#Percy wouldn't really be the sort to care much what other people think of him for sure but cmon theres only so much ostracization that one

[ladynicte]

Thinking Son of Hades!Percy with relation to Luke.

Since the beginning, Luke was shown to be one of the very few people, who was actually actively nice to Percy during his first days at Camp Half-Blood, one of the few people who genuinely tried to show him some understanding, and care.

The first time Percy really let's go, and the skeletons crawl out of the earth, and grip at his feet.

The first time people really start directly looking at Percy with fear, just because of who his father is, when people start feeling comfortable whispering about him, saying that obviously he would be the Hades kid.

Luke would be one of the very few people, besides Grover, who would still openly talk to Percy, and wouldn't treat him like he was a deadly weapon about to go off any minute.

Instead, Luke would calmly remind Percy that hey, Hermes is a Chthonic God too, him and Percy's dad are like totally coworkers, so really, Percy isn't even that scary.

Percy would have originally thought that he would feel way better, not being all crammed up in the Hermes Cabin, that he would even be proud of himself, managing to scare the rest away like that, but really, it just feels cold.

But well, at least Luke isn't scurrying away from him too, at least, that's something.

And then, it would hit even harder, when Percy realizes that the only person who seemed to have faith on him, who didn't seem to be scared of him, was the traitor working for Kronos.

Yeah, of course Luke would be the son of a Chthonic God too, with the way people look at them both.

[utilitycaster]

What do you think of the overall structural and character changes for these first three episodes of TLOVM S3? I've been pretty happy/they make sense to me, but I've seen some grumbling, particularly about the changes to J'mon's entrance. (Some believe they could have kept the fight and trial, thinking it wouldn't have taken up much time, which I am...dubious about)

Much as I enjoyed the fight and trial in the campaign I think J'mon's intro was fine and of the changes it frankly did not even register. Like...there's a lot of deviation, and if someone's fixated on that it's like. that? really?

Anyway just a quick rundown:

Changing Scanlan to have Kaylie present in Ank'Harel and for him to fuck up again with her is a good idea setting up the Bard's Lament, as is sort of removing the whole "do you spice" arc and leaving in a little nod to it, because like, that was funny in-game but it doesn't translate well

I am cautiously in favor of Vax being the one to pull away from Keyleth. I know Keyleth is tough to convey well in this adaptation - I think for all that her arc stands out more in the campaign, Vex's is easier to turn into an animated series - but the "Keyleth isn't sure and Vax is like I understand and I'll wait but like. could we make out" vibes in-campaign never really were my thing even though it was consensual, so this does sit a little better with me. I do hope Keyleth is given some opportunities to voice her own feelings though, complicated as they are, as well as like...this makes more sense in my critiques of Campaign 3 but in Campaign 1, early Keyleth was terminally indecisive. Conclave-era Keyleth was "I know what I DON'T want (the Clasp, Raishan)" which was a huge step forward, but shooting things down, while important, isn't the same as leading. She eventually reached actual leadership - knowing what she did want. I think if Keyleth can argue for the things she wants, even if they're a little different than they were in Campaign 1, we'll be fine. So we're in a holding pattern to see what she does. I think giving her a juicy spire of conflux retrieval in which she takes the lead would address any concerns.

Vex and Percy changes are great, the vibe is correct, that's all I care about and other people have discussed this at length far more eloquently than I will, as I'm going to bed in like 15 minutes.

Intrigued by Draconia changes, not sure what they'll be exactly but I assume they'll still destroy it. I think destroying it in front of Percy and Vex might give it the emotional weight it had in the campaign without, well, you know.

Moving the armor to the hells sounds great, I thought they'd just skip Plate of the Dawnmartyr tbh because it was kind of clunky and weird to retrieve but now I'm invested for Zerxus reasons.

I think I'm a lot more open to adaptational changes than much of the fandom? Like...look. I think if you hear "we're doing different things" for C2 and think "Molly lives", as discussed before, you do not get how this works. But the changes we have here all feel pretty true to the characters; not having every specific battle (ESPECIALLY because D&D battles don't always translate well to TV) is literally not even on my radar.

[my-pjo-stuff]

MORE OF THE POSSESIVE ANNABETH AU PLEASASEE ITS SO GOOD

LMAO OKOKOKOKOKOK, SO- I don't think it needs to be said that there would be MAJOR outrage at the wish. I mean not only did Annabeth just demand Artemis' lieutenant but she also straight up wanted to bring someone back from the underworld. And Luke no less! Thalia would certainly not react well either. I mean, just imagine being her and standing in that room for a moment. You just fought a war and lost a LOT of people, not even mentioning all the hurt and the drama coming from your ex-best friend turned enemy turned titan lord turned hero (???). And now think about how she must feel hearing the girl who she views as a sister not only demanding for Luke to be revived- but also for her to not only be kicked from the Hunters of Artemis but for her memories to be erased.

Do I even need to say that Thalia isn't taking that well? She's just straight up asking Annabeth what she thinks she is doing. What she thinks gives her the right to demand something like that.

Annabeth just looks her dead in the eyes and says that they belong to her. They are her family, they promised to be her family. She's only demanding the promise to be fulfilled. They'll be more happy like that anyway. I mean, getting to camp was the original plan to begin with, right? Luke was happy before Kronos got to him, and she only joined the hunters to avoid the prophecy anyway. It wouldn't matter anymore for Thalia and Luke to be at camp with her. Luke fulfilled his role in the prophecy, and Thalia no longer is part of it. Annabeth, like Percy, was smart enough to let the gods swear on the styx to fulfill her wish. So even despite all protest from Thalia and other gods, they are forced to give Annabeth what she wants.

And she's overjoyed to have it. She's the happiest she's ever been. Her and Percy return to camp after making their wish, which has both the 17 y/o Luke and Thalia mysteriously appear on it's border unconscious.

Annabeth wastes no time explaining to everyone what happened and telling everyone that they are forbidden from telling the two what truly happened.

Instead both Thalia and Luke are fed a fake story. They are told about the second Titan War, but instead of being told how it truly happened, they are told an altered version of it. Luke fought on the gods' side during the battle and did so bravely. Unfortunately though he was hit with some sort of magical attack that deaged him back to 17. After the battle Annabeth was granted a wish by the gods, which she used to bring Thalia back from being a tree. And that's how the two of them ended up like that.

No one can really correct the story based on the gods', but that doesn't mean they they aren't weirded out by a 17 y/o Luke walking around camp. Luke chalks it up to them being weirded out by him being "deaged"- which, yeah it isn't wrong. But it certainly isn't the main reason for the weird behavior. Pretty much everyone is walking around on eggshells around the three of them at all times. Not that Annabeth really cares, she's got her family back and that's all that matters to her so far. Luke and Thalia both were reasonably weirded out and a bit unsettled at first from "waking up in the future", but they settled well enough after a while. They're happy, and they are together. Just like Annabeth wanted.

[inlovewithregencyera]

transcript under cut : )

Thornfield House, July 7th, 1818

Isabella: And you did write to her father informing him of this, right?

Max: Yes. He wrote back to me an hour ago, and they're leaving for Hollow directly after her birthday. I've asked him to keep this in confidence of himself and Lady Grey, and he says he will as it would break his heart to tell Aurelia himself.

Isabella: *clutching hand* When will you tell her?

Max: I don't know, and I don't know why you're all tasking me with the impossible. It's not fair, truly. *sniffling* If I had a lover and I lay dying of consumption I wouldn't have Frederick tell her. It should be an intimate moment between them.

Isabella: I think she shall be very upset.

Maximilian: *voice quivering* She'll be plagued with perturbation. Perhaps it would be easier if that idiot thought about how his actions effected others for once in his damn life. He overwhelmed her with affection and now I must tell her he's dying.

Isabella: Oh, please don't cry. More than anything, I hate seeing you upset. I don't care much for people's emotions, but yours always tug at my heart.

Max: Luckily for you I have no more tears left to cry. My eyes have been soiled with tears for the past 12 hours, I believe I'm done for today.

Isabella: Dear Max, crying that long isn't good for-

Max: Don't you stand here and tell me what's good for me and what's not. I don't expect you to understand. You've rarely been emotional a day in your life.

Isabella: have been emotional many times in my life, I just know that crying *THAT MUCH AT ONCE* does you no service!

Max: *scoffs* You are heartless sometimes, you know?

Isabella: How am I heartless for telling you the truth?

Max: I cannot help crying if I am again watching someone I love die.

Isabella: *scoffs* He's not dead! And there have been cases where people overcame this disease.

Max: And you think he will be an exception?! That he's some sort of miracle and will prevail through?

Isabella: He could be. Why you've given up on him I do not know.

Max: He's given up on himself! Why should I have hope for his survival if he's not going to even fight for it!?

Isabella: Because he's family, Max! You don't give up on someone even when they've given up on themself. When Eleanor gave up on herself, you-

Max: Damn it don't you bring her up. I told you I was done crying for today, so stop wherever you're going.

Isabella: Your tears won't bring her back, so what use is it?

