#also also also. thalia choosing the hunters is so giving Luke up

[titansarmy]

on today’s thalialuke thoughts, the reason why thalia is able to cut off luke so quickly whereas annabeth isn’t is because it makes sense for thalia that luke got there. thalia knew luke better than annabeth ever did, she knew how much she hated his parents and how much resentment he held against the gods. and above all, she knew how he had started to act since his visit to may castellan’s and his talk with hermes. annabeth does not (says thalia) bc she was 7 and understood up to the point of “luke’s parents make him upset”. so thalia has seen luke already pushing it and making bad choices and then she dies and then she wakes up again and she’s immediately told that he’s gone, that he’s made an awful choice and she mourns him and it breaks her heart but it checks out. thalia can see how he got there and she knows how strongly he hates his dad and the gods and it still hurts her to go against him but if anything, going against him and seeing him fully as kronos’ little pawn, it solidifies her understanding that there’s no bringing him back, luke is gone. she won’t go soft on him because she knows that his choices go way beyond what they had, the family they had. thalia understands there is no bringing him back while annabeth hopes she still can somehow.

tldr; thalia understood luke’s motives better than annabeth, hence why she is way more tough on her approach to luke.

[princess-of-the-corner]

How is the "branching outcomes" rule of the multiverse affected by prophecies, such as those of Apollo's Oracles? The future technically still has to follow the prophecies, or demigods would stop taking stock in them since they only apply to a few possible futures.

Basically kinda how SU has Garnet's Future Vision work but with a bit more knowledge than just the Oracle themself has?

All knowledge and plans of what's happening is taken into account, and the Prophecy will choose the most likely outcome. However, it is still left up to interpretation enough that some things may change.

So take the original Great Prophecy with 'one of the kids of the Big Three will either save us or fuck us over when they turn 16'.

There were so many ways that could have come true. The Gods attempted to postpone the Prophecy instead of letting it happen, making a pact that the Big Three wouldn't have more kids and killing off or time-freezing any who were under 16. This shoved their potential demise from WWII-era to all the way in the 2000s.

In the present, we had four options on which kid would be the Prophecy Child. Percy, Thalia, Nico and Bianca.

Thalia is initially taken out with the 'dying and becoming a tree', then brought back into the fray, then took herself out of the equation by joining the Hunters. However, if she hadn't died, she would've fulfilled the Prophecy earlier. If she had decided to face destiny and join the Hunters, then she would've faced Fate at the end of the third book.

Nico and Bianca are both younger than Percy, so something would've had to happen to him to make him not the Prophecy Child. Maybe he dies at some point before 16. Maybe he stayed with Calypso on Ogygia. Hell, maybe Percy, Annabeth and Grover never made it out of the Lotus Hotel while Hades yoinks his kids out at some point without realizing they're there.

Bianca joined the Hunters and died, but what if she had made a different choice? Maybe it would have been her who stayed behind at camp, as she was too new for such a Quest. Maybe she listened to the warnings and didn't steal from the junkyard. Maybe she declined to join the Hunters, wishing for freedom but wanting to make sure Nico was safe before making that decision.

Nico's still alive. If Percy had died or gone missing, even with other shit happening, then it'd be his turn.

And of course. The Prophecy itself is open-ended. The Child has to make a choice. Any of the four could have made the wrong choice. Whether it be accidentally, like Percy not trusting Luke to kill himself and refusing to hand over the blade, or if Kronos actually got to them because hey they have plenty of reason to be mad at the Gods and be manipulated with their rage and teen minds that don't understand long-term consequences just anger and wanting justice for their shitty lives.

So yeah like. There were so many ways the Prophecy could have come true. And that's the thing. It does give hints to what will happen, but it's not quite set in stone. They're also literally self-fulfilling Prophecies because you kinda know what's happening going in, so you stick to what it says instead of trying to fight it.

[furys-burn]

undercut is some Thalia +Her Dad thoughts since a podcast I listened to raised a good point we never get a super clear view of how she sees her dad since its always from Percy (Jealousy and some idol worship) Luke (Super biased and their younger selves) and a touch of Annabeth (Super young and idol worship) 

So Thalia vaguely knew that her dad was some big shot but fell back on him being a CEO, director, etc type and that any mention of Zeus was her mother’s own zeal. Her mother enough of a personality that being told “You father is a god” can be chalked up to her own editing of her life. What Thalia did know (And continues to be a theme of her character) is what she can physically point at and prove like he was out of their lives, he never met her, and he only showed up to give her a younger brother. That is Zeus. 

It is only when her powers start manifesting that she gets the demigod talk (Personally hc it as when Jason goes missing she starts an entire lighting storm in her anger and grief that flattens the forest) 

She is out of Beryl’s soon after Jason’s disappearance and it is on her own where she starts to form her own mythos around Zeus. She trusts him enough to follow the goat and I think her mother’s own fanatical worship makes her think that he may not be all that bad. That maybe he’ll help her and she’ll be a hero and anything sounds better than what she is leaving behind. A small part of her believes that Zeus may even welcome her to Olympus, a remnant of her mother’s wishes through the eyes of a child. Maybe a mistress can’t stay...but his own daughter? 

Months of travel go by and the odd aid from her father keeps her going with enough belief that he starts to become  Along the way she meets Amaltheia who leads her to Luke in a dragon cave. This is where her image of the gods starts to change as his already less than gleeful view offers another perspective from her mother’s and her own barely there experience with her dad. This feeling is strengthened as things just keep getting worse for them and it turns into less “survive for Olympus” into plain survive. Especially once she realizes there is no way he will let her live out a life happy in the clouds; she continues on until the house and Annabeth and she switches her focus onto them. 

Thalia at that point in the story sees her dad as a neutral figure. Not as awful as Luke but will not sing his praises. She would also try to keep things on the DL around Annabeth wanting to let her keep any feelings for her mother especially after her dad+stepmom situation. 

But then the hill happens and this is where everything changes for Thalia. 

In those last moments she did not want to die. Thalia was never a martyr, she tried too hard to survive and when it all broke she had to make a choice of herself or them and she will always choose them. Maybe she prayed to her father, maybe she heard him for the first time but not when they were already cornered or when Jason was gone to only he knew where. 

But being brought back and realizing you lost five years of your life and that your once best friend is trying to destroy the world REALLY FUCKING SUCKS (And he tried to kill you? ok. Oh and you’re now the prophecy? Double ok.) 

After an alarming number of Ls this makes her view her dad less than favorable. He does not reach out to her and besides the odd help of the gods, she has the feeling that she is not where she is meant to be. Even when she joins the Hunters, to me it feels like Thalia just giving up and exiting the game altogether. She meets Zeus and it confirms that she does not see him as a dad and while she has that need for pride she also finds it in other places like the Hunters, her found family, and later Jason. Zeus is just an afterthought in her life and this maybe the best it can get as a demigod. 

[stanning-reyna]

The absolute DRAMA of ttc-

We got Thalia who has just came back to life, who’s trying to find her place again while adjusting to how things have changed. She wakes up and Luke, her best friend, is now her enemy

We got Percy who’s starting to think more about his relationship with Annabeth. They’ve grown close over the summers, but now her old best friend is back and what does that mean for them?

We got Annabeth who’s learning more about Luke’s situation and having to reckon with her role in it. She’s also having to make a decision on whether or not she’ll give her dad another chance, in California of all places

And so much happens in this single book. Annabeth asking Percy to dance, Annabeth getting kidnapped and her three closest friends all being there and unable to stop it, meeting the Hunters who are badasses, Thalia and Percy fighting it out big-three style during capture the flag, Percy sneaking out to join Thalia’s quest, all the underlying tension from cover to cover, Annabeth being tricked by Luke, Percy meeting Rachel, Thalia fighting Luke and kicking him off the cliff, both Zoe and Bianca’s deaths (the first deaths in the series), Annabeth becoming sympathetic towards Luke, Annabeth and Percy dancing on Mount Olympus, Thalia choosing to evade her role in the prophecy by joining the Hunters…

It’s just such an entertaining book. Go read it rn

[thehopeofitalll]

you've been stressed out lately (yeah, me too)

read it on ao3!!

Percy wakes up with a dull throbbing in his head. It’s how he wakes up most of the time these days. He gazes at the stars above him, the faint snores of his friends nearby creating a cozy atmosphere.

He shifts to his side with a grunt, beginning to close his eyes to try and doze off when he notices a silhouette in front of him.

He sits up straight and squints. “...Annabeth?”

She jumps, clearly startled. Turning around to see him, she says, “Oh good, you’re awake too.” Even in the darkness, he could feel Annabeth roll her eyes.

“What are you doing?” He asks, scooting towards where she sat, on the soft grass.

“Couldn’t sleep, so...I was just sitting here and thinking,” she replies, glancing at him for a second.

“Thinking?”

“Yeah...quest stuff, you know?” Annabeth shrugs.

Percy knew how rare it was to have peaceful conversations with her. Lately, all the times they talked ended up in a fight. He hesitates briefly, not wanting this talk to end up with them storming away from each other again.

