#If I hear one fucking word about how Athena didn't do like Penelope. I'm going to lose my shit. Make your own post if you must

[dootznbootz]

I have so many wips and ofc, I now want to write the first time Athena talks to lil Penelope.

11-12 year old Penelope: "I know you've been watching me."

Athena: "Oh really?"

Penelope: "Well, at least I'm pretty sure. Ever since I did [something I'll come up with later]"

Athena, amused: "Oh? And how do you know that? Maybe I've only know you until right now."

Penelope: "Owls don't hoot midday, My Lady. They also don't do it every time I do certain things."

Athena: "Ah... You are observant, my dear."

[mer-acle]

yayyy it's time for Tasha to talk about her own writing in excruciating detail XD

So, Chapter 27 

Spoilers lol

Firstly, gotta love Tel being the one who guesses that things mightn't be all that sunshine and rainbows. Gotta remind people that he's a warrior of the mind, too :D

Also I love Pallas' personality so much you don't understand. Like she's curious and extroverted and enthusiastic, but she immediately asks if she may touch Athena's wings, so we've got some groundwork of respect there that Athena hasn't gotten on Olympus, that's for sure.

"I can’t even imagine what it’s like to fly, can you see the palace from above? I always wondered if it was about the angle you looked down from.” I really like this line for showing that Pallas also thinks about how things work even if she's not as studious as Athena.

“You can’t see it,” she said then. “The water… it throws the light back, like a… like a mirror. Nobody could tell me why it does that so far, it’s just an observation.” Look at my smart little owl. She just wants to know how things work! Love her likening the water to a mirror, which is something she has seen on Olympus, and also adding that it's just an observation is so cute to me fsr.

“Maybe we should go back to the ground before you fall.” Athena’s voice was a mix of concern and faint amusement. Pallas giggled. “I bet I’ll get used to it. I’ll be the best tree-sitting nymph in all the land, just you wait.” Athena tilted her head.“Aren’t there tree-nymphs?” Pallas looked at her in feigned shock. “I will pretend I did not hear that. How dare you betray me like this. I thought we were friends.” ahhh this paragraph. Athena being amused is adorable, and then her not understanding humor and just being like 'that strikes me as incorrect' like GIRL. Stop being cute.  And, naturally, it's officially confirmed, Athena is drawn to people who use the word friend within five minutes of meeting her. *eating my keyboard*

Then ofc we have Pallas immediately reassuring her dhsfzusdzf

She had not forgotten how… how lively Pallas had been. She only hadn’t seen it in a while. It had been thousands of years since she had last longed so painfully to draw Pallas close and never let her go. The pain I make the owl go through. ahhhhhhh

“My m-…”she broke off and cleared her throat. “There’s no shame in failing, but there is no excuse-“ “not to try,” Odysseus finished softly. He had heard this sentence too many times to count. Metisssss (yes Athena was about to say 'my mom') I think it's so great that she kept that sentence with her all those years (i will not do anything bad with this wdym)

also, scrawny Athena. sjdfsjfhjksdfsdkh. Also running on sheer willpower, as usual. You'll break your back, Thena.

And I don't think I will ever get over Athena instinctively wanting to get her friend back to shore to protect her MY BABBBYYY

“Why… why are you so kind to me?” Athena asked very quietly. Fuck Olympus btw. My poor owl. how dare you make her feel like that.

yeah okay I'm sorry about the death joke, Pallas keeps making them, I swear. I edited out like four or five already.

Then ofc we have Triton being a good Dad, which makes me smile a lot. He just wants Athena to be okay. Also Athena feels safe enough to be pedantic with him gshdgfshdgfshdgfjsdf

also yeah what Penelope suspects is true, Olympus basically just gave Athena food and a room and let her figure the rest out by herself. Nobody really gave a shit that she didn't eat enough divine food which, newsflash, she did need to grow stronger. But sure, Zeus, be annoyed she was tired after flying halfway around the world.

She couldn’t touch anything from a time-dive, she knew that, but she still wanted to reach out, hold the girl she had once been close, back when there had still been something worth protecting in her, back when she didn’t have gallons of blood on her hands. Is that self-love? Does it count? At least she understands baby Athena didn't deserve this shit? ah who am I kidding it's just differently packaged self-loathing. But also Athena wanting to protect her past self is making me want to sob.

“Yeah, sure, I also make a habit out of randomly crying myself to sleep. Tell me.” Pallas, the queen you are.

Zeus, please go die in a hole for this. And no, Pen, it's not instinctual. Athena knows what her father is capable of.

“I happened.” thenaaa noooo bby it's not on you that your father is a paranoid ass.

Telemachus shivered, hugging Athena tighter. He guessed her choice of words meant it   hadn’t been like that, but his mind offered nothing but he ate her. They had a scroll detailing Zeus’ defeat of Cronos, and the drawing of Cronos eating one of his children had always terrified him. ‘Great Zeus, seeing the injustice, vowed to fulfill the prophecy of his father’s doom’, the story went, unaware of its own twisted irony. He wondered what it had to feel like for Athena to read things like that. No notes, I just really like this paragraph. Poor Tel is really losing faith...

And ofc baby Athena being so aware of exactly how things are, because she doesn't need Zeus rn, she can simply hate what he did. It's so fhsfukdhfs ahhh the way that she had to teach herself to justify his actions later, bc it was the only way to survive and remain halfway sane on Olympus. dying. fuck you zeus.

I really like the way Athena's memories play out. Bc this is before she discovers Quick Thought, but her memory is still perfect from after her birth so naturally she questions the reality of the memories that feel so different, so dreamlike. but also ahhh 

“Because…because I felt so alone.” Athena sniffled. “On Olympus… so I made up someone…someone who loved me.” I want it known I stared at this sentence for a very long time btw. Nobody ever say I don't hurt myself with the angst too.

“Oh, darling,” Penelope murmured. You know it's bad when someone is speaking in italics.

Oh Pallas my darling. Oh the good old days when Athena was also hurting but she believed when someone told her she was loved. pain and suffering. 

yeah anyway I really love this chapter actually XD