, Hermes says 'I couldn't have saved Luke, it's against the laws and I can't defy the fates. I loved him, yes, but I couldn't save him. Those laws aren't going to change anytime soon, and neither are the gods.'

What we get from this conversation is this: Hermes was resigned to being unable to help Luke because he views the future as inevitable and the Fates as all-powerful (as does Zeus). He also doesn't believe that gods can change in the ways Percy wants them to; he scoffs at the idea that Percy's proposed changes will be permanent:

"No one can tamper with fate, Percy. Not even a god."

and then:

He laughed. "After three thousand years, you think gods can change their nature?"

To Hermes? Fate is inevitable and the gods can't change.

On the other hand, to Apollo? The future is behind any number of unlocked doors, and the only thing stopping the gods from changing are themselves:

[Regarding Frank burning his stick in TTT] "Frank went into that tunnel knowing he might die. He willingly sacrificed himself for a noble cause. In doing so, he broke free of his own fate. By burning his own tinder, he kind of... I don't know, started a new fire with it. He's in charge of his own destiny now."

Frank broke free of his fate, and the way Apollo talks about it indicates that he believes that such things are certainly possible.

And this:

[After regaining his godhood in TON] I could only try to be different from [Zeus]. Better. More... human.

Apollo intends to change the way he acts now that he is returned to Olympus, and has the support of everyone else who noted that he has already grown as a person: Jason, Sally, Will, Reyna, and so many more.

I feel like Hermes has always felt that he has the excuse of being a god when Percy asks him to do better for the sake of Luke's memory: "We gods have never been very good at keeping oaths." and "Eventually we'll become forgetful. We always do." and generally lots of other sentiments that give the impression that he believes that failure to do right by mortals is inevitable for gods. He's been so used to thinking that Luke was resigned to his fate from the very beginning, and that Hermes was never capable of changing it. Hermes didn't fail because he didn't try to succeed.

But Apollo ruins that for him when he returns - Apollo has not and will not let that same excuse stop him, and now Hermes is losing the only reason he had for not helping Luke. If Hermes is right, that gods can never help their mortal children and Luke was born to die at Kronos' hand, it was excusable for Hermes to turn his back on his own son. But if Apollo is right that gods can change and you can shape your own destiny, then it was Hermes and his inaction that killed Luke, not Kronos.

And we know that Apollo is right. Apollo did defy his fate. Apollo did change. And Hermes saw it all from the safety of his throne on Olympus.

Which means that Hermes was always wrong, and he knows it now. Hermes says that not helping Luke was the hardest thing he's ever done, because it would have amounted to nothing. Hermes thought he was completely incapable of helping Luke, but Apollo is living proof that he could have.

So now, Apollo is a daily reminder that Hermes failed Luke. Every day.

That would be enough to drive a wedge between any two people, much less two gods. And I don't think Apollo would ever truly realize that this is the case, so one day, Hermes is going to break, and Apollo will be left blindsided.

It only makes sense that Hermes might have some very heavy clown makeup on when we see him at the end of TON. I can't speak for him when we talk about the gambling, but I bet it's because Hermes, like he did with Luke, thought that Apollo would be resigned to his death the very moment Delphi-Python said that "Apollo will fall". And the fact that Apollo survived against all the odds (and seemingly against the Fates themselves) is just another smack to the face. I believe his behavior and comments in this scene are him lashing out in anger and frustration at the solid fact of the matter; that Hermes failed his own family, which is something he values to no end.

That's got to suck.

But now I think we have to closely examine why Hermes believes those things. Hermes has been brainwashed in a sense to believe that he can't defy fate and can't change. By who, then?

Do I really need to answer that? You have a brain. It's obvious, isn't it?

Part II: The fight to be the golden child

Let's rewind a bit, shall we?

The entire discussion had over on discord was started with talking about the potentials of Apollo's relationships with Ares and the rest of his siblings, then someone (I believe it was @fearlessinger, along with some very valid points made by uke) said this:

...but Ares, who was always the least favored of Zeus's children, the family's scapegoat, and who gave up on trying to get on Zeus's good side basically as soon as he was born and deemed a failure… he of all ppl would actually have no reason to resent Apollo for his success, nor for throwing away that success

To which I replied:

so i wonder then who has the reason to resent Apollo the most?... it’s probably a son, because they’re the ones who have to fight the most for Zeus’ approval ... maybe Hermes? because he’s never really done anything wrong and still doesn’t receive the title he deserves ...