“Wise Girl…” he begins, noticing the way her eyes soften at the nickname as she stares at the stars (and him gazing at her), and desperately trying to ignore the familiar knot in his stomach. “I know you. And I know you aren’t just thinking about the quest.”

She takes in a sharp breath. “I’m...scared.”

“Scared?”

Percy could think of a million words to describe Annabeth Chase: she was smart, wise, annoyingly right most of the time, and one of the bravest people he’d ever seen.

But scared? He’d never thought of her like that.

“Scared of what?” he asks.

“I...never mind, it’s nothing,” she mumbles, turning away from him. “Go back to sleep, Percy. You don’t need to hear me ramble in the middle of the night.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I do,” he says, placing his hand on her shoulder, gently forcing her to look at him. “Annabeth, you can tell me anything. Even the most stupid things you think about.”

“I just feel so useless,” she says, her fingers pulling at the grass they’re sitting on. “A huge war is coming on our way, and I can’t do anything to stop it.”

“Annabeth, that isn’t your fault,” he replies. “You strategize and lead quests that make us win. You are helping, even if you can’t stop the war.”

She sighs. Percy doesn’t know what she does. He doesn’t know about how Luke had come to her, unarmed. If she’d just done something, anything, they wouldn’t be facing Kronos now.

The prophecy that kills Percy wouldn’t be coming true.

“Hey…” he continues, his voice barely a whisper. “You aren’t blaming yourself right?”

“Yeah, no, I’m fine,” she answers. “A bit...worried, I guess.”

“Worried about who?”

Annabeth meets his eyes. “You.”

Percy’s eyes widen, as if he hadn’t expected that answer. Annabeth was suddenly very aware of his hand still resting on her shoulder, brushing against her neck.

The moment felt far too intimate, considering the way they’d nearly strangled each other the past few months. And maybe , she thinks, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“And...this war, Luke, and the campers and everyone, of course,” she hastily adds.

“Yeah, Luke,” Percy mutters, his hand leaving her shoulder. Annabeth missed the warmth almost immediately.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen in the upcoming battles,” she says. “Any of us could die.”

“I know,” Percy says, lying down on the grass.

Annabeth glances at him, before lying down beside him. “We could die.”

“I know,” he simply repeats.

He said it with such ease, as if he was prepared. It pained Annabeth to know that he would actually die, according to the quest.

She didn’t know who she was mad at this point.

She hated herself, hated him and the rest of the world. She hated the Fates for making her fall for him, despite knowing that he was a dead man walking.

Annabeth thought she was numb to pain. She was used to seeing important people in her life leave. Her father, no matter how much they tried to reconcile, was still distant. Her mother was a Greek goddess, whom she could never contact even if she wanted to.

She lost Thalia when she was seven. She spent years walking to the pine tree, sitting down and recounting whatever happened as if Thalia could hear.

Now, Thalia was back. But she was still so far away, a Hunter of Artemis.

She lost Luke. Lost him when she decided to waste her chance to save him when he came to see her. She still hoped, hopes , but somewhere deep down she knew he was doomed.

And now, Annabeth was slowly losing Percy. She was tired of chasing him, and trying to reach out only to realize that she’d lost him since the day they met. All because of some stupid prophecy.

Percy doesn’t deserve to die, she thinks, as the familiar sinking feeling starts. He needs to live.

“I’m so tired, Percy,” she says. “Everything feels so hopeless. It’s like there’s this darkness around us that we can never escape.”

“I know.”

She pauses, choosing her next words carefully. “I’m also tired of fighting. With you,” she continues. “I miss us.”

“I hate this too,” he replies. “I don’t want to fight with you. I just want to go back to being friends.”

Annabeth ignores the twinge of disappointment she felt. She didn’t want to be just friends, and she wishes she could tell him that, but she pushes the urge away.

“Gods, I’m so stupid,” she mumbles, softly laughing. “Talking about all this when we have to continue our quest tomorrow.”

He smiles. “I don’t think it’s stupid. Maybe talking about your feelings helps?”

“Really cheesy, Seaweed Brain,” she says, his smile mirroring on her face.

“Well Rachel’s cheesy all the time, I think I’ve been spending too much time with her,” Percy says, grinning.

And there it was. One of the reasons why she kept pushing Percy away, even if she wanted to spend time with him. It hurt, knowing that he was with Rachel way more than he’d been with her for months now.

He slightly tenses up, and Annabeth wonders if he was bracing himself for a fight, since it’s all they ever do.

“Yeah, you have,” she replies, hoping that he doesn’t notice the bitter undertone to her seemingly well remark.

(And he doesn’t because he’s so oblivious, she sometimes wonders how she ever fell in love with him.)

“But maybe you are right,” Annabeth continues. “I do feel strangely a little bit calmer after that rant.”

“Aha! Who’s the wise one now?”

“Still me,” she says, smirking as she bumps his shoulder playfully. “Also, thanks. You could’ve gone back to sleep, instead of sitting here with me.”

“Nah, I probably couldn’t have slept. I’d have just stared at nothing till either the sun rises or I get tired and fall asleep.”

“I’m trying to say a nice thing, Percy!”

“Of course,” he says, trying hard not to grin. “Continue.”

She takes a deep breath. “What I’m saying is that...it means a lot to me, that you sat here, listened to my ramblings and didn’t judge me.”

“I’ve never judged you,” he says, shrugging.

“Twelve year old Percy would disagree,” she says.

“Hey! Twelve year old Percy was the most respectful boy you’d ever see!” Percy exclaims.

“Sure,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Just...thank you. For everything.”

“Anytime, Wise Girl. And…” he begins. “There’s always going to be some things that you can’t control.”

“Ugh, I hate those kinds of things.”

He smiles softly. “I know. But you can’t blame yourself for how those things went down, you can’t try to control them either. And even though you’ve never told me about it, I have a gut feeling that you worry about things like that a lot.”

“Wow,” Annabeth says, impressed. “That was really wise.”

“So, who’s the wise one now? ” he asks.

She shakes her head and laughed. “It’s still me. But you are getting closer.”

“And that’s a victory as far as I’m concerned.”

She rolls her eyes again. “Of course it is, you dork,” she mumbles, feeling the most peaceful she has in months.

She watches the stars twinkle as they settle into a comfortable silence. She turns, finding Percy’s nose an inch away from hers. He’s closing his eyes, and she thanks all the gods he doesn’t see her ears rapidly turning pink.

She almost thinks he’s fallen asleep, but then his hand falls on hers, and he gives it a slight squeeze.

Annabeth smiles, and squeezes his hand three times. I love you. She doubts she’ll ever say it to him, but for now she doesn’t mind just talking with him for hours.

—

something gave you the nerve to touch my hand, it’s nice to have a friend.

[thejudgingtrash]

Well. I’ve gotten quite the reactions to my hot takes//unpopular opinions. So here’s part two! For everyone new, here’s part one!

Percy radiates the blandest straight energy. I don’t see why you people think he’s bi

Hazel > Frank > (Leo > Piper) > Jason and that’s that story (Leo and Piper can switch positions)

Everyone giving Percy some heat for not realizing that Annabeth had a crush on him is fucking stupid. Shit is going down, he’s an insecure boy who got a lot of flag in a very short time by everyone in his environment and you think he’s supposed to dive nose deep into some coochie? Damn y’all are some horny bastards

People that still bash on Perachel (and I’m saying that as a hardcore Percabeth shipper) and harass those shippers should just walk out of the fandom

Hazel‘s background story is a gigantic fucking mess and should have been kept in the drafts

All the godships (Caleo, that whole Walt/Sadie/Anubis thing) across all series are trash

Jason’s death in TOA was cheap as fuck. He should’ve died in HOO and not as a side character in another bland sequel

People that don’t realize that Paul magically doesn’t erase/fix the abuse that Percy and Sally have suffered from are... fun. More on my stance on Paul here

Leo was always fucking annoying but pre-MOA Leo is someone we can deal with

Percy is the only dude with a beard and chest hair. Everyone else looks like they’ve glued three pubic hairs into their faces

Making Piper rely on the white man is a huge fucking no

The fact that every important kid/protagonist is a descendant from one of the 12 Olympians and not a kid from a minor god in the follow up series proves that neither the gods nor Rick Riordan have changed. Luke’s funky ass proves that even Riordan’s a douche in that regard

If you think that Percy is going to disrespect Sally in her own house by doing some intricate cooch research with Annabeth you are fucking mistaken

The musical as wonderful as it may be, isn’t canon. It’s another artist‘s interpretation of a work. Riordan giving it a thumbs up doesn’t mean jack. Using the musical as an argument is meh at best

People that ask in 2020 why Riordan‘s works are problematic are the same people that type ’Google‘ into Google

I can’t stress this enough but Annabeth’s favorite song is Red Solo Cup by Toby Keith

Pretty sure Annabeth’s hair equals a rats nest 90% of the time. Princess curls where? Is she hindering missions because she isn’t done with deep conditioning? Bitch is a walking mess!

The fact that both Underworld kids are time travelers that just seem to manage modern times all too fine is fucking stupid

Also people that are forgetting that Nico is Italian, not Italian-American are tiring. The likelihood of him understanding racial issues of Italians in the US are next to none

Also a bunch of people have accents and slang which would’ve made everything funnier

Riordan really loves to make his latinx characters bland and awful, huh?