Max: You are heartless! When you love someone, and they die-

Isabella: Damn you Max if you are trying to insinuate I didn't love her! I loved her more than anyone ever to walk this Earth!

Max: That's not at all what I meant Isabella and you know that! I just can't believe you're telling me that I shouldn't cry now. Name a time when any one of our household was dying and I didn't?

Isabella: When Uncle Percy had a stroke! He was as good as gone right after and I don't recall you ever shedding any tears then. And there's hope for Frederick, he's not coughing blood.

Max: Frederick is much thinner than the last time I saw him and that cough tops it all off. So no, I will not tell myself there's any hope. And I apologize for not crying in front of my sickly, invalid Father, SOMEONE had to be strong for him.

Isabella: Are you saying I wasn't Maximilian? Really? When you went off to do Ducal business and whatnot who sat with him that whole time until you returned? I endeavored just about as much as you to ensure his comfort, *voice cracking* and how can you accuse me of not being strong when you and I suffered the same trials?

Max: Bell…

Isabella: WHAT?! *covering eyes*

Max: I didn't mean to upset you, dear. I'm sorry, and you're right, we experienced the same sorrow. Perhaps we go about it differently when reacting to it.

Isabella: *sniffling* It just hurts that you'd call me heartless for saying crying does you no good. I'm not saying you shouldn't cry, because Lord knows I have moments sometimes, but I know it's not helpful in the long run. He's not dead yet, t-that is to say, *eyes welling up* if he was truly dying, *burts into tears* in which he is-

Max: *extending arms* Come here.

Isabella: *sobbing into chest* Oh Max! Whatever will we do?

Max: *kisses forehead* What we always do I suppose. Deal with whatever God throws at us.

Isabella: *sniffles* Yes. Let us not quarrel as we shall need each other more than ever in the coming weeks.

[elisedonut]

I'm m just curious, what headcanons do you have for Omega Percy? Like, how would his scent smell like, how does he feel as an omega, does he do some sort of retail during heats, etc.

I like headcanons and the different scenarios i'r could play in.

Hello!! I love Omega!Percy alot i think it just fits him very well

he's very much a mother hen

i never really put alot of thought into his feelings on the matter and such normally when i think about its just a set up for ships or fun concepts

I'm not sure on how he would smell tbh i normally tend to be the type that just says omegas smell non specifically sweet and Alphas smell like musky in a good way and call it a day so i never put much thought into it

I think he wouldn't be happy about it at first tbh

like when i think of Omegaverse

omegas are a bit like discriminated against not to the extent some people go where there just like slaves or something like that but it's kinda like misogyny tbh but a little more in the Omegas need protecting because they're weak direction like it's frowned up to be like that but that doesn't stop some from being jerks

but i think his first thought is something about how more difficult his plans for his life could be now but then he's able to like like calm a crying first year in less then 10 seconds or manages to break up a fight without even really trying and is like

"oh-"

and figures that he'll find a way to work with it he still would have preferred being a beta even more so with the teasing coming from Fred and George especially but there isn't anything that can be done about it

like he knew it would be the case but experiencing it and reading about it is a very different experience kind of vibe

like it still makes it a bit more difficult in the ministry but it just makes him work even harder to not be ignored kind of thing

i feel like retail is a typo but i could just be missing something i keep trying to infer what you mean and i got nothing

some random hcs

-I tend to think the richer students know what they are ahead of time because there are tests you can have done to know but are dumb expensive so i tend to think about a few younger not presented Alphas trying to convince him to promise to marry them with gifts and stuff like it's not unusual for Percy to be walking down the hall and randomly get stopped to be given food or money (both culturally like ways to show an omega they would be taken care of from someone trying to court them) and Penny makes fun of him a little bit over it (only one of them actually likes him the others are doing this to fuck with that one that does)

-I think the idea that being around in a heat/rut doesn't have a effect on family members to be a fun concept because I think the idea of a heavily nesting Percy pulling one of his siblings into bed with him for a few hours to be very cute because even if he doesn't realize it like outright some part of him does view the Twins especially as his like he just like holds them close and naps but if they try to leave he gets so mad so fast

-i also have made a post about this before but i think more Omegas in omegaverse fics should breast feed as just a normal think that their bodies' do regardless of who needs it and Percy is the same but i think it embarrasses him quite a bit at first though its less the act because in universe it's just like a thing and more he doesn't want people to see his chest in general so the first few times he lets someone feed on him he turns off all the lights

-I think that Viktor's school banned omegas or just never let them in at all so Viktor and all his classmates are all very weak to Omega pheromones because their just not used to it and that leads to fun interactions with Percy in particular

[artsycrapfromsai]

What's been your favorite character arc for Amaryllis while you've played her?

Hewwo!

Hmm... That's a toughie. its hard to choose!

💕 one of them is about her and this Inquisition, who are all anti magic and magical creatures. They tend to just go and kill anything touched by it, including Brightmaids like Amy.

And that kinda traumatizes her a little, because she grew up learning that these people exist, and even having them hunt her down as a child, but the way these people kill those like her without any remorse and take horns and such as trophies - they don't see her as a person.

And it kinda eats at her for a while, and makes her depressed at some moments, because of that feeling of being looked at as just an inhuman thing to destroy just because she exists

But after some time, battles won, and experience, she gains more confidence and self righteous anger and is able to push past those feelings and fight/kill the man mainly responsible for them (alongside her compsnions, who experienced similar)

So that was really satisfying, bc Amy spent so much of her life hidden from this threat and becoming strong enough to defend herself, and then truly faced that uncaring evil for the first time, and like. Nothing can really prepare you for that, even when you try. But she got past it and came out the other end satisfied with herself and her actions and her own abilities

💕 another favorite of mine is Amy in regards to Percy. Because she and him were growing closer and closer- they initially started out antagonist at worst, neutral at best. But then they become friends, and maybe something more

And that's when Percival betrays the group, and sends them into the void (something he deeply regrets, which is something he never does. It wasn't a plan for them, but someone else, and he knew the risk, but went through with it anyway, and ended up with the deepest regret of his life)

And for Amy and co., Time is passing, years go by, and when they finally return to Percy and the others, time hasn't passed there.

So it's basically still right after that betrayal

And Amy spends a lot of those years away thinking about it, why it happened (it was pre- determined because the world would end otherwise), how it happened, if she should still trust him, why she still cared about him, why it hurt so much- thinking through all these scenarios about it, and agonizing about it, because she's the only person who actually got to know Percy as a person, because he hid himself from everyone else

In the end, she couldn't gain any sort of conclusion until she returned. And she wouldn't even know if the Percival she returned to would the same one she got to know and get close to, because another Percival from another timeline (Percy B) asked her to give his memories to this Percival (Percy A), because they explain all about the way his life has been manipulated and for what purpose and why.

But those memories would also change him into someone else with both sets of memories (Percy C), and there was a very real chance that her friend might have just vanished into a completely different person, and she was terrified about that

It was all a really complicated situation, with so many conflicting emotions (sadness, betrayal, regret, affection, yearning, fear...), where Amy was hurt by a man she cared about, but she finds out it wasn't entirely his decision, but she might not even have a chance to talk with him before she lost him again

That was her first real experience with betrayal and complicated feelings like that, and it was really fun to play with and explore those emotions.

In the end, Amy decided that while she loved Percy, it's his choice to choose who he'll become, and she'll respect that, bc everything else in his life has been someone else's choice.

But she still needed a genuine apology from him for what he did, because she wasn't just going to accept and forgive and move on. She deserved an apology and proof he regretted his actions and that he meant it- and he gave her that by sacrificing his hand to save her from being killed. No hesitation, it was her life or his hand, and it was an easy choice to make. And he further proved it by saying that he doesn't mourn losing the hand that hurt her so badly.

Them getting together was a really long and complicated character arc for both, and it was really fun to play with those deep and painful emotions - but I'm just glad they're together now and they can have fun, silly relationship stuff now lol

[darkfictionjude]

Heeeyyy love the story. Obsessed with Irme.. can't say that enough but I just read the previous ask about how the siblings reacted to Mc being sent away. And Orlas kinda drew my attention. You mentioned they wouldn't have cared if MC wanted to go or not or even if they were treated well.

It brought up a point I've kinda been struggling with so I apologize if my thoughts are rambling and silly. But Orla sounds like a bitch! Like a for real cold bully.

1. If that's what they were behind all the fake I'm the best princess in the land bs.. did the family know they were basically bullying MC and did they just allow it?

2. Her bf hated MC for no fucking reason right. And the pair of them seemingly from what I gathered in the demo made MCs life hell. Wouldn't we then essentially be romancing our previous tormenter? Not quite enemies to lovers but literal bully to lover route? And if that's the case isn't that gonna have some sort of effect on MC and his dead sisters ex? How do you go about trying to be in a relationship with someone you previously helped torment? Like I knew the whole trying to date ur dead siblings leftovers was Like a can of worms as you have stated before in regards to that relationship and if you choose to Romance them but doesn't that add another layer of emotions? How could you look at your partner lovingly knowing all the shit you helped put them through before?

I don't knw if I'm like way off base here but dammit this shit had me thinking alot lol sorry 😅

I really love how much thought you have for this, it makes me feel flattered. So let me answer this….