To summarize: Apollo was the golden child, and used to be Zeus' favorite. We are certain he faces a lot of resentment for this fact (he admits to it himself), and Hermes definitely fits the bill.

Think about it.

Besides Luke, what has Hermes ever done that would put him out of the running for golden child? He's useful, talented, powerful enough to be on the Council, and despite being a god of liars and thieves, is work-driven enough that his father still trusts him. Even in the myths, he's clever in a very Zeus-y way.

Apollo, on the other hand, acts like a complete and utter fool pre-trials. He's vain, self-centered, and shallow. He's a chronic attention-seeker, and, in the myths tried to overthrow Zeus, and had angered him to the point of turning him mortal, not once, but twice. So what gives? Why is Apollo the favorite son, and not Hermes?

Honestly, I couldn't say, besides vague suggestions that it's because Zeus likes the idea of having the powerful and popular son as a favorite, rather than the less noticeable behind-the-scenes son. But who knows how Zeus and his favoritism work. Apollo doesn't, and I don't think Hermes does either.

I rather think Hermes is, as I said in the title, the ultimate middle child. Overlooked by his father in favor of his siblings, whether they be rebellious (Apollo), perfect in every way (Athena or Artemis) or just plain failures (Ares or Dionysus). In comparison, Hermes is invisible, having never done anything to make him stand out in the eyes of his father, nor having done anything that deserves a strict punishment. Nothing worthy of attention.

I've seen people wonder why Hermes never suffered the same consequences for Luke's actions in the way Apollo did for Octavian. But that's because Hermes never broke Zeus' fundamental law: do not interact with your mortal children.

The problems Octavian caused were supposedly because Apollo defied Zeus and created a forbidden connection with his legacy.

On the other hand, the problems Luke caused were because Hermes obeyed Zeus to the letter.

Why would Zeus punish Hermes for being obedient? And why wouldn't Zeus punish Apollo for breaking the 'ancient laws'?

Arguably, Hermes is Zeus' best behaved child (which is ironic, considering a few notable domains of his). Hermes is one of a trend that we see a lot with toxic parents who don't give attention and approval freely - Hermes and Apollo are on opposite sides of this spectrum. Apollo in the past has acted out in order to gain attention, whereas Hermes has glued himself to Zeus' side in an attempt to be perfect.

And this perfection includes indoctrinating into Zeus' belief systems and fears. Zeus fears the inevitability of fate. So does Hermes. Zeus refuses to let the gods change. So Hermes believes change impossible. Zeus says that you may not have contact with your mortal children. And although to Hermes this is the hardest of all, he turns his back on Luke.

And yet, 'golden child' is still not his title to claim. That rests with Apollo, still, who has not met Zeus' standards, openly rejects Zeus' belief systems, and yet continues to rise above the rest.

That is the formula for a deteriorating relationship between brothers: Apollo's mere existence being an everyday reminder to Hermes that he is a failure both to his son and to his father.

Everyone say hello to our old friend resentment.

Now, I'm not necessarily saying that Hermes and Apollo's relationship is inherently negative. But there's a lot of reason for there to be some contention coming from Hermes (and I didn't even touch on May Castellan - basically, I think Apollo refused to oversee her attempt to become the next Oracle because he knew it wouldn't work, which is why he wasn't present for May's attempt, but was for Rachel's; later on, Hermes could start seeing Apollo's domain and subsequent absence as the thing that drove her mad).

We don't have a lot of hints for whether or not he plans to act on those feelings of resentment. But they're there. And in a new, post-trials Olympus, they're going to come to light sooner or later.

Because Percy was right.

"I thought you were a bad father," I admitted. "I thought you abandoned Luke because you knew his future and didn't do anything to stop it."

That's exactly what happened. And because of Apollo, Hermes now knows it.

(a list of my other metas if you'd like to read)

And a very special shoutout to @firealder2005 for writing this absolutely gut-wrenching and angsty but super cool fic based around this very idea that i am absolutely in love with and everyone should go read it ❤️

[crossdressingdeath]

*approaching hornets' nest with a baseball bat* it is 1:30 AM and I have opinions about Jason, Nico and Will's dynamic and what I want it to be in TSatS. But I will put them behind a cut (provided it works properly, I am on mobile).