Too many people lack basic reading skills part II

The fact that people are seriously fighting over the pronunciation of a shipping name/neologism is pathetic to the max. Pronounce it however you want. Who gives a shit? People disagreeing on something doesn’t hinder you in any way

On that note, Percabeth is an awful ship name. Why not choose Seaweed Brain? It was already there. It was a given. It was sweet and easy to digest

The only iconic female performer that Percy willingly listens to is Her Majesty Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

Meg is fucking annoying, more so than Leo

Same goes for Lavinia

Same goes for Alex Fierro from the bits I’ve read

The scavengerhunt plot that Riordan set up to mark Hera as the evil queen is the messiest and dumbest plot device of HOO. Periodt

Cecil Markowitz‘ portrayal is fucking racist

Same goes for Julia Feingold

Same goes for Samirah Al-Abbas

Hades would’ve never had kids outside of his marriage. Sorry team Nico & Bianca

The Trials of Apollo are so forgettable and bland I can’t recollect anything that happened apart from Jason being turned into kebab and missing lesbian rights for Reyna

Classisists coming for Riordan are morons at best. This series is meant for kids. As shitty as the gods are portrayed (and we all agree that the portrayal could’ve been waaaay better) there’s only so much one can do for a middle school audience. Also the gods aren’t the focus of the series. Shouldn’t you be happier about the fact that Riordan gets more kids interested in Greek Mythology?

On that note, Poseidon is a piece of shit and not the cool dad

Hellenistic polytheists have more reasons to be offended as Riordan bashed their views on their religion (sorry guys)

Everyone who is trying to erase Grover as Percy’s best friend deserves to get hit with a deadly chancla

That also goes for everyone that has no issues with applying racist canon to fanart (Piper with feathers, light eyes for poc, giving Annabeth Trump‘s tanning treatment)

Annabeth Chase is white

Percy and Jason aren’t friends. Idgaf.

Realistically speaking Thalia would’ve immediately dipped the hunters after Kronos funky ass got defeated

Pretty sure you would be able to smell a demigod from a mile away. When do these stinky bastards have the time to take a shower?

Annabeth needs some therapy with a focus on managing her aggressive outbursts. That judo flip wasn’t cute. The fuck.

Apart from that I still stan bold, unapologetical asshole Annabeth

Why are all the kids either dead poor or fucking millionaires? Does the middle class not exist? Will the next series in the Riordanverse be about the struggles of capitalism?

The tattoos from Camp Jupiter make absolutely no sense as Romans thought that tattoos are barbaric. And no, saying it’s a modern spin is fucking stupid especially when New Rome is build with the old rules, principles and ways in mind. Slave branding your child soldiers is a fucking no from me

New Rome having fucking child soldiers

The fact that all protagonists basically jump onto the praetor‘s position in little to no time is stupid. Why place the rule that you have to work your way up in the first place when you basically can just toss nickels at passerby’s and get the spot?

The Tower of Nero will be worse than Blood Of Olympus

[pensaremyweapon]

Overcoming Fatal Flaws

Ever since I first read about them in Sea of Monsters I’ve been obsessed with characters fatal flaws and the effects they have on a characters actions and choices. And I’ve found a sort of pattern in the way the Percy Jackson characters fatal flaws drive their character and affects their overall accomplishments at the end of the series, except for one character.

Annabeth Chase- Hubris, or deadly pride. Annabeth believes she can do anything better than everyone, even the gods. She thinks she alone could create a better world, but this also means she has a very hard time accepting help from others. We see a lot of signs of this throughout the series, she will act as if she is superior to the people around her and force her own ideas upon them. She starts overcoming this by taking Percys ideas into account and starts to act like they are a team and he’s not just following her. She also makes a huge decision to give Luke her knife even when everybody else doubted him she put her trust in Luke to save the world.

Nico di Angelo- holding grudges. Nico will put his own life in danger because of the grudges he holds and the fact that he won’t apologize or accept apologies. This is said to be a common fatal flaw in children of Hades because they are seen as scary and abnormal, they hold a grudge against everyone for not letting them fit in. Nico overcome this in a huge way by forgiving Percy and admitting it wasn’t his fault for his sisters death, and at the end of HoO, he decided to stay at camp and give everyone a chance to get to know him.

Thalia Grace- ambition. Thalia desires power even though she knows she doesn’t need it. Her enemies can use this against her by offering powerful positions that garuntee she will be able to accomplish a lot, we see this with Luke offering her a place in the titans army in the titans curse. She is able to overpower the want though and doesn’t join his army, she also puts her ambition to good use and becomes a leader to the hunters.

Hazel Levesque- her past. Hazel is shown constant flashbacks reminding her of her past, she still remembers her first life and treats it like her new one, like comparing and treating Leo like Sammy even though they aren’t the same person. She constantly looks back on her past throughout the series affecting many of her choices. She works on not letting her past get in the way, and finally treats her new life and old one separately, she doesn’t let her past define her and chooses a new path.

Frank Zhang- low self esteem. In the early books he shows constant doubts in his self worth. He lets his families past faliures and his own drag him down, causing him to panic at the moments he is needed. This is helped slightly when he gets the blessing of Mars, but he also works harder to up his self esteem, he takes the role of praetor and becomes a leader to the Romans.

So as you can see by these character their fatal flaws are responsible for a lot of their character development, and at the end their overall character improvement is because they find a way to overcome their fatal flaw, but one character I’ve found is a little different.

Percy Jackson- excessive personal loyalty. Percy will risk his own life and the fate of the world for his friends, family, and even total strangers. This makes him very easily controlled because his enemies know what to use against him. But instead of overcoming this fatal flaw, he lets it continue to affect his decisions. He refuses to let people he cares about get into too much danger putting himself in it instead, he listens to Annabeth and gives Luke the knife even though he didn’t agree with the decision because he was lotal to Annabeth. He chooses to fall into Tartarus with Annabeth even though he could have gotten himself out, and continued with the quest, making it a lot easier and faster.

So for every character we see being controlled by their fatal flaw, but they overcome it, and become a better person and demigod. But Percy is different he continues to let it control him and finds ways to overcome challenges while still staying loyal and risking his life for others. I wonder if we’ll ever see him overcome this is flaw, or if we’ll end up seeing it become fatal.

Tell me what you guys think of this, and do you think he has or will overcome this flaw, or will it kill him?

[smartest-of-them-all]

Someone asked me to tell a story of something that happened with my friends after 3am

Hahahahahahaha ok. Strap yourself in motherfucker. It’s the biggest night of the summer, aka July 4th. The Stolls and Leo (with permission from the Hephaestus cabin) clear out Bunker 9 and decide to have an insane party. And I mean ape shit crazy. Almost everyone was there, even satyrs, nymphs, dryads, and a few minor gods. Now most of us at CHB didn’t have a childhood, as you do, but a select few of us. Some of them included @kayla-knowles-in-the-house, @lacyisalwayslate , @i-will-slap-you-again-joker-boy, @atta-the-magical-person And @melani-not-melanie-get-it-right. We were all being responsible(ish) but regardless we were still a little buzzed on the party energy. So when Kayla suggests that we play truth or dare, everyone is all “Umm hades yes”. So basically, I’ll give you the rundown of who ended up playing:

Me, Percy, Piper, Jason, Leo, Travis and Connor, Nico, will, drew, Michael, Rachel, Lacy, Melony, Clarisse, Thalia and the Hunters, Nyssa, Atta and Melani, Briomartis(don’t ask how), and Luke.

So we start playing and everyone is chill for the first few rounds. But then it’s Nyssas turn and she’s a very smart girl. She was already mad at Leo from this morning because he spilled oil all over her designs that morning. So she chooses Leo and when he chooses dare, she dares him to go streaking through the cabin semicircle. Which he does. But that opened everyone’s eyes to what they could ask or dare. Leo chose Thalia and when she choose dare “because I’m no wuss” he dared her to have Jason fly her 50 feet in the air and stay there for five whole minutes. Thalia chose Luke and when he picked truth, she made him tell everyone who his first crush was. This went on for a while until it was Percy’s turn. Percy chose dare and knew he was in for it when he saw her evil smile. See, his team beat hers in capture the flag that week so she was still looking for revenge. She thought about it for a minute, and then said “You and Annie have to make out. In the Athena cabin.” Now see, it’s already a tense subject that we’re dating because our parents hate eachother. But the reason they hate eachother is because Poseidon disgraced my mothers temple with Medusa. So I didn’t think this was a good idea. However, the part of my brain that would naturally think this was also buzzed on Coke and party energy and didn’t let me think that. And I guess the same thing happened with Percy, because we made eye contact, got up, and completed the dare. Everyone was doing that childish “oOoOoOoOoOoOo” thing that they do when we left and when we came back they just stared and started again. But that’s not even the craziest part. Because apparently, someone (cough-Leo-cough) said that we went, um, further than that. So now everyone thinks we fucked that night but we didn’t. And I sort of regret it. So yeah.