1. The thing is the perfect princess act wasn’t entirely an act. orla did believe she was meant to be perfect and her whole life was devoted to achieving that which drove her insane because you can’t achieve perfection. And she saw her bullying of mc as right, as deserved, it wasn’t an imperfection in her eyes. The parents knew but like I said orla was adored, prudence never punished her and Victor wasn’t all that present as a parent. sally of course knew and he’s the reason orla never escalated because he stood firm between them. percy and yeah he did acknowledge she was cruel but he didn’t do anything to stop it.

2. It wasn’t for no reason. lorcan didn’t hate mc because orla did. lorcan actually didn’t mind mc he didn’t think badly of them, even when orla began really hating them he personally didn’t understand and didn’t partake in it. its when mc did something that personally affected him badly that he began hating them. it never got to orla’s level of torment. he did taunt them, try to provoke them, and had moments where he wanted to strangle them but a lot of the times it was a shimmering anger that was constantly present and thus made mc into an obsession.

The reason I don’t label it a bully romance is because mc took it from orla but they didn’t take it from lorcan they aren’t scared of him and even if you play mc as nice they aren’t a pushover and gave lorcan equal verbal lashings in the past. orla because she is older and no one views her as being able to do wrong and has a position of power over mc (in the crown household there is a hierarchy and it’s not a surprise that mc is at the bottom) lorcan does not, he and mc are on equal footing. actually given that lorcan is from a poorer disgraced family he has a slightly less power.

All the ROs have a degree of unhealthiness to them, even nia who’s supposedly mc’s best friend. Some are more intense than others and it has all to do with the nature of these characters, none of them are healthy people.

And don’t apologize orla is a bitch and I admire the that make story makes you think about this 💜

[keithbutgay]

🍼🍓💗🦋🍃 for the ask game? /nf

i think its interesting that like half of these are about romantic relationships but. idk maybe thats just me :P

🍼- what's your favorite memory?

🍓- one secret about yourself

💗- who do you miss?

🦋- how do you think others perceive you?

🍃- would you rather live in a sea with mermaids or a forest with fairies? (or middle name i can't tell so i'll just answer both :PP)

(for what it's worth i also thought it was really interesting that a lot of them were about romantic relationships :PP)

okay i wrote like. a fuck ton. so i'll put it under the cut haha

favorite memory... um this one's hard. i have a really awful memory and like i'm sure i've had genuine good moments in my life but so many of the ones i can remember have had some underlying awfulness to them

um

sorry that's like. bad---

when i moved about five years ago, my sister and i built a sort of fort with the couch and mattresses. we hadn't wanted to move houses but this was like. the day of the move. and we were eating bagels, she had poppy and i had sesame. anyways we got seeds on the mattress but it was really nice. there's still seeds on our mattresses. hers has poppy.

i think another one of my favorite memories is working on the percy jackson musical. not because it wasn't like an absolutely awful time because. well. yeah. but because i got to meet y'all and there were definitely really good moments for me, especially with the graffiti and also like. vat7k :P

um moving on i guess---

a secret about myself. ummm this one's hard cause like. i do hide things a lot. but i wouldn't consider them secrets... especially cause you probably know about them lol

um... maybe that. i'm scared to call myself neurodivergent because i'm undiagnosed and i'm worried that i'm just making it all up and just like. have more severe anxiety and depression than i thought?

idk

is that a secret?

oh well

um next question (sorry this is so long---)

who do i miss? okay so i've answered this one on a different ask game and i really really don't want to repeat it um i could talk about another person i guess?

i had this friend who i knew for a year. they um. helped me a lot. but they were in a really bad mental state, and were constantly in the hospital. they didn't talk to me all that much either, because i would hang around their boyfriend, and they would rather talk to him than me. but anyways i really didn't know them that well, i did go to their house once and we met up a few times but they moved to another state three years ago and haven't talked to me since. anyways it's complicated but they're basically. um. dead. i used to write them little "letters" on a doc actually, but i haven't opened that doc in a while---

anyways

this got angsty very quickly moving on

aaaaa okay this is hard

like. my brain tells me everyone hates me. logically, i know that they don't.

okay maybe i should rephrase

i don't want to believe that people see me as anything better than like. trash. i know that people do but i don't want to believe that and my brain makes that part very easy for me by yelling that they're only here out of pity and they don't actually care about me? so idk

maybe

maybe i think that the people who don't know me perceive me as the weird guy in the corner who doesn't know what he's doing ever and is really annoying and like should never be interacted with

and the people who do know me perceive me as infinitely better than i actually am and i. wish they didn't because i'm going to disappoint them no matter what because i'm not who *they* perceive

okay anyways

i would rather live in the sea with mermaids. i fucking love mermaids. i've wanted to live in the ocean with mermaids for my entire life. sea creatures are my life actually i love them so much especially jellyfish i would let a jellyfish eat me in the most normal way possible. the waterfire saga, above world series, emily windsnap, and mermaid tales did this to me.

also my middle name is technically isabelle but i'm ignoring that in favor of ian like ian kabra from 39 clues because i'm very gay

but ian doesn't sound great with either of my names so i'll probably rethink that one--- :PP

[eolewyn1010]

Reading Percy Jackson TLT was an ordeal for me 2 - Characters

While I can repeat my disclaimer here that I only ever read The Lightning Thief (a translated version, no less) and won't try with the rest of the series, that's still about all of the slack I'm willing to cut Rick Riordan. I don't feel this is a good book, so get it off my chest I shall. Let's get down to business, and when I say business, I mean character work.

Is anyone here not a plump stereotype?

I have real difficulties to find a character here that has more depth than a cardboard cutout. I mean, let's forget about the main trio for now, but is there anything to Chiron beyond Wise Mentor? Oh, yes. The gaslighting. He wants Percy to go to Camp Half-Blood anyway. What is the point of telling him that he hallucinated shit for months?? That's an inexplicable dick move for someone we're supposed to see as a positive, caring mentor figure, but it's not the same as giving him depth. Nevermind that he was introduced via "sometimes he had an expression in his eyes like he was hundreds of years old", which... I said I hate this sort of oh, but it couldn't POSSIBLY be THAT foreshadowing. It's lousy. It's about as subtle as "this guy is EVIL, you see? He took money from an orphan charity fund to buy himself a bigass house with golden toilet seats!" It sounds like something from a cartoon.

There are a couple characters who have a little more groundwork to them than that - I appreciate Percy's mom and the subversion built up with Hades. I do not appreciate pretty much everyone else. People who are evil are obviously and obnoxiously evil (and in case of Medusa and Echidna, so obviously that they make Percy and Annabeth look dumb as fuck). They are also so stupid that you wonder how they function in their jobs (animal smugglers who feed lions with vegetables and herbivores with meat? Come on; they want to sell these animals alive). And Riordan's evil = ugly shorthand gets old really fast. Honestly, it already got old with his bully back at his human school. It also brings up a serious moment of confusion when Percy describes recognizing Ares because Ares looks similar to his daughters at the camp - except... Percy says Ares is "sort of handsome". He went out of his way to tell me how ugly Clarisse and the other bully girls are. So. Looks good on a guy, but not on the girls? Is that sexism or what? I wouldn't put it beyond Riordan for reasons I will go into when talking about mythology. Then there is every character we're supposed to hate using the same slur: "Freak." Can't you think of anything more creative? Especially coming from Ares, it sounds weird: Why would he think of demigod kids, of which he has a few of his own, on the same terms their shitty human step-parents do?

Annabeth, the know-nothing know-it-all

And then there's Annabeth, the deuteragonist. Also, the one where the set-up stereotype falls completely flat. See, we're supposed to think she's that smartass girl who knows everything better to the point of being annoying, kind of Hermione but with a terrible attitude. She's often described to look like her mind is going a mile a minute, she's Little Miss Exposition when Chiron is not around, she knows the world of the Half-Bloods and Immortals since she was seven; she has it all down. Well. Except several situations don't make her appear very smart at all. She ignores Grover's warnings when he says he can smell a monster, just as Percy does. She looks down on Grover for no reason (except maybe Fantasy Racism, which is a really bad trait for someone who has lived around satyrs and the likes since she was seven). She doesn't pick up on Medusa knowing Percy's name without being told. She prioritizes her being hungry over caution with strangers, just as Percy does. She leaves him alone with strangers when their instincts tell them both it's a bad idea. For someone who's oh-so-bright and level-headed, she fails the most basic logic.

Let's also mention Annabeth's big passion, architecture. It doesn't look very good when I know after the first vague description of Camp Half-Blood that Rick Riordan doesn't know shit about Ancient Greek architecture beyond having watched a few toga movies in his time. Because he repeats this lack of knowledge in a character who he claims knows better. Granted, the reason why I know better is because I'm minoring in Classical Archaeology, and most of the readers probably don't. But here's the thing: If you wanna write an expert in a field, you should really read up on the field. Ideally, let an expert edit the relevant parts of the text. "Write what you know" doesn't mean "hands off of non-you experiences!", it means "do your research"; it's a point of respect towards your reader not to assume they know nothing anyway. I don't know why he insisted on this being Annabeth's major interest - I mean, I do know; he did because it's a basic trait of Athena's and Riordan isn't very creative in character-building. The St. Louis Gateway Arch as an example of impressive architecture for a CLASSICALLY educated architect?? You've gotta be kidding me.