First: Nico loves Will. I feel like this should be obvious all things considered. But I keep seeing people saying that Will's a rebound or a consolation prize because Jason (or occasionally Percy) was taken, and... no. Nico loves Will. He loves Will so much that when he looks at the personification of love itself he sees Will. That's not a rebound situation! Nico chose to be with Will because he wants to be with Will, not because "the better options were taken". I'd say at the absolute most Jason already being in a relationship made the decision easier, but Nico chose Will because he wanted Will.

Second: Nico also loves Jason. Whether you view it as romantic or platonic he 100% loves Jason. Personally some things in both he and Jason's POV chapters in BoO make me think that both of them had at least some romantic feelings towards each other, but what pushes me into really thinking that there was definitely something there is the bit in the excerpt where Nico is speaking to Favonius in his dream and (paraphrasing, I don't have the excerpt in front of me) he asks "Will Jason be there when I talk to Cupid?" and Favonius replies "No, he's gone, they all go eventually", because that last bit feels like it's referring back to Favonius's relationship with Hyacinthus and how that was an explicitly romantic relationship that could've been something other (and maybe even better) than it was but was ultimately cut off by the presence of someone else (and eventually death) and now they'll never know. Which to be clear is not me making a dig at Piper or Will, neither of them did anything wrong and it's a shame I feel like I have to clarify that (and it's not an exact parallel, obviously, Nico sure as hell wasn't responsible for Jason's death for one), but it does lead into my next point.

The dynamic I want here is that Nico loves Will and is so happy with him, but Jason is always going to be his biggest "what if". And importantly that does not in any way devalue his relationship with Will! You can be in love with two people, and choose one of them, and still wonder what your life would be like if you'd chosen the other without that lessening your love for the one you did choose! But there's always going to be that little niggling voice, sometimes easy to ignore and sometimes not, asking what if. What if Jason and Piper had broken up earlier, before Nico and Will really started heading towards a relationship? What if Nico had really probed his own feelings for Jason and considered what exactly it was he felt for the guy? What if he'd sat down with Will and Jason and the three of them had had a talk about feelings and romance and where they wanted to go (because polyamory is an option here, Nico has two hands and all)?

And the really fun and angsty question: If Jason had ended up dating Nico, would he still be alive? Because the impression I got was that he went to school in Pasadena to be close to Piper, so if he was dating someone who stayed at camp for the year... maybe he would've gone to school in Manhattan. Maybe he would've been out of Caligula's reach. Or maybe it was all inevitable and there was nothing that could've saved him, but they'll never know now. And it's that fact, the fact that they will never know what might have been and will never have the chance to explore it, that I think would haunt Nico. They could've been happy, it would've been good (especially with the aforementioned polyamory), and now that path is cut off forever and he will never know what they could have become.

Also: I really want the inevitable pre-ToA flashbacks to show Will and Jason interacting with each other as well as Nico. I feel like they'd be friends, if only in a "We don't actively dislike each other and this person we both really like really likes both of us and would be sad if we couldn't get along, so I guess we're friends now" sort of way.

[yonemurishiroku]

Please tell me you actually plan to write that Time Travel Nico AU or if it's written somewhere. I also wonder in this AU, how Older Nico would manipulate his younger self to act around Percy and the others. Would he tell him to tell Percy about his crush before so they can be real friends from now on or just to be a true lone wolf?

OH MY GOD someone's interested in my Time-Travel AU!!! 😭👀 Hiiiii I just want to say that I'm so glad you like it jadhsajkda

To answer your questions:

Technically, I have no plan for the Time-Travel AU with Nico as the antagonist, since, you know, I don't even have a plot. 🤣 All I have is concepts and random scenes I think would be cool if I were to write that. I don't do multi-chaptered, long fic either. I did once and it didn't end well, so I have been writing oneshots every since.

HOWEVER, I am planning to write a Time-Travel oneshot! 🤗👀✨ It won't follow the outlines I posted but is basically a rewrite (does it count as a rewrite if technically Rick didn't even write it?) of what transpired between The Titan's Curse and The Battle of the Labyrinth; featuring:

1/ An Older Nico, who is a God and cares a lot for his younger self.

2/ Luke Castellan (and Minos if I have enough willpower)

3/ A little bit Hades in Nico's childhood in Venice.

It would take some time since I'm snowed under with schoolwork atm but I'd definitely write this just bc no one else would but me. 🤣 This is a lot different from my original Time-Travel AU plot. If anything, I do hope you'd like it. 🥺

To your second question: I think it'd depend a lot in what kind of people the Older/Future Nico is, but ultimately, he wouldn't force his younger self - both in the canon universe and my AU.