[flightfoot]

Convalescence Ch. 4

Thanks to @garecc for betaing!

Week 0, Day 0

Thalia’s POV

I received the dream the night after the battle on Mount Olympus.

I and the other Hunters had been pretty confused initially when Artemis teleported away, the newly resurrected Meg tagging along with her. That look on Lady Artemis’s face when she rushed over to Meg, as she held the green bundle… I wasn’t able to see exactly what was going on, but I knew that something WONDERFUL had occurred.

With Artemis gone, I couldn’t ponder what had happened for very long. She was counting on me to look after her Hunters in her stead. We all swiftly disembarked from Mt. Olympus, filling up the elevators several times. I did NOT want us to get caught up in the gods’ squabbling as they tried to figure out what to do, with Zeus gone, Apollo… maybe alive? Somehow? I wasn’t clear on the details, but nothing else could have made Artemis so happy after she’d just heard that he had died. I know better than most how painful it is to hear that your little brother, your baby brother, is DEAD. That you failed them. That you WEREN’T THERE.

“Thalia?” one of the Hunters, Camila, asked hesitantly. She was a new addition. We’d found her a few months ago crying in a shed, bruises coloring her skin from where her captor had beaten her. She was only fourteen, yet had endured her family’s death by gang violence, crossing the border into the U.S. to try to find SOME sort of life for herself, some sort of HOPE… only to discover that the people who had brought her over, only wanted to use her and abuse her.

We’d taken down that entire ring of human traffickers. That filth was worse than the most crazed of beasts.

“Are you OK?” she questioned, concerned. I looked down. My hands were trembling slightly, and I could feel my eyes watering and my nose starting to run. I turned away. I needed to be the strong, fearless leader. I couldn’t afford to break down now, not yet. I had to be in control. When I’d first found out that he’d died on Apollo’s quest…

I shoved that memory out of my mind. Regrets would do no good now. Focus on the problem at hand. Many of my Hunters had been injured, but none too badly. They’d be well enough to travel tomorrow.

“I’ve heard reports that poachers are hunting down the few wild Monokerata that are left. It’s our job to protect them. We’ll rest today, and start making our way to the Monokerata habitat at dawn tomorrow.”

Several Hunters murmured angrily at that. Everyone loved the Monokerata - known more commonly these days as Unicorns. To hear that someone would harm them… well, I doubted that they would get out of this alive.

I retired to my tent a few hours later. It had been a long day, and I needed sleep.

Artemis contacted me that night in my dreams.

She was holding a tiny baby with golden curls. My heart constricted. I remembered when mother had brought Jason home from the hospital. This baby looked just like him.

Artemis looked up at me. She spoke psychically, not moving her mouth, presumably so she didn’t wake the infant.

“Thalia, I’m sorry I was unable to talk with you after everything that happened. I wanted to get Apollo out of there as quickly as I could, to a safe place for him, far away from any who might hurt him. And I REALLY didn’t want him to get caught up in the other Olympians’ squabbles.”

“So that’s Apollo?” I asked, waving at the baby. I had suspected as much, but it was another thing to have it confirmed. Gods could appear as anything they wanted, but I’d never seen a god CHOOSE to appear that young. Then again, I was pretty sure it wasn’t a choice…

“What happened to him? Zeus said Apollo died! Did he come back from the dead somehow? Come to think of it, how did Meg come back?”

“Apollo DID die. Fortunately, he and Meg shared a mental bond, similar to the empathy bonds that satyrs sometimes form. Unlike those bonds, when one of them died, instead of the other person dying from the shock, Meg kept his soul alive and together instead. Remember how Kronos possessed Luke? Meg basically enforced a far, FAR milder version of that in order to keep Apollo together and help him heal.”

I tensed at the comparison. Anything that was comparable to what Kronos did to Luke sounded like bad news to me. Artemis noticed my guarded expression.

“Don’t worry, he would never have been able to possess her. Nor would he have been willing to harm her. Truthfully it’s more similar to the partnerships that Egyptian Magicians have with their gods, I just didn’t use that comparison because you haven’t met any Magicians yet. Meg would not have been harmed, even if he had remained inside her. Apollo’s power is far less corrosive than Kronos’s.”

I sighed in relief. I should have known it was okay. Apollo would NEVER have harmed Meg, even unconsciously. I had seen how much he cared for her when I met up with them at Camp Jupiter.

I buried the thought. Concentrate on Artemis. Thinking about Jason would NOT help anything.

“So what happened after that?” I prompted. “I understand why he’s not in the Underworld, but he and Meg should still be dead. And how did Meg make Zeus vanish? Making giant angry asshole gods disappear is NOT a Demeter power.”

Artemis smirked, her eyes glowing silver with mirth. “Meg was always strong - stronger than even I had suspected. After reincarnating the Meliai, an impressive feat in and of itself, she became MORE than a demigod. Her natural power, paired with her small amount of exposure to Apollo’s divine essence, and most importantly, her being worshiped by the nature spirits of Southern California, slowly transformed her into a god, similarly to how Dionysus transformed from demigod to god. Zeus incinerating her physical body completed the process. As Apollo’s essence was connected to her soul, she was able to drag Apollo back with her. His essence is tiny and weak at the moment, however. He’s stable, but we’re not sure how much of his memory and powers he has retained. But at least he’s alive,” she finished off, smiling softly at the sleeping baby Apollo.

Pangs of jealousy shot through my heart. She got her little brother back. She got to hold him safely in her arms. I would NEVER get that experience again, NEVER. I’d had such a short time with Jason before he was ripped away and seemingly killed. Even when I got him back, there was so much going on, I barely got to see him.

When communication went out, I was worried. I asked Apollo to check up on him while he was in the area, since I had to continue the Hunt. But he did more than that. He involved my little brother, my baby brother on his quest.

Apollo survived. Jason didn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, I know now that it wasn’t Apollo’s fault. Jason knew what was going to happen. He made his choice. He’d rather die than allow his friends to be killed, I KNOW that.

But feelings aren’t rational. They don’t quietly go away when reasoned with. Reason just makes them easier to suppress.

And right now, I was trying VERY hard to use reason to tamp down on my jealousy and sorrow. It wasn’t fair that Apollo and Meg got to come back when Jason didn’t. It just WASN’T. It wasn’t fair they survived while Jason was scattered ash. But it wasn’t their fault. It WASN’T.

It wasn’t mine either (I should have protected him. I was his older sister. I should have been there.)

Maybe one day I would even believe that.

“I’m glad that your little brother survived,” I muttered, trying desperately to keep the bitterness out of my voice.

Evidently I hadn’t succeeded. Artemis’s face turned somber.

“Thalia…” she began. She seemed to be desperately searching for words.

She seemed to give up a moment later, her shoulders slumping.

“I… I’ll talk to you later. Once Apollo is slightly less vulnerable. Just… please. Stay safe.”

The vision faded. I woke up with tears stinging at the corner of eyes. Alone, safely in the privacy of my personal tent, I cried for my baby brother.

0 - o - 0

Week 2, Day 0

Thalia’s POV

I received the summons a week after the battle. Artemis didn’t go into much detail. She simply stated that she, Meg, Apollo, and Leto were waiting for us at Camp Half-Blood... and to prepare for a memorial for Jason.

It took an entire week for us to reach Camp. We were on the other side of the country and kept on running into wild beasts to hunt. Truthfully, we could have made better time. I may have slowed us down a little, insisting on longer breaks than were necessary, or hunting beasts that weren’t immediate threats. I think some of the other Hunters noticed, but if so, they said nothing.

I knew that delaying wouldn’t solve anything. I had to go eventually. But every time I thought of Jason, I just wanted to shut down. I had pretended he didn’t exist for half my life, since Hera sent the wolves for Jason, leaving me to believe he was dead. I couldn’t do that this time. I WOULDN’T do that this time. Jason deserved to be remembered. My wonderful, brave, rash little brother deserved this memorial, to be remembered by EVERYONE.

Jason’s memorial wasn’t the ONLY reason for my apprehension. Apollo... he’d be at Camp. Seeing him in a vision while he was sleeping was one thing, but in person...?

My feelings towards Apollo were... complicated. I was bitter that he survived instead of my brother. His appearance was too similar to my brother’s to escape thinking of my baby brother... and how he was gone. But there was also an undercurrent of guilt. I hadn’t exactly been welcoming to Apollo when we met up again.

(some months ago)

We’d finally subdued the Teumessian fox. It had been a hard battle, but we’d chased it into Tartarus eventually. Just because the fox couldn’t be CAUGHT, didn’t mean it couldn’t be NEUTRALIZED. Portals to Tartarus are more common than you’d expect, thankfully.

We headed to Camp Jupiter. Hopefully, the Romans were able to hold off the attack Trophonious’s prophecy had told of. It would have already occurred by now, but perhaps we could help with the aftermath. With the newfound cooperation between Greeks and Romans, Hunters of Artemis were welcome in New Rome. I’d hoped to run into Annabeth and Percy as well since they were going to New Rome for college. At the very least, I’d get to talk to Reyna again. It’s a pity that girl didn’t want to be a Hunter. Anyone who could take me down while restrained was someone I wanted by my side.