The other thing about Annabeth is that I just. Don't. Like her. She keeps being rude to Grover. She never explains anything to Percy and then complains about his ignorance. Her bitchiness is persistent and unprovoked. The reason she gives him for why they shouldn't get along doesn't even make much sense - because their parents dislike each other? The respective parents in question are barely even involved in their lives! What kind of a lame justification is that? You aren't your mother and Percy isn't his father, and parentage is not a personality (except when it kind of is, but I'll get back to that). And it takes so long for her to do anything likable... yet her constant insults don't count as bullying because, you see, she is pretty. Honestly, for at least half of the book, this seems to be the only justification why she isn't put on the same level as Clarisse. She tells Percy it's his fault the bus got blown up because he fought against the furies who made the bus blow up? Make it make sense. And then she bitches at him again because if he dies, she won't get to fulfill her mission successfully. Yeah. She just made her alleged friend's possible death about herself. Awesome.

This ship is sailing without me

I know a few things about the Percy Jackson series as a whole, for example that Percy and Annabeth are going to be an official couple sooner or later. There is the ship-teasing in this book already, and I assume it'll develop onward from here. Hm. I'm so not on board of this ship. I know a bickering romance when I see one, and this doesn't look like one. Because 1) the admiration and positive feelings seem largely one-sided for Percy, and 2) the insults and sarcastic retorts seem largely one-sided for Annabeth. This is not a balanced dynamic. It feels like Annabeth has made it her hobby to shit on her supposed love interest and be as unhelpful as humanly possible, but he compliments her at every turn, and she expects him to bow to her bossy attitude. And Percy outright says at one point that she talks to him and Grover the same way she talks to a dog. Bad news: The Cerberos scene was the only moment when I sympathized with Annabeth, and that statement severely undermined my sympathy.

But, say it with me now, she is pretty. So of course she's nothing like those nasty bullies, the daughters of Ares. And also, she blushed and was embarrassed when she was supposed to walk into that love tunnel with Percy to retrieve a MacGuffin, for fuck's sake; he didn't ask her for smoochies! "What if anyone sees us?" my ASS; you are 12-year-olds alone in a closed-down theme park; if anyone sees you there, they'll ask you what the hell you think you're doing on other people's property, you stupid bint!, so there! Yeah. No. I really hope for the future books (blindly; I will not read them) that they'll get to something that feels more mutual, because whatever they have in this book is far from cute. It's tiresome.

Consistency whomst? Don't know her

I have real difficulties to get a grasp on the main trio. Even Grover, whom I do like best among them, has a few moments that just make me go, "huh? How does that fit with what we have been told?" For example, at some point in the camp Percy and Grover are whining something about weaving baskets. It makes sense that Percy, the action-oriented 12-year-old from the human world, would think weaving baskets is the lamest shit ever - it makes zero sense for Grover to look down on it. He's lived in this world his entire life; what does he think how everything works if no one is taking care of the everyday jobs? What does he think how the camp is running if no one does the necessities?

Also. Does Grover have a good instinct for monsters, or does he not? He is the first to warn of Medusa, but with Echidna, it's suddenly Percy who gets a bad feeling. Percy also tells us that Grover is his best and only friend, then treats him as an idiot to make fun of half of the time. They cast a POC to play Grover in the series, and I swear to God, if they have a boy of color running around there eating garbage and mainly being present to be mocked by the other two protagonists...

Then there's Percy's attitude about people. Which also makes sudden switches from one adventure to another. The bus stunt with the furies? Fuck the other passengers, amirite? They can have all the trauma they can get; who cares if they get hurt. Afterwards, Percy talks about them in a supremely eye-rolling manner when the bus has crashed and everyone is panicking and there's probably injuries. But during his little touristic trip in St. Louis? He's suddenly all hero and wants to rescue people. Then he lets wild animals, including a fucking lion, on the loose in the middle of a city full of people, and snarks at Cerberos squishing dead people even deader. Does he care about humans, or does he not?

Even Annabeth, as consistently dislikable as I find her, had me go, "what?" Throughout half of the book, I was suddenly told that she's, like Percy, dyslexic. And narrator Percy says it in a manner of, "I had forgotten that she was also...", so I was like, "did I forget it as well?" and went back to look it up. I hadn't forgotten. It wasn't established before that point. Don't gaslight me, Riordan.

Where's my protagonist at?

While I liked Percy in the beginning, I found it increasingly difficult to emotionally connect with him. That started with the death of his mother. Besides Percy mentioning her on a few occasions, it didn't seem like he was grieving. His distress about her loss was very brief, and yeah, I get his whole angry-12-year-old spiel, but he's still a kid who just lost his mother? The only parent he loved? Eh. On the other hand, his ties to Camp Half-Blood are vastly oversold. He says it feels like a new home after a couple days; leaving it pains him deeply... after all of. Two. Weeks. How am I supposed to believe that? In what way was it more of a home to him than his human school? Where he also had a friend and some bullies, and his mom was not there? Even after the mission, the time he spends at the camp is just skipped. Zero connection for me as the reader. On the more amusing side of this, Charon in the Underworld singing a Barry Manilow sing confuses me less than Percy, a 12-year-old millennial, recognizing a Barry Manilow song.

And sometimes I'm just wondering what the hell is going on in Percy's head. He describes the situation at Medusa's shop as increasingly uncomfortable - but he ignores the warnings of Grover and then Annabeth, and he allows a stranger to take a photo of them? CREEPY! Has his angelic mom not warned him about strangers? That seems wildly counterproductive. He tries to put it to his not remembering the Medusa myth in that moment and not connecting the dots, but I'm not buying it. She's all, "everyone loves children", and he doesn't go, "ew, stay away from me"? And after that, the very next situation he has a bad feeling about? "Nah, it's okay; I can stay alone with some weird stranger. You guys go ahead." *facepalm* Beating your reader over the head with something like that comes at the detriment of your characters' apparent intelligence. And the confrontation with Luke reinforces that. You don't have that many friends, Percy! And you refused to even consider the possibility of Grover or Annabeth being the one to betray you! To then cheerily prance away with an obviously troubled Luke doesn't look smart.

Lineage is not personality

Last but not least, why is this something that Riordan and Rowling gotta have in common? It frustrates me to no end - the assumption that you can easily sort people, in this case kids, into personality categories. And in Riordan's case, the personality traits are determined by their lineage. It's not Slytherins; it's the children of Ares who are cruel bullies. Annabeth the smartass is not a Ravenclaw; she's a daughter of Athena. The impulsive, fearless protagonist is not a Gryffindor; he's a son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three. Oof. This makes things very easy for Riordan, and it makes things very flat. Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty, so her kids are vain and useless (yes, I am planning to shred this via a look at mythology). Demeter is the goddess of nature, so her kids are gentle little flower children (same). Kids of Hermes cannot be trusted because he's a trickster. Kids of Hades were the fascists of last World War. Not only do these categories not work because Riordan's takes on mythology are at least very one-sided and superficial; he also tries to hammer home that who your parents are will determine your personality. It's a way to simplify characters, and a notion I loathe.

[witchywriterlythings]

Something This Way Comes

Chapter Seven: They Take Barbecue Waaay Too Literally

Here's the thing about teenagers. It doesn't matter where they are or what they're doing, their main source of entertainment is going to be gossip. Demigods training how to kill monsters aren't any different. 

Everywhere we went, people stared and mentioned the bathroom, though maybe that was because Annabeth was still dripping everywhere, but was refusing to care about it. 

She finished my tour despite this and rounded it out at the canoe lake, where the water ripped a few feet away from us and I knew someone was watching. 

"I've got training to do. Dinner's at seven-thirty, meet at your cabin by seven-fifteen. Follow them to the mess hall." Annabeth's voice was flat and as much as she had seemed interested in my powers before, she was clearly pissed off now. 

"I'm sorry about the showers," I offered honestly. 

She stared at me for a moment before turning back to what she had called "the Big House" like there was any other to get it confused with. "You need to talk to the Oracle?" 

"What?" Where did that come from? 

"Exactly, the Oracle. I'll talk to Chiron." 

I huffed and turned to figure out what was watching us from the lake, only to find two naiads looking back at me. I had never seen them wear blue jeans before so I almost didn't wave when they did. 

Annabeth glared down at them and they stuck their tongues out back at her before going back to their weaving. "They'll flirt with you if you let them, they're terrible about it." 

I didn't understand why she would be upset about that so I quickly moved on. "So, until someone figures out which god my dad is, I'm stuck in the Hermes cabin? How long is that going to take?" 

She turned her glare on me. "Some kids never get claimed, the gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always ...Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us, I guess. Or if you do something really impressive he'll deem you worthy enough." 

"What did you do, to get your dad to notice you?" I immediately knew I asked the wrong question because I could smell the salt in the air that meant she was holding back tears. 