Because more than anyone - he understand the clearest how painful it was to hold that crush, and how horrible it felt to have your secret ripped out of your chest. The Older Nico know how much his past-self was struggling, and he experienced Cupid too. He absolutely would not bestow it upon himself.

The only thing he would do regarding the crush is perhaps reassuring Nico, that it's fine - and it'd be fine. Things may be hard (lowkey foreshadowing Cupid), but there's nothing wrong with him or his feelings. The F!Nico - knowing the challanges awaiting - wouldn't alter the course of events as he believes it'd cause consequences, but he can offer the Present Nico some support he knew would be appreciated to overcome said challanges.

I did write in another post (in the same Time-Travel AU), that the Future!Nico would demolish Cupid once the god finishes his business with the Present Nico. The F!Nico wouldn't stop Cupid - the past needs to stay as the past - but whatever doesn't affect the Present Nico's experiences, he can do as he wants. Including taking revenge on Cupid.

As I've said - it'd be widely different if we follow the canon universe and imagine the F!Nico as a happy person, nonetheless, since we're taking this in MY AU - aka where the Nico of the Future has fallen to his devastating fate, I'd say all concepts of friendships and companions (with Percy or the Seven - Hazel is a bit of a special case) are unforgivable to him.

Since I've built this AU with the Older Nico as the antagonized antagonist, it's natural that this Nico would be filled with despair and vengance. He would know better than be outright hostile to the Seven or the other demigods, but he doesn't have any reason to be peachy with those who would later betray him either. So yeah, basically more of a Lone Wolf.

He'd also manipulate his younger self, yes - that's the whole thing why I came up with this AU in the first place jashdjkahdksa. The Nico from the Future has gone through horrible betrayals - he definitely wouldn't wish that on his younger self, now that he's here to warn him.

But time has its course, and the Older Nico would know better than accuse people of something they technically haven't committed yet - we all know how protective Nico is of his friends. He would stay by the sideline, planting seeds of doubt in Nico's head whilst preparing him of what's waiting.

That's everything I currently have in store for this AU. 🤗🤗🤗 Again, thank you a lot for the chance to ramble LOL this AU is my dedication and I'm dedicated to it on a spiritual level, the same goes to every Time Travel AU that has Nico taking care of his younger self ajksdhkjd.

If anything, don't be hesitate to share with me what you have in mind for time travel AUs too!!!

[littlegalerion]

Ten Characters, Ten Fandoms, Ten Tags

I was tagged by @sheirukitriesfandom ! Thanks!

1.) Vanus Galerion (Elder Scrolls Online)

Picking just one character from that game is so hard. Abnur Tharn was an extremely close second, but Vanus took the cake. I don't really know how to explain why he is always top dog without getting too personal, but he made a really difficult time in my life bearable, which means a lot when you're only half alive.

2.) Varric Tethras (Dragon Age 2)

Yeah, everybody loves Varric. I mean how can't you? He is either that supportive best friend you always wanted or he is the reminder of who you always strive to be. Plus this poor child... If you've never taken the chance to properly look up his past, sit down and have a read. He deserves all the happiness in the world.

3.) Wrex (Mass Effect)

I love him. I just absolutely adore him. Everyone says Garrus is the ultimate best friend or romantic option to Shepherd- no, it's Wrex. I will die on that hill.

4.) Abel Nightroad (Trinity Blood)

Abel...did the same for me as Vanus did, and the entire series as a whole is just fantastic. Sadly its a very broken series. The anime is only ok, the manga was never finished in English officially (to my knowledge anyway), but the Light Novels are the BEST way to go, yet they are very underrated and unknown to most.

5.) Dionysus or Mr. D (Percy Jackson)

Honestly wasn't sure if I should include him but then remembered my own wedding invitations featured me holding a staff with a flaming pinecone on top because of him. My Olympian parent in the PJO universe, I ended up reading the series as an adult and around the time my therapy sessions and medicine started to sink in- Mr. D's handle on mental illness just really spoke to me. Plus he's hilarious. If you work in any sort of educational program with kids, you'll understand.

6.) Makos (Neverwinter MMO)

I just think he's neat. Can't wait to see what the future has in store for him, no matter how badly it rips apart my or my cleric's hearts.