We approached the Camp boundaries. Even from a distance, I could tell it had taken a beating. The walls surrounding the camp were burnt and crumbling in places. There were even gaps in the wall - unheard of for Romans. They were great builders and architects. For them to have not repaired the damage yet meant that either whatever had caused it had occurred VERY recently, they had higher priorities than repairing the walls, or that there weren’t enough resources or manpower to do so. Worst of all, it could be a mix of the three.

I attempted to calm myself. No point working myself up until I knew exactly what had happened. Maybe it wasn’t so bad.

I didn’t believe that.

At least Jason wouldn’t be among the casualties. He was many, many miles away at a boarding school. My little brother was safe. Though I still hadn’t heard from him...

I pushed that thought away. Communications were down. Not hearing from him was expected. Apollo would likely have visited Jason, he’d tell me how he was doing and soothe the nagging feeling in the back of my head.

We approached the gates. The sentry tensed. “Who are you?” He called. “State your business!”

This guard didn’t recognize us Hunters, which meant he was probably new. Come to think of it, he seemed rather young... why was an inexperienced recruit on duty when an attack seemed to have just occurred?

Fear curdled in my stomach. How shorthanded were they?

“We are the Hunters of Artemis,” I announced. “I am Artemis’s lieutenant, Thalia Grace. I need to speak with Reyna.”

The boy hesitated for a moment, but then left his post, presumably to retrieve Reyna. That was generally a bad call, leaving the gates unguarded, but it didn’t look like they had much of a choice. Again I wondered: what had happened here?

Reyna appeared on the watchtower a few minutes later. She glanced at us, then climbed down and opened the gates.

Reyna had seen better days. Bruises, cuts, and burns littered her body. She looked unkempt and exhausted, as if she hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in weeks. Her eyes were haunted, but the steely glint of determination still shone within them. Her eyes widened when she saw me, her face turning somber. Something cold trickled down my back. Why would looking at me cause her to become more depressed than she already seemed to be? I’d expect her to be glad to have more help, with the state things were in.

Unless something had happened to my friends. Annabeth. Percy. They were heading to New Rome. Could something have...?

I blurted out quickly, dreading having my suspicions confirmed, but needing to know, “Annabeth, Percy... are they alright?”

She nodded, her face not changing expression. “They arrived just a few hours ago. They’re resting in one of our spare tents right now .”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. They were fine. Anything else she had to tell me couldn’t possibly be as bad as their deaths would be... right?

I told myself that, but didn’t ask what WAS wrong. At the time I told myself that Reyna was simply sad about her fellow soldier’s death, that I’d been imagining it when she grew sadder upon seeing me. Now I can admit that I had suspected that something worse was coming. If I didn’t ask, then maybe nothing would be wrong. As soon as I asked, I wouldn’t be able to pretend things were alright. It’s a stupid philosophy, I know, but it got me through Jason’s death the first time. I’d simply pretended he’d never existed. That I’d always been an only child.

She looked at me as if expecting me to ask something. I didn’t. Finally, Reyna sighed. “Come. I have something to tell you. I think it would be best if you reunited with your friends first, before hearing the bad news.”

My dread increased. There was no doubt now; something truly terrible had happened, something that would devastate me personally. But I had no clue what it could be.

She escorted us through camp. Everywhere I looked I saw injured campers and devastation. Many buildings were heavily damaged by cannonballs, walls collapsing, bricks strewn about the ground. It’s a testament to Roman engineering that most of the structures hadn’t completely collapsed.

There were fewer legionnaires around than usual, and those that were up didn’t appear to be in much better shape than Reyna. Several were puffy around the eyes, as if they’d been crying.

Reyna escorted me to a large tent and opened the flap. Percy and Annabeth were sitting on a bed inside, holding each other, their faces streaked with tears.

It took them a minute to notice me. Annabeth saw me first. “Thalia...” she gasped, and collapsed into tears. I hugged her close to me, stroking her hair like I used to, back when it was just me, her, and Luke against the world, when she was a young child running from monsters. She may be older than me now, but I’d always comfort her when she needs it.

Percy looked up at Reyna. “Does she know?” he asked, his voice dead.

She shook her head. “Not yet. I want her to be here, with her friends, to hear the news.”

My heart froze. I could feel the air thicken with tension. The next few words would change my world.

But I couldn’t pretend forever. I had to know. “What happened?” I asked in a low voice. “Why are you crying? What happened that was so terrible, you had to wait until now to tell me?”

Reyna looked straight at me, her eyes swimming with tears, and uttered the words that would shatter my world. “Jason is dead.”

My vision blurred as I collapsed. On some level, I had expected it. That did not lessen the pain. Distantly I could hear Annabeth calling my name, stroking my hair, trying to return some semblance of the comfort I had given her. But all I could think was

Jason is dead.

He’s dead.

My little brother is dead.

He’s dead again.

And this time he’s not coming back.

I screamed. The guttural howl reverberated throughout camp. I was sure that everyone could hear my anguish, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered. Not then.

I screamed until my throat was hoarse and raw. Choking on my sobs, I gasped out a question. “What happened?”

Reyna hesitated, reluctant. “I wasn’t there. I only know what I was told.”

“Just TELL ME!” I screamed, the air crackling with electricity, wind starting to blow inside the tent.

Reyna spoke slowly and clearly, so she would not have to say any of it twice. “Jason received a prophecy many months ago. It stated that if he and Piper went after the emperor Caligula, one of them would die. He decided that he couldn’t stand aside and let Caligula do what he wanted, nor could he allow Piper to die. He decided that he would be the one to die. When Apollo asked for his help fighting against Caligula, he accepted. He died fighting Caligula, holding him off long enough for Apollo, Meg, and Piper to escape.”

Of course.

Of COURSE, Apollo involved Jason in his quest. OF COURSE, Jason gave his life to save them. That was just the kind of stupid, heroic thing he’d do.

Caligula.

My blood boiled.

Was he still alive?

“Is Caligula dead?” I growled, my voice low and rough.

“Not yet,” Reyna replied, her voice determined and deadly.

“He launched an attack on camp a few hours after Apollo and Meg arrived with... “ Reyna stumbled on her words for a moment, “with Jason’s body. We didn’t even have time for a funeral before Caligula attacked a second time. His body is in the Fifth Cohort’s barracks. Would... would you like to see him?”

“Yes.” I croaked.

Reyna escorted me once again. We didn’t have far to travel, but each step seemed to stretch into eternity.

“I’ll let you have some privacy,” she spoke softly and walked back towards the tent we came from.

I opened the door to the barracks.

There he was.

My little brother. Dead in his bed. I could almost pretend he was sleeping, if not for the pallor to his skin.

Beside him sat a boy with curly brown hair. A young girl sat a few bunks away, fiddling with a belt. They looked up as I entered.

That boy... Apollo.

Apollo.

Apollo was here.

Apollo, who I had asked to check on my brother.

Apollo, who had involved Jason in his quest.

Apollo, who had lived while Jason had died.

Did he even care?

Did it matter to him at all?

The gods watched us die. Sometimes they killed us themselves. They expected us to sacrifice our lives again and again, while they just WATCHED. They would NEVER do what Jason had done.

Except for Artemis, a tiny voice whispered in my head. She trapped herself to save Annabeth.

I ignored it. Artemis was the exception, not the rule. I remembered all those years ago when Luke and I had been on the run together. We had entered a mansion, becoming trapped in it. But we had not been the only occupants. Halcyon Green, one of Apollo’s sons, had been confined there for decades. Apollo had cursed him for the crime of saving a young girl who wasn’t supposed to live. His punishment? Being trapped in his own home for decades, his voice stolen, used to lure in young demigods to die. How many demigods, how many CHILDREN had died before us? Did any of them care?

Apollo had been responsible for it all.

He was the worst of them all.

How DARE he be here?! How dare he even LOOK at Jason, after he’d gotten him killed?!

I let out an animalistic yell as I launched myself at Apollo.

“WHY. IS. MY. BROTHER. DEAD.” I screamed, lifting Apollo into the air and slamming him into the nearby wall. The air crackled with electricity, small bursts running down my arms and into Apollo’s body. He shuddered as he was slammed with wave after wave, convulsing, unable to leave my grasp. He made a soft choking noise as he stared back at me, terrified.

“GET OFF OF HIM!” I heard from my right. Golden scimitars flashed into existence as a small figure clad in green slammed into me, breaking my grasp, freeing Apollo. Meg interposed herself between me and my prey.

She glared up at me, the rhinestones on her glasses blazing. “He TRIED to save Jason! He risked his own life to try to get Jason home safely!”

I scoffed. “Risked his own life? Yeah, right. Gods don’t care about mortals’ lives. They’ve proven that again and again. Jason would be alive otherwise!”

“He did. He stabbed himself through the chest with his OWN ARROW to give Meg, Piper, and Jason a chance to escape!”

I let out a broken laugh. “Really? And how did THAT work out?”

“HE. TRIED.” She screamed.

Apollo spoke up, his voice softly cutting through the air, “If you want to hurt me... please. Just leave Meg out of it. I won’t fight back if you do that.”