If I didn't have better senses, I wouldn't have been able to tell though as she just tightened her grip on the railing. "My dad is a professor at West Point," she said. "I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."

I frowned in confusion. "He's human?" 

 "What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?"

I put my hands up defensively as she looked ready to stab me and I wouldn't put it past her to actually do it. "Woah! I didn't think you were a grain child or one of the doves. And the only other goddesses I know are maidens, so sorry for assuming!" 

Annabeth tilted her head curiously like I surprised her. "My mom is Athena, I was a brain-child like my mom." 

While I really didn't want to think about anything I learned in sex-ed, I had the burning urge to ask her if she had a belly button. Thankfully, I had my self control back and I didn't. No early death for me. "I think my mom knew who he was, but she never told me." Half-truth. She never said it out loud. 

Annabeth looked sad for me for a moment. "Gods don't always tell them what they are, it can be a lot to handle. And they don't…they don't love like we do." 

"I know, but she knew what he was. I've always sort of known, she didn’t hide it from me." I shrugged and moved to put my arms on the railing so I wouldn’t hug myself like a child. 

Annabeth moved so our shoulders could bump and it really shouldn’t have mademe feel better, but it did. "Is that why you call the gods other names? You said I didn’t seem like a grain child or one of the doves, which I assume means Demeter and Aphrodite?"

"It’s one of the few things she told me outright about this world, that names have power and  you shouldn’t use them unless you’re ready for the consequences." 

She actually smiled at that. "Your mom sounds smart." She pulled a leather necklace from under hershirt collar. It had five clay beads of different colors, just like Luke's, except Annabeth's also had a big gold ring strung on it, like a college ring. She must have seen me look at it because she turned so I could see it better. "I've been here since I was seven," she said. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college."

"Do you go to school around here then?" 

She shook her head as she turned back to the water. "Some of us live here year round. Depending on what your powers are like, monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave." 

"So ... I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?" I would come back, of course, where else was I supposed to go? But it was alwaysnice to have options. 

"It would be suicide,” Annabeth told me as if I was particularly stupid and  I glared at her for the tone. “But you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless..." She hesitated before seeming to come to a decision. "You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time...the last time was Luke."

I could tell from her tone that the last time hadn't gone well, which made sense if the giant scar on his face was  anything to go by. 

 "Back in the sick room," I said, "when you were feeding me the healing stuff—”  

“Ambrosia,” she cut in but this time it felt less like she was  lecturing me. 

“You asked me something about the summer solstice."

Annabeth's shoulders tensed. "So you do know something?"

I quickly explained what I had overheard between Chiron and Grover while I was at Yancy. “They mentioned the winter solstice too, like that was when everything changed. I don’t have anything else.” 

She clenched her fists. "Some of us year-rounders—Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others—we took a field trip to Olympus then, that's when the gods have their big annual council. It didn’t seem like anything happened until a few days later  but maybe—"

 Because I was curious, I asked how they got to Olympus because as far as I knew, it was still in Greece unless the gods had moved an entire mountain. Apparently, the gods had entrances in each of the countries where they were worshipped on monuments. In the United States it was the Empire state building, in Greece it was Mt. Olympus, and in Britian it was Big Ben. 

“There are others, of course, but we’re getting off topic,” Annabeth said with a slight blush and I figured she could get off topic as easily as I could, which made me feel better. “The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping ... I mean— Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon. But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something."

“Why would my parentage mean we couldn’t work together? I mean, I get not liking Clarisse cause she’s a bit of a bully, but what if I was a war child? What if I was of the sea?” I watched her flinch and I hated that she did. She was already becoming a friend, we survived toilets together! It would suck if she didn’t like me because of who my parent was. 

She shuffled awkwardly but she didn’t move away so our shoulders bumped a few times. “We just aren’t supposed to. And…” She shook her head which made some of her curls hit my cheek, to which I retaliated by swiping at them with my hand. She pulled away but I could see she was holding back a laugh. “Are you a cat?” 

“Or something,” I agreed cheekily. The fun moment was broken by my stomach growling when I could smell barbecue smoke coming from somewhere nearby. I blushed, hoping it was minor because I knew I could turn into a tomato sometimes. 

She rolled her eyes. “Go on, I’ll catch you later. Wouldn’t want you starving right in front of me or anything.” As I turned to go, she started tracing her finger on the railing of the pier like she was drawing a battle plan. 

When I got back to the traveler’s cabin, everyone was lounging about and chatting while they wanted for it to be time for dinner.  Thankfully, nobody paid much attention to me as I walked over to my spot on the floor and plopped down with my bull horn. It wasn’t exactly the best spoil I had ever gotten, but it was mine and in a cabin of thieves I wasn’t going to put it down. 

The counselor, the one Annabeth had mentioned a few times, came over to check on me when I realized I had come back. Luke definitely looked like his siblings, despite the scaron his right cheek cutting through his dimple. The smile was real though, and so were the supplies he tossed to me. "Found you a sleeping bag," he said. "And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store."

I didn’t question the stealing part, considering the store was basically free anyway. “Thanks.” 

"No prob." Luke sat next to me and pushed his back against the wall with his knees pulled up so he wasn’t in anyone else’s space. "Tough first day?" 

I shrugged. “I mean, I already knew a lot of this stuff, but it’s just a lot to take in, you know?” 

“Really?” He seemed surprised that I knew anything, and his scent turned bitter. “Any ideas on who your old man could be then?”  

I just shrugged again and started checking out what he brought me. “My mom never told me.” Why was everyone so obsessed with who my dad could be when I had literally just got here? “You’re a traveler’s kid, right? This is actually your cabin?”

He took a switchblade out of his back pocket, the first mortal weapon I‘d seen a demigod use, and I honestly thought he was going to gut me for a a second. He just scraped the mud off the sole of his sandal. "Yeah. Hermes."

“God of travelers and roads.” 

“Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves,”Luke recited as he flicked his blade closed. “That's why you're here, enjoying cabin eleven's hospitality. Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors.” 

I really didn’t like him, despite the older brother vibes he was trying to give off. It was hard to tell if he was trying to call me a nobody or if he was just like that. I didn’t understand why Annabeth seemed to be his friend. It also migh have been my possesiveness though, I knew that could be a problem from when I was younger, but hadn’t had people n awhile to be possessive over aside from my mom. 

Luke looked up and managed a smile. "Don't worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family, right? We take care of each other."

Sure, I thought as I looked around the forgotten cabin, family. “Annabeth seems to think me arriving is some big deal though, do new campers not show up that often?” 

He huffed and for the first time something soft appeared in his face at the thought of Annabeth. "Don't worry about it, kid," Luke said. "Annabeth wants to think every new camper who comes through here is the omen she's been waiting for. Now, come on, it's dinnertime."

Immediately a conch shell blew in the distance and the cabin followed him out the door. We stood in order of seniority, with Luke and surprisingly two boys who looked to be about my age at the front, and then me following along like a lost duck. The other cabins did the same until we were marching as a group up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. 

Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods— and when I say out of the woods, I mean straight out of the woods. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill.

In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads. I thought there’d be more, but maybe there were other camps dotted about? The gods probably didn’t just have kids in the north east of the US, so it would make sense. 

At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. I had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half my butt hanging off.

Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion once we were all seated, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"

Everybody else raised their glasses andrepeated his toast, but I noticed Luke’s lips didn’t move, mostly because I was watching him for cues. 

Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty, but Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want—nonalcoholic, of course."

"Cherry Coke." The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid, but it just seemed wrong for a second before I had an idea. “Blue Cherry Coke." The soda turned a violent shade of cobalt. Perfect. I did my own little toast to my mom, promising that I would get her back even if I had to go to the underworld to do it. 

"Here you go, Percy," Luke said, handing me a platter of smoked brisket.

I carefully piled my  plate with all kinds of food, knowing my mom would have been disappointed if I just grabbed meat. She was always telling me that I was human too and I couldn’t just feed parts of myself. When I saw people start to get up and head to the brazier, I stood too right as Luke started to turn my way. I grinned at him cheekily, before situating myself in line. 

Some kids whispered, others just said names, and the rest stayed silent with their heads bowed. I took a deep breath as I started with aslice of brisket, simply thinking father. Then, with shaking hands, I dropped in the grapes. Lord of the dead, please take care of my mother. 

The fire jumped slightly when the grapes disappeared, and the smoke whafted closer to where I was. It smelled nothing like burning food. It smelled of hot chocolate and fresh-baked brownies, hamburgers on the grill and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn't have gone well together, but did. 

I waited for Luke to finish his prayer next before going back to my seat. Dinner at our end of the table was quiet. 

Finally, after all the food was cleared, Chiron stood to his full height and pounded his hoof against the stone to get our attention. 

The god at table twelve stood with a sigh and turned his lazy gaze over the rest of the campers. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."

Clarisse and her siblings cheered obnoxiously, but if everyone else's faces were anything to go by, they deserved to. Having the laurels was something they all wanted. 

"Personally," he continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Percy Jackson." For some reason, this brought on more silence than Chiron's hoof tapping. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."