7.) Halsin (Baldurs Gate 3)

This man doesn't even have a fully developed story yet, we only know scraps about his past from datamined audio which could be cut and scrapped anyway, and I haven't even played the game. But you ever watch gameplay, see a character, and instantly it just clicked with them? That's Halsin for me.

8.) Crookedstar (Warrior Cats Saga)

Get ready to get punched in the gut by pre-teen years lived in 2010 era! Loved this series as a kid and still do- not the current version, but the original four arcs are still perfection. Crookedstar has always been my favorite. His Special Edition novel is a great read! Don't want to say too much and spoil it.

9.) Starscream (Transformers IDW Comics)

Maturing is growing up and reading the Transformers Comics, after years of the great cartoons. Always loved Starscream for just how terrible he was, but then you read the comics and see just what drove him there and the constant mental hell he lives in now... I'll always love you, Scream.

10.) Aslan (Chronicles of Narnia)

I don't understand why I'd need to explain this. It's Jesus' fursona- why wouldn't I love Him. Plus the books....oh the books are so good.

Well that was fun!

I tag @foxyhearts @godlessbroadcast and anybody else who wants to do this! (I don't have enough for ten tags...)

[forlibcrty]

5. is there a muse you really want to try? if yes: what’s stopping you?

11. describe your ideal outcome/endgame for the muse you are currently writing. if you are a multimuse blog: do this for your current favorite muse, or the muse of the last reply you posted.

14. which roleplay community has been your favorite to write in?

5. is there a muse you really want to try? if yes: what’s stopping you?

huh. there have been a few that i'd like to write, but i'm not sure about putting in the full effort to maintain a blog, or i feel like there wouldn't be much traction for the muses. the quickest ones that spring to mind are an oc (connor morrison, 1820s) and percy blakeney (the scarlet pimpernel). i love to write them both on discord, which i think is usually my approach to muses like this — there are some that i like to write in a more relaxed setting, but i can't be bothered to start up and keep going with a separate blog.

11. describe your ideal outcome/endgame for the muse you are currently writing. if you are a multimuse blog: do this for your current favorite muse, or the muse of the last reply you posted.

woof. well. uh. i think a core part of connor's story is that he doesn't really get his ideal outcome. it's like asking about the ideal outcome of a story built to be a tragedy. ultimately, he does have some semblance of a happy ending — he returns to his village and he starts a family he adores. but he loses so much in his journey to that point. in an ideal world, things would be so fundamentally different. but that's not how his story plays out. the tragedy and the pain is all a part of it, unfortunately, and as much as it hurts my heart, i respect that ac3 didn't shy away from the hard reality of what he had to face.

14. which roleplay community has been your favorite to write in?

honestly? i've always enjoyed writing in my own little bubbles. most of my longest-running muses have been either for tiny niche fandoms (usually classic lit or older video games) or OCs. and i like that. i've always tried to be versatile enough with them that i can slot them into different fandoms while still being in a relative bubble. i watch fandom drama go down from afar and think... fuck, i'm glad i am not involved in that. the few times i have been in big RP fandoms, it's sucked. shoutout to the dr*gon age fandom and the sheer bullshit i put up with there. i like sitting with my little blorbos from 100+ year old books or 10+ year old video games.

[rynnaaurelius]

While Luke's death was a 10/10 in terms of plot(the foreshadowing,the prophecy,how it had this simple elegance about it),it only reached a 7 in terms of character (that event was a good finish for his arc,explained his motivations,but I feel like Luke dying was the thing that interrupted his redemption arc,or stopped him from having a real one. If Rick focused more on the tragedy of this, rather than using Luke's death as an atoning act on itself,I'd grade it higher. Besides,Luke still had plenty of history potential,IMO. Imagine if Luke had escaped the Underworld, getting to be one of the seven,the angst while dealing with rejection from the camp,the regret).

I have once again let an ask collect dust for a month (and a half. . .), I am so sorry about that.

Anyways. I mostly agree with you, in that I think Luke's death is a pretty perfect ending to TLO, with a giant fucking asterisk.

That giant fucking asterisk's name is Heroes of Olympus.

The original series has a very open ending, and that's very much on purpose—for the first time, Percy has his whole life ahead of him, there is hope that demigods are going to live longer lives, that the gods can change. As such, Luke's death is super fucking important. Here's a guy who's had his faith in a better world, in creating good change that isn't enforced by the most nightmarish of violence, destroyed.

And he dies for that faith in a better world, on the word of one of the two people left that could possibly convince him to do so. It's a pretty good death.