“APOLLO!” Meg cried out, twisting around to face Apollo, aghast.

He just continued to look at me, resigned. Accepting whatever I would do to him.

The anger drained out of me. “You mean that,” I whispered. “You really mean that.”

Apollo just continued staring at me determinedly, though his whole body shook. He would accept whatever I would do to him, so long as his young friend wasn’t harmed.

I collapsed on the nearest bed. Hurting Apollo would not help anything. Jason would still be dead.

“Leave,.” I whispered hoarsely. “Leave me with my brother. And don’t come back.”

Apollo looked like he’d been slapped. He left without a word, Meg trailing after him.

I waited a moment, then another. I picked up a pillow and screamed into it.

I cried myself to sleep soon after.

(present)

I’d calmed down after a few days had passed. It wasn’t Apollo’s fault. My brother had made his choice, Apollo hadn’t chosen for him. Caligula was to blame, not him.

I still didn’t want to see Apollo. I felt bad that I’d attacked him, lashed out at him when he didn’t deserve it. But a part of me still blamed him for Jason’s death, even then.

When Reyna had requested the Hunters’ help in the final battle against Python and the Triumvirate, I’d agreed immediately. But I hadn’t approached Apollo when I saw him in the lead up to the fight. I saw him looking at me one time as if wanting to talk to me. I’d purposely turned away. It was safest not to interact with him. I hadn’t been sure how I would react if we started talking again.

When everyone was teleported to Mount Olympus and Zeus declared that Apollo had died, I didn’t know WHAT to think. I was still kinda pissed at him, but felt guilty for feeling pissed. Whatever my feelings, he didn’t deserve to die.

I didn’t have long to stew over my thoughts, since things got VERY hectic VERY quickly.

Now though… now I’d had time to think. I didn’t know exactly what state Apollo would be in when I saw him at Camp Half-blood, whether he’d regained more of his memories, whether he remembered Jason… and whether he remembered our fight. Though, I suppose it couldn’t really be called a fight. The other person has to fight back for that…

I shook off the thought and took a deep breath. We would arrive at camp within the hour. I needed to be ready.

——————————————————————————————————–

We arrived at camp as the sun peeked over the horizon. As we descended Half-Blood Hill to enter camp, I stared at my pine tree. I had held off Hades’ minions to give Luke and Annabeth time to escape and had died as a result. Or I would have, if Zeus hadn’t transformed me into a tree at the last minute.

I had survived my last stand.

Jason hadn’t survived his.

We made our way to Artemis’s cabin. A golden doe was watching a small grey tabby cat run around near the front entrance, climbing trees, jumping, and generally expending energy.

That doe… I took a closer look at her. She turned her head to face me, staring at me with cold silver eyes.

Ah. Artemis had decided to shapeshift into a deer for some reason. But why? And where did the cat come from?

Artemis turned back into her usual form of a twelve-year-old girl. “Thalia!” she greeted me. “I’ve been waiting for you. We need to discuss certain arrangements for your brother.”

Just then the small cat - more of a kitten, really, looking more closely at it - performed some impressive acrobatics off a nearby tree, leaping off a branch that was 15 feet off the ground onto a tree trunk, then jumping off of THAT trunk to ping-pong to a different trunk, just farther down, like a wall jump in a platformer game, except going downwards instead of upwards. On that jump, the kitten catapulted itself towards us, landing at our feet, standing proudly.

Artemis beamed at the kitten. “That was an excellent show of maneuverability, Meg!” she congratulated.

Wait… MEG?

The kitten glowed. A second later a small twelve-year-old girl had taken its place.

I blinked in surprise. I knew intellectually that Meg was a goddess now, but somehow I hadn’t thought about what all that meant. Like that she had shapeshifting powers now.

But why a kitten?

Meg noticed my quizzical look and explained. “Artemis is training me to use my divine powers better. Transformation can be really useful for stealth and moving around, plus it can be harder to hit a small target. I’ve tried other forms, but so far I’ve been most comfortable as a cat, so I’m practicing as that before trying to master other forms. I’ve still TRIED other forms though. Still, haven’t found a bird I’m comfortable with…” she muttered.

I stared for a moment, unsure what to say to that. Artemis broke the silence.

“Meg, could you fetch Apollo, please? I need to update Thalia on the plans for Jason’s memorial.

“Sure,” Meg said, and walked off to the nearby Apollo cabin.

Artemis turned to me. “Apollo wanted a memorial for Jason, something to let campers know who he was and what he did… and, I suspect, as a reminder to himself of what Jason meant to him. He had an idea for what it should be, but I wanted to run it by you first. You’re his sibling, you ought to have a say.”

She turned and stared at Half-blood hill, and at my tree in the distance. Even this far away, I could see the faint glow from the Golden Fleece which had set me free all those years ago.

“Apollo wanted a memorial near your tree. It seemed fitting, to have the two of you together. and he wanted it to have the last word Jason said, the thing that Jason drilled into his head - ‘Remember’“

That seemed like a good idea, but it needed more details. What would Jason want?

And I had it.

“I like that idea,” I spoke slowly, “but there needs to be more. Jason’s not the only one to have died, and he’d have HATED to be the only one remembered when other people deserve it too. Build the memorial. Make a plaque for Jason, telling who he was and why he died. But make it for MORE than just Jason. Surround it with the names of all the others who have died before their time, who died bravely - Greek, Roman, nymph, even machine if they have a soul. Make sure that all their sacrifices are recognized.”

Artemis smiled at me proudly. “That seems like a fine addition, Thalia.”

Meg rounded the corner just then, Apollo following close behind. I nearly gasped. With his blond hair and sky-blue eyes, he could’ve been mistaken for a two-year-old Jason - the age I lost him at the first time.

Apollo flinched when he saw me, retreating slightly. I winced. I’d felt kinda bad about hurting Apollo and yelling at him when he looked sixteen, but now? I felt pretty horrible. This child, who looked so much like my little brother, was scared of me - and for good reason.

Artemis noticed Apollo’s reaction and gave me a hard look. I couldn’t meet her eyes.

She turned to Apollo, shooting me a warning glare, as if saying I don’t know what you did, but if you hurt him, I’ll turn you into a jackalope.

She told Apollo my idea, to have the memorial be for everyone who dies, who deserves to be remembered. Apollo teared up a little at that, making a request, “Can we put Heloise, Money Maker, and Crest on the memorial too?”

I didn’t know who those people were - Money Maker, in particular, seemed like a VERY strange name - but they clearly meant a lot to him.

“They deserve to be remembered,” I announced somberly. “I’m sure Jason would like that.”

Apollo smiled as he started crying, tears running down his cheeks. He stepped towards me, looking like he was about to give me a hug - and then thought better of it, and stopped.

I needed to lay this to rest.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you before, about Jason’s death. And I shouldn’t have hurt you,” at that, I heard a small hiss from Artemis, but I continued onwards. I’d take whatever punishment she deemed fit later. Apollo was my focus right now. “I was furious and wanted to hurt anyone or anything I could. That doesn’t excuse what I did. You were hurting too, I should have seen that. I DID see that but didn’t want to believe it. I needed someone to blame, and you were convenient. You didn’t deserve it. And I was wrong. You do care.”

Apollo stared at me, unbelieving. Then he surged forwards and wrapped his little arms around my leg, which was as high up as he could reach.

Meg escorted Apollo back to his cabin. Artemis waited until they were out of earshot, then confronted me. “You will not hurt Apollo again,” she stated coldly. It was a statement of fact, rather than a threat. She would not allow her little brother to be harmed, not now that she had the power to stop it.

That was fine with me. I had no intention of doing so.

She changed tone. “We’ll have the memorial service in three days time. That will be plenty of time for the Hephaestus cabin to craft the plaques and build the wall to record the fallen’s names on.”

Those three days passed quickly. Apollo no longer appeared nervous around me, though he didn’t seek me out much either.

On the morning of the third day, the entire camp assembled on Half-blood Hill. The Hephaestus cabin had installed the plaques and the memorial wall overnight. Jason Grace, Crest, Heloise, and Money Maker’s names were carved into the wall, as those of us who knew Jason best swapped stories. My rendition of how EXACTLY Jason had gotten that scar on his upper lip was extremely popular.

I heard a new name for the hill, in the snatches of conversation I caught at dinner. “Grace Hill.”

I smiled. I used to despise that last name because it reminded me of my mother, but now it meant something different. It connected me to my brother. It declared proudly that Jason had been my brother, my fantastic little brother.

Smiling, I decided that the name “Grace” wasn’t so bad after all.

[unlikely-allies]

****SPOILERS****

4/5

Now 14 years old, Percy has been aware of his demigod status for two years and is finally starting to get the hang of it. Unfortunately, it is a bad time to be a hero in training. Kronos is growing more powerful and half-blood have joined his cause or have simply gone missing. Chiron has put the satyrs on red alert, sending them all out to scout for new half-bloods. When Grover believes that he has found two new demigods at a boarding school in Maine, Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth head up to assist him. The half-bloods, a brother and sister named Nico and Biance di Angelo, are being hunted by a manticore disguised as the school’s vice principal. During the battle against the monster, Artemis and her Hunters appear to assist, but Annabeth is stolen away by Luke and his minions. The Hunters had been tracking a great monster when they came across Percy and his friends. Artemis decides to continue on in the pursuit and sends her Hunters with the half-bloods to stay at Camp Half-Blood until her return.