 The campfire was…a lot. The only thing I could compare it to was being surrounded by a pod of dolphins constantly nipping at each other and having fun, showing off in front of the others. There were songs I didn't know but that almost everyone sang off tune, and s'mores that made me miss the beach. 

I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag once we got back to the cabins around 11:30. It didn't seem summer camp had as strict a bedtime as boarding school. Which was nice. 

As I drifted off to sleep, I thought about my mom: her smile, the bedtime stories she would read to me when I was a kid, the laughter in her eyes when I would bring her something from the sea.

When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep instantly, sure that I would be happy here. 

I should have known my luck.

<Prev Master Post Next>

[sege-h]

The joke answer for Storm is that he'd make himself taller. Tho the truth is he'd miss messing with people that underestimate him based on his height

The serious answer is that he'd want to be a good person. He wouldn't be sure what he'd be asking for exactly, but he looks down on himself so much that he doesn't think he's a good person. He'd just want to be better, somehow. Better at taking care of others, faster and stronger- fast and strong enough to save more people. Someone that can get there on time.

Zel would want to be made of 'better things'. He'd want to be made of the sort of energy that'd allow him to use magic. Then maybe he'd be able to learn healing magic and help Kalin when he'd really need it. And maybe if he were made of the things Percy was made of, he'd be able to change his appearance

#18: If your OC could change any one thing about themselves, what would that thing be?

[my-pjo-stuff]

Thalia au but she clocks Percy with lightning as soon as she wakes up and runs to the ta

She tired Luke out

— @doe-has-a-hot-take

OKOKOKOK;SO- For this AU to work Thalia would have to know what the TA even was when waking up from being that tree, right? So how about Thalia, in this AU, having been a ghost?

Like, her body was turned into the tree protecting Camp Halfblood, while her soul became a ghost bound to Camp Halfblood protecting it. So just imagine Thalia, stuck as a ghost where no one can see or hear her. She can't touch anything. All she can do, is forced to do, is to watch. And she hates it. Just imagine Thalia being forced to watch how Annabeth and Luke slowly but surely start to drift apart ever so slightly. Being ripped apart by being sent to different cabins and Luke getting more responsibility. Since she can only watch, and thus is sort of removed from camp and all the activities she can see it a lot more neutral. And oh man if you think LUKE hated camp!? Man you haven't seen Thalia yet. Because how come, despite being promised that this camp would be safe, kids are still getting hurt in these games? Why isn't Chiron taking better care of everyone there? Why is Luke forced to become the main caretaker of 20+ kids so young? No one is there to talk to her or to manipulate her, so that hatred and detestation is festering inside Thalia for YEARS. It all reaches a head when Luke is sent on his quest. Thalia can't leave campgrounds, meaning that as soon as Luke steps outside the boundary all she can do is hope and wait. By now Thalia got used to being lonely most the time, usually hanging around Luke to keep herself entertained (Annabeth reads a lot, much more boring than watching Luke training). But now that he is gone Thalia has nothing to really distract her from all the worry and disdain. When he returns with a scar and no apple all Thalia wants is to be able to comfort him. To be able to hug him, and allow Luke to hear him when she tries to comfort him as he cries despite knowing she's only a ghost.

The fact that camp and the gods not only used Luke as cannon fodder, but also gave him no support after the fact is the last push. Thalia hates the gods- wants to see them overthrown as soon as possible even before Luke. She's the first to notice something being up with Luke. That something being Kronos of course. And honestly? Thalia hates that guy too. Because while yes- she fully understands and even supports Luke in his plans to end the gods, she CANNOT accept some random primordial torturing her friend like that. Luke of course doesn't see it himself, he's angry and hurt and needs the power Kronos offers to achieve his goals. Thalia understands that, doesn't mean she hates it any less. When Luke returns from his trip to Olympus Thalia almost immediately knows what he did despite not having been able to see it. And she's completely torn between worried and proud.

Because on one hand, Luke just stole the Master Bolt. Successfully. He is going to rebel against the gods to achieve a golden age for them all, just like Thalia would have done- wanted to do all this time. She knew she could rely on him, always. But on the other, he's going to be going against the gods. He's going to work with Kronos, all alone with no support.Going against the gods is dangerous, and Thalia would give everything to be allowed to share the burden with Luke. When the pit scorpion scene happens Thalia understands Luke. She is relatively neutral to the Percy kid still, and while she wishes Luke wouldn't have to do this she still knows it had to be done. The real hatred and disgust comes in seeing how people react. Because how come that Annabeth, the little girl Luke and her took care of, only has disdain for him? How come she says "may the gods curse him!" and doesn't even attempt to understand him? How comes she acts to unsurprised? And with horror in her bones does Thalia realize that camp brainwashed her. Made her believe the gods are good and right, and blinded her to reality. And who's the stand in for all that? Right. Percy.

Percy, to Thalia, becomes the representation of everything he hates. He's the gods' and camps' little golden boy. Their champion. Their little puppet spouting their propaganda and doing their dirty work. It doesn't help that with Luke being gone now, all Thalia can do is watch the camp and wallow in her hatred. She only grows to despise camp even more and to despise the gods even more for forcing her into this existence where could do nothing but watch. At the beginning of SoM when Luke comes to poison her tree Thalia has mixed feelings. On one hand, she isn't really in the tree. That is all just her body, the rest of camp merely believes it's her essence too. On the other hand, Luke thinks he's poisoning her. For all he knows he is hurting her for his goals.

Yet Thalia grows to understand and forgive him. She sees how broken up over this he is, she hears him apologizing- saying that it needs to be done and it's for the best. That everything will be fine, and it may hurt now but it'll turn out for the better.

And while she doesn't really understand what Luke wants to do, she trusts him enough to believe him. This ultimately turns out to be the right call when at the end of SoM Thalia is suddenly pulled from whatever she was doing and wakes back up in her body. Which- honestly? At first that was disorienting as fuck. She just spent a good 6 years outside her body and suddenly she's back in it? In a body three years older than she remembered having no less? No one can blame her for needing a good second to figure out what just happened. But when she does? When she does finally figure out what just went down and get's used to her body again? Man you BEST believe that she is NOT staying anywhere close to this camp or these people. When Percy attempts to get to her and talk to her all Thalia can feel is a flash of hot anger at who to her is the embodiment of everything she hates. So in a flash of rage she zaps Percy with lightning and takes off. Not stopping for a second to littel to the horrified screams and questioning wails coming from the crowd.

Getting to the Princess Andromeda was a weird mix out of pure luck, knowing Luke and his way of thinking better than himself and having memorized the look of the ship when Percy saw it from the CHB shore. Luke is......reasonably weirded out by Thalia suddenly turning up.

Like, just imagine doing your revolution and being tortured by your evil overlord for failing to get the golden fleece, and suddenly your childhood crush turns up????? Which, I mean the fact that she's 15 immediately kills of any romantic feelings he ever could have had- DOESN'T MEAN HE'S LESS EMOTIONAL RATTELED BY HER TURNING UP. Poor baby is just so stressed. Thalia being fully (if not more) on his side of "let's overthrow the gods" is great and all but she does NOT like Kronos at ALL. Luckily for him Kronos isn't as angry anymore now that they have the Child of Prophecy on their side- so that's a plus. Unfortunately, Thalia is also weirdly against Kronos which gives Luke heart attacks. Because she can't do stuff like that! What if Kronos finds out!?

She couldn't care less. Thalia tolerates Kronos at best. And then only that under the condition that he doesn't hurt Luke. Kronos meanwhile switches pretty quickly over from Luke to Thalia. He was already ready to replace Luke with Atlas, replacing him with Thalia wasn't that much a reach. Luke is obviously hurt, but accepts it. Thalia takes the role only to A) get Luke away from Kronos and B) to get into a position that would allow her to overthrow the god and Kronos. And in all honesty? This change only makes it worse for Camp. Because while yes, Luke is ruthless- he still is able to be talked down somewhat by the right people who take the right emotional angle. Thalia on the other hand? She spent years alone with her hatred festering. She's fresh out of mercy and wants to see blood. The gods took enough from her and the other demigods, and she's had enough of it. No more suffering for uncaring parents. Luke becomes her right-hand man, her lieutenant, the one who she trusts to take care of things when she isn't there to do it. He goes with it ofcourse, he couldn't refuse her when they were young and he can't refuse now. Even if he is scared of Kronos and scared for Thalia, he agrees to help her when she reveals her plans to overthrow the gods and Kronos.

They always managed to do anything together.

[solarsavoy]

Character Tuesday, Solar's Man Harem!

Just gonna jump right into it.

Main House:

Stag is king.

Right hand man, Will Herondale from the Infernal devices series by Cassandra Clare. He is smart, he can be sweet, he pushes people away (naturally), a bookworm, and you wouldn't suspect any of these things based on his personality, an arrogant bully. I absolutely love him and he deserves all the love. Just gotta break through the surface first.

Left hand man, Percy freaking Jackson. I love him, okay? I feel him on so many levels. He loves showing off, but doesn't feel good enough. Never looks before he leaps, but man does he commit to that leap. Loyal to a fault. I fell in love with him when I read his series and I just had to have him. Part of him likes being the center of all the prophecies. The other is absolutely terrified. And I love all of it.