*Winces* . . .and then the sequels happened.

Luke's absence from the narrative—something that I've talked about before, how it should have haunted the plot, and Percy and Annabeth and Piper in particular, I think—is, ultimately, an absence of a larger problem.

The consequences from that war should be deafening. Like, you should not be able to swing a dead cat without hitting a consequence in TLH (And SoN. Especially SoN).

Mostly, I think it would've been fascinating, with Gaea pulling out "mythology's worst villains" from Tartarus, with Medea and Minas and so many others, to have her also pull out the most high-profile demigod villain in the last millennium.

Like, you wanna sow chaos in the ranks? You wanna make Percy Jackson, who's approaching the very same age Luke was when he first heard from Kronos, doubt his every move?

Yeah, bring Luke Castellan back from the dead and bring out the popcorn.

(I don't think Luke would stay on her side for very long, considering he likes the world's existence, thanks very much. But he'd be a helluva wild card)

The worst thing though, as awesome as that could be, is that the lack of him or the second war permeating everyone's characterization is. . .it really runs counter to TLO?

The point was that these demigods had been dismissed as not mattering. That they were inconsequential. These weren't the rare children of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, being thrown aside and refused rightful recognition.

These children of minor gods, of Olympians whose kids often didn't have much power of their own, being tossed aside and left for dead, when all they wanted was a sign that their parents loved them, thought they mattered.

And when they couldn't do that, Luke—son of Hermes! No powers in particular, one of a dozen kids of an even larger cabin, counselor of the place housing the unclaimed when no one else would—mounted a rebellion to prove them wrong and make their regret of ignoring their kids the last thing they did.

Percy's intervention gave a happy ending to that tale, considering the fact that Kronos was in the driver's seat, and left the ending of TLO with the feeling, that, yeah, Luke was right about the need for change, but he wasn't right in how, but he was able to give Percy the leverage needed to do things right.

It's the son of Hermes, the son of Nemesis, the daughter of Athena, a mortal, who all decide the day. Percy has to let go of being the hero, Nico is trapped down below in Manhattan, and Thalia is literally immobilized by a statue.

Luke and the unclaimed were important. And then HoO just. . .does away with all of that.

Kids are going unclaimed, divisions are alive and well, the gods once again don't give a fuck when the world is ending and their kids are being tossed around and manipulated for their parents' ends. Silena and Luke are barely spoken of (Ethan getting a mention? Don't make me laugh).

Which. . .says a whole awful lot. About everyone.

[katierosefun]

Hello! So this may seem stupid but I want to ask if Beyond Evil's worth watching even if know who the killer is? The show's been on my watchlist but I accidentally learnt some major spoilers. So should I watch it even though the mystery is ruined for me? Thanks.

hi anon! sorry the mystery was ruined for you, especially since i think beyond evil is a show that's just best experienced blind.

but that said, i absolutely encourage you to watch it anyways. even if you've been spoiled, i do think you can still enjoy the show because the acting, writing, and insane chemistry between the cast members (particularly shin ha kyun and yeo jin goo) are just off-the-walls insane. it's so much better to experience exactly how the mystery unfolds before your eyes, even if you know who the ultimate killer is. (think of it this way: i mean, everyone knows how hamlet ends, right? or king lear or the percy jackson series or the planet of the apes or the lord of the rings or the hobbit or really any other well-loved story. but even if the ending has been around for a while, there's something very special about seeing it all come together before your eyes--and, depending on the genre, you'll either desperately hope for a happy ending or you'll find yourself wanting to comfort the currently sad characters because you know they'll be getting a happy ending eventually, so please hang in there, sad protagonist, it'll happen!)

also, just . . . you can't really get the core of the atmosphere of beyond evil from spoilers. while i wasn't spoiled about the main stuff in beyond evil, i actually was spoiled about one other thing, and even when it happened in the show, i found myself hit much harder by the event. i was also hit a lot harder by the scenes that i'd previously only seen in gifsets (some of which were the exact ones that made me interested in watching the show in the first place). you get music in the show, you hear the characters breathe, you hear the character's voices and you get a sense of their real desperation or anger or sadness, etc etc etc. things that, again, you wouldn't be able to experience through a written out spoiler.

so!!!! bottom line: yes, i highly recommend watching beyond evil, even if you were unfortunately spoiled. the show itself is very much so a work of art--and i guarantee that even if you've uncovered the mystery, you'll find that there are a million more reasons to enjoy the show.

happy watching!