Bianca and Nico are orphans. When Zoe, Artemis’ lieutenant, offers Bianca a place among the Hunters, Bianca is quick to join and get away from her big sister duties. In honor of the Hunters’ arrival at camp, Chiron announces that there will be a special game of capture the flag held. Thalia and Percy agree to be co-captains, but Thalia does her best to take charge. That night, Percy has a nightmare involving Annabeth being in danger. Zoe has a similar dream about Artemis. Chiron decides that a quest will be taken and chooses Zoe to meet with the Oracle. The prophecy given to Zoe is as follows:

“Five shall go west to the goddess in chains, One shall be lost in the land without rain, The bane of Olympus shows the trail, Campers and Hunters combined prevail, The Titan’s curse must one withstand, And one shall perish by a parent’s hand.”

Zoe chooses two additional Hunters, Phoebe and Bianca, and then two campers, Thalia and Grover to makeup the quest team. Zoe will not permit Percy to go because he is a boy. Phoebe falls victim to a prank by the Stoll brothers, but Zoe doesn’t want to choose another person to replace her and the team sets off without a fifth member. Percy decides to follow the team using Annabeth’s invisibility hat, and Nico makes him promise that he will try to protect Bianca.

In Washington D.C., Percy discovers that Luke and the General know that the quest team is near and have sent a monster after them. Luke is trying to have Thalia separated from the others so that he can bring her over to his side. Percy reveals his presence to the quest team to warn them, but Percy and the team still end up having to battle the Nemean Lion. In speaking with Bianca, it is revealed that she and Nico should be older than they appear. Roughly 70 years ago, Bianca and Nico were told that their parents had died and were brought to stay at the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The children believed that they stayed for only a short period of time. In reality, 70 years passed, thought the children had not aged. Someone picked up the children and brought them to the boarding school in Maine, and that’s where Grover found them. Oddly, no one asks for more information about this.

The team arrives in New Mexico, where Aphrodite comes to meet with Percy. She claims to be very invested in the Percy-and-Annabeth love story that has yet to unfold. She claims that she is responsible for the Stoll brother’s prank on Phoebe, which allowed for Percy to be the fifth member of the quest. She also warns the half-bloods to be careful in Hephaestus’ land and not to take anything from his junkyard. In passing through the junkyard the quest team admires the objects that the gods have thrown away. Unfortunately, Bianca tries to take a figure to give to Nico and the team is attacked by the giant figure Talos. Bianca makes up for her mistake by climbing inside the figure and destroying it, but she is lost in the process.

Even with the loss of Bianca, the team knows that they must push ahead. It is revealed that Luke and the General are searching for the Ophiotaurus, a cow-serpent sea creature that when sacrificed bestows the power to destroy the gods. Ironically, Percy had saved the Ophiotaurus when it was caught in a net at camp, and the creature followed him across the country. Grover agrees to take the Ophiotaurus back to camp while the others continue on the quest. The team tracks Artemis and Annabeth to the Mountain of Despair, which is currently located in San Francisco. Thalia suggests that they borrow Annabeth’s father’s car to travel to the mountain, so Percy and Thalia get to meet the man with which Annabeth has such a complicated relationship. Mr. Chase agrees to help them, and it is clear that he misses Annabeth.

Zoe reveals that the Mountain of Despair was her home before she became a Hunter. Zoe was once one of the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas and guardians of a sacred tree. Zoe was exiled for helping Hercules, and since then she has been wary of heroes. When they arrive at the Mountain, Artemis is struggling under the weight of the sky, having taken the burden from Annabeth who had been tricked into taking it from Luke. The General is revealed to be Atlas, and Percy and Zoe face off against Zoe’s father. When it is clear that he and Zoe won’t be able to beat Atlas, Percy takes the weight of the sky from Artemis so that the goddess may fight him instead. During the battle, Artemis forces Atlas back under the weight of the sky. Unfortunately, Zoe succumbs to her wounds. Artemis rushes to Mount Olympus to attend the Winter Solstice Council where the gods will vote about taking action against Kronos. Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth also attend the council to argue against killing the Ophiotaurus, which while alive continues to pose a threat to the gods. To ensure that she will not be the child of the prophecy, Thalia agrees to join Artemis’ Hunters, and Poseidon prevents the other gods from killing the Ophiotaurus and Percy.  

Back at camp, Percy tells Nico about what happened to Bianca. Nico is furious and blames Percy for his sister’s death. When some of Luke’s soldiers appear, Nico causes the ground to split open and the soldiers fall into the chasm before Nico turns and sprints away from camp. Grover, Annabeth, and Percy discuss what to do about Nico and that fact that he is obviously a child of Hades. Given that Nico and Bianca were born more than 70 years ago, their existence doesn’t technically break the oath between the Big Three, but it does provide another contender for the prophecy.

The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan contains the first really sad moments in the series. This adds additional layers to the story and makes it more compelling for older readers. As Kronos continues to rise to power and the epic battle draws closer, each book is packed with more action and higher stakes. Thalia taking herself out of contention for the prophecy would’ve reduced some of the drama because we can more or less count on Percy to do the right thing. However, introducing Nico di Angelo and giving him a great deal of rage at a young age may up the stakes even higher than before.

Annabeth and Percy’s relationship has been strictly platonic up until this point Aphrodite’s conversation with mercy hints that it will become something more, but it has been endearing to watch the relationship grow as the two of them get older. The fact that Annabeth is/was considering joining the Hunters casts the future of their relationship in uncertainty, and makes the reader more emotionally invested in the one of them finally realizing their feelings for the other and acting on them. As much as I am suppose to be upset that Thalia joins the Hunters, I really can’t be. I found Thalia to be annoying and conceited. She treats everyone as though they are below her and can’t stop and consider the opinions of others when making a plan or taking action. Her last stand on Half-Blood Hill ends up looking less like a selfless act and more like typical Thalia refusing to let others share her spotlight.

The addition of characters like Thalia and Zoe that aren’t immediately likable but aren’t villains also added more depth to the story. The Titan’s Curse may not have been my favorite adventure, but in terms of reading quality I believe that it was the best book in the series so far. For this reason I am looking forward to seeing how the remaining books in the series continue to evolve.

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

Unpopular pjo opinion: Percy became too op and Mary Sue for me in The Last Olympian. Like, did he really have to become near-indestructible? Why would Annabeth just jump in between him and (to her knowledge) certain death? Like, shes smart enough that she would have planned further ahead instead of doing something so irrational! And why did Percy just decide not to tell anyone about his invincibility until much later? Could have helped the group out in the beginning, y'know!

I mean…I wouldn’t call him a Mary Sue, no. I definitely see the angle you’re coming from, but like. Literally a normal mortal would have stood no chance against Kronos. It just wasn’t going to happen. Percy got the smallest scratch from that scythe and almost had his soul burned away. And to everyone’s knowledge right up until Percy handed over the knife, it looked like Percy was going to have to fight Kronos and win if Olympus stood any chance. Also, the army for the ‘good side’? It was like…40 campers, the Hunters, and some nature spirits. Versus huge, seemingly never-ending hordes of monsters and twisted demigods and mortal mercenaries and angry minor gods and titans. Coming at the city from all sides. They would not have been able to win this without Percy swimming in the Styx. That’s just a fact- he was able to take down way more monsters and villains than before he got the curse. Camp Half-Blood has always been relatively small headcount wise. He was convinced to take the curse because that’s what they needed to happen.

ALSO, It was important because Luke also had taken up the curse, and Percy and Luke are very obviously literary foils. Luke took the curse to serve Kronos and Percy took it to defeat him. Luke took the curse to protect himself and Percy took the curse to protect his friends. Throughout the entire series, the boys are clearly meant to be foils of each other, and there are multiple moments where it seems as though Percy is ‘following in Luke’s footsteps’ so to speak, so it absolutely makes sense that jumping in the Styx is something Percy would have to do. 

Not to mention, Percy taking up the curse was (very cleverly, in my opinion) used as a way to show us he’s becoming a man. Remember at the end of botl where Poseidon tells him he’d ‘be a man if we were in Sparta’? A very common thing in books to symbolize a character growing up is to have them separate from their mother. Killing the mother off is unfortunately the most common way to do this, but Sally is amazing and got lucky. We, as readers by this point, are used to Percy asking his mom for advice. “Should I leave camp to join this quest? What do you think this means?” stuff like that. The fact that Percy needs his mother’s blessing for the curse to work makes the scene in their kitchen a turning point. He’s not asking if she thinks this is a bad idea, he’s saying “This is my only shot of saving Olympus. This is the only way. I need to do this.” Sally has spent her son’s entire life trying to defy fate. She kept him out of camp too long, she surrounded herself with the worst mortals possible to keep him safe, she wanted to keep him with her because he’s her baby. And he absolutely still is, no one’s contesting that, but the scene forces her to confront the fact he’s growing up. She has to make the decision to give him up, to put him in the hands of his own fate. The scene is used to show the readers ‘this is not the little boy who started the series’. He doesn’t need his mom to drive him into battles anymore. And the fact that Sally did give her blessing was good for Percy. He knows he’s the biggest light in his mother’s life, you can tell he’s more panicked about how his death would affect her than he was about actually dying. The fact that she symbolically gave him up to fate…He left the apartment knowing he didn’t have to worry about her. He knew that his mother had come to terms with everything and would, eventually and with help from Paul, be okay after he died. That was a strong moment for them both, and it allowed Percy to focus all his energy on the war. 