Syaoran from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles was the first to enter. Without spoiling too much hopefully, "Syaoran" is the one I mean, okay? If you've read the manga, you know what I'm talking about. In ways, he should be in the day care (I'll explain in a bit) but he's much more useful around the house and I'll explain that bit later too. Also, he's just so sweet. 💙

I adopted Kyo from Fruits Basket because someone should. He's fiery and funny and cute and angsty and just needs a hug. And he cooks, so I have taken him. And I would hug him all the time. 😀 Specifically because he hates it. 😆

Yato God! From Noragami. And he has his own shrine in the back yard because I want him to always have a home and to know he will never be forgotten, ever, at least by me. I just, I love him so much. I love him. Ugh, I love him. He deserves all the good things. All of them, I tell you!

Honorable Mentions/Waitlist:

The Flash/Barry Allen, Grant Gustin version. I like him more in the first few series, but he's not really just an honorable mention. He's frequently in and out of the house doing speedster things. He's quirky and funny and I'd love just talking to him all day about nerdy stuff. I mean, you've read my My World Monday posts, right? He'd totally help me science out all of my fantasy realm. But... his true love is Iris, and I'm a sucker for unrequited love. So in and out until one day he just stops coming because she finally gave him the time of day. 💔

Damon Salvatore, Vampire Diares. Um, if there was ever a Stag in human (ish) form, it was this guy, but he's straight. Still sexy as hell though, and he can visit whenever he wants. 💙 He really needs to leave the drama wherever it's at though; I feel like he has a lot. >.>

Dean Winchester, Supernatural. Another sexy sexy guy! Honestly, I like the idea that he's still a free spirit though, and there's no way I could get him to settle, so I'll be the one to visit him. Frequently. But he's always welcome. I just don't think he's quite the right fit for what I'm looking for though. Doesn't mean he isn't fun. 😉

Mushra, Shinzo. He used to be in the main house, but I'm just not really attracted to him anymore. He doesn't qualify for the day care and he's quite fiery, but he has to at least be here because I just can't let him go, especially with the tiny fandom Shinzo has. And he's got a good heart. :') So honorable mentions it is.

Karma Akabane, Assassination Classroom. Okay, he would raise hell if I let him in, so he's staying on the waitlist. Of all the people in this section, he's the only one who's "on the waitlist" because I feel like he'd be constantly trying to break in to wreak some havoc and my boys would be trying to chase him out with the broom. 😆 But part of me kinda likes this, so I think it's sort of perfect where he's at, the "waitlist".

Inuyasha is another one that I stopped really being attracted to, so he's an honorable mention. I also thought he'd hate the idea of "being owned" so it works out for the best, but he'll always have a place in my heart. Such a tsundere…

Day Care:

Gerit, OC. He's a good dog and I really just wanna take care of him and pet him on the head all the time because he likes it. 💙 Very easy to please, and so cute.

Deshi, OC. He's very upset about being in the day care, but all I gotta do is set up an awesome game room with all his favorite games and send him food stuffs and he's happy. And he's okay with this, so he "accepts" it. Begrudgingly, lol. Hates that it's called the "Day Care" though, but I find it's most apt.

Fushi, To Your Eternal. I want to teach him all the things and I can totally see him latching onto someone and following them around like a little duck and just being cute all the time and I just want him in my day care so I can teach him all the things and he can be the ultimate squish. 💙💙💙 Cuteness overload! AHHHHHHH!

Explanation:

The Main House is basically characters that I'm attracted to that if I were their age or vice versa, I'd very much want to be with them. The reason Stag is king is because I don't care if I'm with him, or if I am him. I consider him to be sort of my alter ego if I were I guy, and because of the closeness, that's why he's king, and no one can replace him. A similarity between the five in the house (we're excluding Percy in this case, he's pretty loyal either way) is that if you happen to earn your way into their heart, they are loyal to you to the end. All of them share this trait, and all of them have built up walls for one reason or another that makes them hard to reach, and I just want so much to be the one that reaches them.

The Honorable Mentions/Waitlist means that for one reason or another, they don't qualify to be in the Main House, but I still love them dearly. And then there's Karma. He's here more for fun and like I said, it just sorta works where he is, lol.

The Day Care is for characters that I have adopted and wish only to take care of them because their lives are really fucked up and/or they are just so innocent and I want so much to protect them. They are my squishes and I luff them with all my heart! They just need to be taken care of properly. 😤

And that's my man harem! Like I said, very selective. Anyone surprised by someone on the list? Surprised others aren't on the list? Have suggestions? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading. ^^

PS, I hope I didn't forget anyone. Like Mushra and Inuyasha, it took me a minute to remember them because they aren't as active in my head, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. I hope I'm not forgetting anyone.

[austenpoppy]

I'd have to respectfully disagree with you, as someone who thinks our readings of the books are quite close and always enjoy reading your analysis.

First, I think that the Weasley brothers did notice that there was something amiss with Ginny, though they didn't have the tools to deal with the situation. I wrote an analysis (or rather compiled excerpts from the books here : https://austenpoppy.tumblr.com/post/688403214565081088/embed).

But to sum up the point I made in that analysis, I'd say that the fact they were all mentioned trying to get Ginny to be less sad at one point or another shows that they were aware of what state she was in : for instance, Ron tried to reassure her after Mrs Norris's disappearance, the Twins disguised themselves and jumped at her to try to cheer her up after Colin was discovered, and Percy, who did the most because that year he was the oldest, kept telling her she was not herself.

Now regarding PoA, I'm unsure why you implied that Ron dismissed Ginny because he was supposedly protective of his friendships. I don't think Ron's shown much of that trait in the books : for example, he let Ginny hang out with the trio in the beginning of book 4, in book 5, or in book 6.

Actually, we know why Ron dismissed Ginny in that train : that's because Harry told Ron and Hermione he wanted to speak with them in private. So Ron had to tell Ginny to go elsewhere.

Now, you can argue he could've done it differently. But would telling her that Harry - of all people - needed to talk to Ron and Hermione in private have really been better ? Wouldn't that have made her feel more excluded ? Wouldn't that have risked making her feel slightly paranoid, wouldn't that have risked making her think that Harry believed her to be weird ?

And wouldn't that have risked making her feel like she was sick and/or patronised, either ? The Weasley siblings (the Weasleys in general) don't talk to each other in a polite, respectful and sensitive manner. They don't take kid gloves with one another. If Ron had been more polite, Ginny would have been reminded that now she was different because of what had happened.

I'd argue that Ron, in that train before his third year, treated Ginny like nothing was out of the ordinary, as if they were back to normal, and I'd say this can also be good for someone who's been through terrible things. Ginny ended up feeling annoyed, like any sibling would feel in that scenario, but no emphasis was made on her exclusion from the group of friends, and no emphasis was made on what had happened to her either (which a change of tone in Ron's usual manner would have highlighted).

Are we also going to berate Ron for not focusing on his sister when his best friend had just passed out ? Yes, sure, he could have made a signal to Hermione to stay with Harry while he took care of his sister, but I feel like that's asking a lot from a 13-year old. It's normal to be very worried about someone who fainted in front of you (and had a simili-seizure).

Ultimately I wouldn't say Ginny only had herself to rely on : she had an army of brothers who would kill for her if needed, and who were attentive to her. However, she experienced a very traumatic event that none of her brothers could relate to (a weird and toxic connection with Voldemort), which is a sort of isolation that's not easy to overcome - but that Harry also experienced, as you said yourself in one of your analysis.

And as a side note, while I don't count Ron's Horcruxe episode as a mistake at all, and do not think "not believing Harry right away" in fourth year was in itself a mistake either (not sitting with Harry in Potions class or not rekindling the dialogue with him are behaviours that I'd rather begrudge Ron for regarding that particular incident), I'd say Ron imitating Hermione in sixth year would qualify as his biggest mistake.

I know I'm argumentative and tend to speak up more when I disagree (hence why my first post here since I took time off to write my dissertation project is a debate opening xD), but I hope you'll see this post as a simple disagreement from someone who really likes what you write.

I just reread cos i sort of felt annoyed at weasley brothers esp. Twins ( I know they are very beloved in fandom but I found their lack of common sense annoying sometimes) Do you think in cos weasley brothers were sort of neglectful? I can understand ron he is only one year older & has his own insecurities but fred and George were 14 & percy was 16. I am not saying its their fault but still. I am older sis myself I just can't imagine not noticing ( god forbid) my younger sibling going something like this. Maybe it's a brother thing to be like this. Anyways sorry for long rant,please share your thoughts.

I totally understand your point of view because I'm an older sister too, and there would have been no way in hell I would have missed something like this about my younger sibling. Though I have to say, Percy at least understands there's something wrong and we also know Ginny at eleven is a very practised liar that doesn't like to ask for help and doesn't have much faith in her family being in her corner (the Quidditch training in secret is such a perfect back story for the diary).

I think when the Weasley brothers really fail is after Ginny's first year.

A lot of people seem to believe that the worst things Ron did were not believing Harry in GoF or the Horcrux thing but I completely disagree. Those things are frankly very minor all considered and influenced by a lot of circumstantial reasons. The one thing that really always kind of stuck with me that was really shitty of Ron was when he shoves away Ginny at the start of PoA. Your sister has been possessed for a whole year by a dark lord fundamentally because she grew up very sheltered and all her brothers decided to ignore her while an evil dark object amplified all her insecurities and the year after you decide to behave with her in the same exact way?

And I get that Ron is jealous of his friendships due to his insecurities but there's a limit to what is justifiable (he grows out of it at least so kudos for that).

And then after the dementor's attack, it's not even Ron who takes care of her while she trembles.

And of course, the fact that Ginny searches for Ron even after he sent her away tells you something about the other brothers (maybe Percy had prefect things to do so he might be excused, but why wasn't she with the twins?).

But after all, it's one of the big themes of Ginny's story: she doesn't have anyone in her corner but herself.

Ginny starts the story victim of unimaginable horrors because of her loneliness but she becomes someone whose greatest strength is her ability to stand on her own (the girl is a rock) and who takes care of the people forgotten by everybody else. She once was the injured girl on the floor of the Chamber and she becomes the one who takes care of the injured girl on the grounds (soon after her brother died I might add).

[note: it's also a full circle moment for Harry and Ginny because, in the scene in DH, Harry is projecting on the injured girl]

[dustbunny105]

Simpatico, RodiDrift, and BumbleBlades for ship bingo? :3

Woo! Tackling theses in order:

So, the funny thing about Simpatico for me is that I was heavily invested in it at the end and their interaction was one of the few things I really enjoyed about the finale but I was genuinely incapable of caring about it for most of the time I was reading MtMtE, lol. Brainstorm having an intense, platonic colleague-crush was just too relatable to me. Also I was sort of obsessed with Brainstorm's tragic taste re: Quark, to the exclusion of any other romantic prospects for him. Something made me start to develop an interest in them as a couple riiight around the mutiny, which nearly killed said interest until we got to see more about what the real situation was back on the ship, at which point the realization that they had completely different ideas of wtf had happened and how that would impact their relationship smacked me back and forth across the face and I was just in it. The Mederi fiasco made it weird for a hot minute-- on the one hand, the potential implications of the Quark construct were highly appetizing and so was the sparkester scene but the recollection that Brainstorm used to try to reach Percy was so obnoxious (I guess the bantz were just too important to not undermine the respect Percy had developed for Brainstorm??) that it legit almost killed it dead for me, lol. BUT I got over and I enjoyed them for the brief rest of the series. I honestly have rarely thought about them since, though, and I'm not sure why since they both went out on a high note and had a lot of interesting stuff left to explore.

NOW, THIS IS WHERE MY FEELINGS LIVE. This is how I know it's not just my general disconnect from MtMtE/LL that keeps me from bothering much with Simpatico anymore, because I think of these two sometimes and wanna cry. Which is also funny because I feel like I only started getting retrospectively invested in them at the point when their relationship was the least interesting to me, lol. Like they're both such glorious messes of unresolved trauma and bad coping mechanisms and they can bring out the best and the worst in each other that way and, Idk, the way they treat each other specifically feels like such a close view of the ways they're both bad at peopling in general? I'm not finding the right words but that's the feeling, for sure. And the thing is I think I've said before that I could've been just as happy with them as an endgame ship as with them having had something that just didn't work out and they're past it but I think I actually wouldn't have been happy with them as endgame just because their reconciliation gave me roughly the end result I wanted without the work I wanted to be put into it? And I say roughly because there were times that their new dynamic just felt like a less aware version of the old dynamic, Idk. I dunno, I guess the idea was that it was supposed to be a more genuine reflection of their genuine affection for each other but it just missed the mark for me. Anyway, yeah, I love them a lot but that love is wrapped up almost entirely in a part of both their lives I'm happier seeing them moved past. Which is more what I meant by marking that I like it platonically here, as opposed to being open to a purely platonic read on Simpatico still.

Yas!! Y'know, I'm only just now realizing that I never read Blades's interest in Bumblebee as platonic the way I did Brainstorm's in Percy for so long and I really don't know why. Maybe IDW gave me certain expectations that were not being met. In any case, yeah, I am all the way on Team BumbleBlades. Or, well, I am actually open to other potential Blades ships sometimes but I chose the OTP square anyhow because I simply cannot care about Bumblebee's romanic prospects outside of developing a return interest in Blades. Probably a byproduct of not caring or barely caring about his shows, lol. I do love his appearances in Rescue Bots, though, and would've liked to see him appear more often (even though I appreciate that he didn't) because I do love his interaction with Blades and really would have liked to see it further developed. My love for this ship is easily the least conflicted of the three, haha. Granted, my standards for Rescue Bots are different than my standards for MtMtE/LL, not because I think the former is beneath the latter in any way but simply because it did not have to go as hard as it did but it did. Plus, entirely different tone, so. Anyway, yeah, I love them a highly disproportionate amount because of that, lol, and probably also because Rescue Bots didn't disappoint me the way MtMtE/LL did. In fact, the only thing I don't like about this ship-- namely, the apparent one-sidedness of their friendship-- is entirely down to the limitations of the story each of their shows was telling and so I simply can't be bothered to dwell on it. I am still pretty disappointed that Blades never got to make the jump to RiD, mind, dunno what made Blurr so special...

[ask-the-gamekeeper]

Hello mister Bane!

Im new to this whole asking thing but i was wondering.... what are your opinions on Doctor Percy? After all he also seems to be quiet close with Mister Burke, so it wouldnt surprise me if you have talked with him more!

(OOC; WUSHJWBD I LOVE YOIR BANE SO MUCH WAAAAAA KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK BUDDY!!)

Close? He couldn't help but to huff a laugh at the very thought of it.

"You and I seem to have different definitions of close..."

The two were always at each other's throats, a little similar and far too different in all the wrong ways.

Sure, they were both self-centered men with egos- even if Percy denied it- a craving for knowledge and a tendency to feel superior to others... That wasn't a good thing, nor was their 'I'm always right' sort of attitude and the way they needed things to be done their way and only their way.

Besides... Percy was self-righteous, going on about how wonderful his discovery was and how he could better the human race and lead them to perfection, whereas Burke would scoff and tell him to either shut up, or that he really just wanted to be put onto a pedestal- something Bane thought too but wouldn't dare mention aloud. To further contrast, Burke was more selfish, hiding away all his inventions regardless of how much they could help others, rarely allowing anybody he didn't trust to get so much as a single peek within his lab. Percy demanded respect, held himself in such an esteemed manner he seemed to be from the upper class, almost always using some basic manners even as he spoke down to people. Burke rarely gave respect and would carelessly speak with whatever foul language and rude remarks he wanted. Even the way they worked was different, with Percy being neat and organised while Burke was messy with tools strewn everywhere.

Burke had never been good at getting along with people, holding mistakes above their heads and easily insulting and mocking them should he decide he didn't like them. Percy didn't like that. Sometimes neither did Bane, but he could always find a way to tolerate it. He was always the one to apologise for Burke's behavior and try to keep him from actually getting into any fights. That didn't always help anybody's opinion of the old man, though.

Ah, but as for himself... "He... isn't the sort of person I would like to spend my time with."

Not just because of the way he spoke about Burke though, but his intentions and goals...

Whether unintentional or not, the man had even left a bad first impression. The way he had smiled upon noting the lifeless tone of his fingers, chuckling as he instantly made the connection between him and Burke. Then the way he'd offered a hand, asking him to instead join him.

Percy had a gaze as cold as a corpse and it felt piercing, like as though he was being analysed like some sort of test subject... Perhaps that was all he was, to Percy. Just another 'perfect human' he could try and test on, try and bring closer and closer to 'perfection'. Maybe had he accepted that offer, any of the times he'd been given it, or had asked to join him, then he would become a lab rat for the man. Did he already have ideas running in his head for things to experiment? He didn't like it and although some part of him wished to know just what was running through his head, he also hoped he'd never have to find out.

He was not some mere specimen to be poked and prodded, and he refused to allow the man to think of him as such! So what if the man's upgrades would allow him to be more 'self-sustaining'? So what if he never had to worry about 'eating, sleeping or drinking' or even 'being slaughtered once again'? He didn't care! The man's supposed upgrades seemed far too big and clunky anyways...

Luckily the man left him alone often enough, even if it was more due to the manners he had ingrained into him and not anything Bane did himself. Really, little to no hunter seemed to actually be affected much by his aggression and anger. Then again, hunters were near impossible to intimidate unless the hunter in question was Robbie...

He only had to worry about preventing Burke from picking too many fights with the undead hunter and dealing with whatever the guy asked him. Since Percy thought better of him than the old man and he knew the place, Percy tended to ask him a lot of things, often asking things through him, telling him when he was missing equipment rather than actually going to the request box to leave his requests there.

A sigh escaped him as he hung his head. "He's frustrating... A lot of trouble, really. I'm surprised that Burke didn't kill him before..." Bringing him back.