As for Annabeth…that scene on the bridge was so important oh my God. It WAS irrational, you’re correct, and that’s why it’s one of the most meaningful moments in the series! 

Annabeth, as we’ve seen time and time again, even as recently as ‘Blood of Olympus’, is terrified of emotions. She hates them! Because they’re not rational. It drives her crazy, crazy that she can’t understand things like her relationship with her family, or her relationship with Luke. Annabeth is this strong minded, rational being, but that’s not how feelings work. She feels things very strongly, and that scares her, because it leaves her confused and unsure of what she’s doing. 

We see Annabeth act irrationally many times throughout the series…and those moments are always connected to Luke. Thinking if she just yells loud enough she can get through to him, refusing to give up on him even when he’s literally got Kronos living inside him, basically her every thought about him is crazy. It’s understandable, certainly, because he means so much to her, but? From the standpoint of literally everyone else? He’s Kronos’ number one man and host, he’s not coming back (and it’s the irrational emotions that save him! that save Olympus! that’s so important!). But the point is, this entire series, Annabeth’s ONE weak spot has always been Luke. That’s why Percy was always so frustrated with her, especially in the later books. She’d defend Luke to her grave even though he was evil, for all intents and purposes, and as Percy was a young teenager with a very strong crush I’m sure you can imagine how that’d make him feel second best? It’s fairly obvious from botl that he knew or at least suspected Annabeth had a crush on him…but she didn’t even have her feelings for Luke figured out at that point. Annabeth never made any irrational decisions regarding Percy. She’s not the best with emotions, absolutely, and from Percy’s point of view, all her strongest feelings have always been for Luke. He trusts her as a best friend, he trusts her to not defect to the Titan Army and keep fighting for the gods, but Luke’s the one she’s always going to defend. Luke’s always gonna be her weakness. Kronos is using Luke’s body as a shell and she still believes in her heart he’s in there and she can get through to him. And that’s where most of Annabeth’s energies lay, at this point. She’s worried about Percy, and she’s mad at him (but it’s mostly stemming from worry), and she has a crush on him…but she’s never been so overcome with her feelings for him that she did something stupid before. That’s always been a Luke thing, a Luke thing against her will, and I think that’s why she really doesn’t realize “I love Luke like a brother” until the climax of the fight. She’s never had a moment like that with Percy, because Percy is always right there and dependable and doesn’t need anyone to save him. She clamps down on her feelings for him at times because she’s afraid of what will happen to her if he dies. She doesn’t want Percy to be her weak spot because he has such a higher chance of dying. She’s scared of opening herself up and getting hurt again, like with Luke. She. hates. emotions. and. wants. to. suppress. them. 

And she doesn’t know at this point that she’s the one and only thing tying Percy’s soul to the mortal world.

But she sees someone advancing on his unprotected back with a poison-dripping knife (and how easily could that have been the cursed blade to reap the hero’s soul?)

And she feels it in the pit of her stomach that something’s wrong, she knows he’s not going to be able to defend himself in time. So what does she do, willingly, for the first time in her life? 

Gives in to her irrational feelings. 

She doesn’t fight them at all. She jumps in front of the knife. 

This is just such an important turning point for the two of them- Percy never expected her to do something like that for him. For Luke, maybe Thalia, sure, but he probably expected a more calculated move, or a plan for himself. This was the first time he really started to see the depth of her feelings for him, which made him feel braver confronting his own feelings for her. And Annabeth now immediately has to confront the facts- she’d die for Percy. I don’t think that’s something she realized she would do before she jumped. She can’t ignore her emotions now, they just clawed their way out of their carefully constructed cage and shoved her in front of a poisoned dagger. 

And she’s still scared of feelings and things that don’t make sense, because that’s not something you shake so quickly, but because of this moment? When she was in the throne room and she realized either Luke or Percy was about to die? She was able to figure out her feelings pretty damn fast. 

(Also, didn’t Percy choose not to tell the camp about the Achilles’ Curse because he knew there was still a spy there?)

[athenasgal]

Here with me

This is my @demigodsecretsanta gift to @tinybroodinggay !!!! Happy holidays! Hope you like it, I’m a little bit new to this writing business so i hope I’m not too bad, so here you go!

Thalia was alone.

She was sitting on the floor of cabin 8-Artemis’s cabin with her eyes closed. She was thinking of what to say to the goddess, what to tell her about... what she would think if she told her about how she felt, and how she would be kicked out of being a hunter forever. Even with those thoughts in mind, she felt comfortable just sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, facing the door; she never felt like this when she spent time in her father’s cabin, Zeus. It was like she knew she belonged with the hunters and with Artemis, not with her father and his stormy cabin.

Still, she knew that if she told Artemis how she had been feeling since the war against Gaea ended, she would be kicked out for good. The whole point of being a hunter was of never falling in love and choosing to follow the goddess forever, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it: when Thalia first saw her, arriving with the Athena Parthenos, wearing her tattered uniform, looking so strong and powerful. Stop it. She told herself, you cannot give yourself that pleasure, you serve Artemis and no one else.

She thought about all those times she easily evaded those feelings. Nobody had ever made her feel like this... not even Luke, being all charming and handsome. Her mind wandered to all the people that she met when she was running away with him and Annabeth, all the things she saw and all the things she went trough. She remembered one time when she felt like she liked Luke, well, she had always liked him (excepted when he turned completely evil and betrayed everyone) but that time she felt like she liked being with him all the time.

Her mind remembered one day when she had entered a clothing store to see if she could steal a new shirt (since hers was smothered and ripped) or at least try to pay for one- she was a nice person, but with little money. Luke had told her before she entered the store “whatever you pick, I know you’ll look really good in it” and that had made her turn into a tomato.

She was trying no to look suspicious to the store’s employee when she ran into someone and said “ow shi-sorry, I mean sorry”. The lady turned to look at her and had a calm expression on her face “oh don’t worry my dear, there’s nothing to be sorry for” Thalia stepped back and noticed that the woman was completely and extremely beautiful, probably in her late 20’s with auburn sleek hair and pimples on her cheeks. Thalia almost gasped from all the beauty this woman emanated, and that made her blush even harder than when she had done five minutes ago. This woman wasn’t wearing any make up, and she didn’t need any. Her natural look was simply breath taking, it made Thalia want to be like her, no, to be with her, to touch her face and pass her fingers trough her sleek hair...she shook those thoughts away, what was that about?

“So, I see you need a new shirt Thalia” the woman said pointing at Thalia’s tattered shirt. She looked at the clothing racks that were standing next to her and picked out a pretty silver simple sweater. “Hm, I like this one, and I think it’s your size, so why don’t you have it? I’ll pay for it”

Thalia couldn’t even bring herself to talk, that beautiful woman was talking to her, and was even willing to buy her a new shirt! She could only get out “I-shirt-thank-I” the lady went to the counter and paid for the shirt, or at least, that was what Thalia thought until now, because what she had really seen was the woman just going to the counter and tell the store lady something (something Thalia didn’t understand, not like she was listening, she was just distracted looking at the beautiful lady walking around the store) and just went back to her and gave her the sweater.

“Um thanks, but...why are you giving this...to me?” Thalia took the sweater reluctantly.

The woman only laughed, and that made Thalia sigh, this woman was so beautiful, she could take everything Thalia owned and destroy it (not that she owned much) and she would thank her for it and kiss her hand. “You need this more than I do, believe me Thalia... but it is not the only thing I’m giving you”

That moment Thalia had realised she never mentioned her name in the conversation, but she couldn’t even mention normal words in that conversation.

“I’m also giving you some advice, mostly about your friend over there” her eyes wandered outside the store, where Luke was standing a few meters beside the entrance with his back to Thalia and the woman. “Luke? What about him? He’s my best friend!” Thalia got worried that something was wrong with her friend that she was starting to like. “Oh there is nothing wrong with him dear... right now. I’m just saying that you should not get too excited with him. Your future does not involve men in it. Now, I must go” The woman said that with a tone of seriousness in her voice, almost like it was true. Thalia turned to look at Luke as the woman’s voice repeated in her head. How was she supposed not to get excited? What did that mean? She didn’t really think Luke was exactly her type, with him being all perfect and charming, while she was punk and reckless. She only thought they would be good for each other and he was good company. However, what the lady had said made her see something clearly your future does not involve men in it.

Thalia tried to ask what that really meant but when she turned to face the woman, she was gone.

There was a knock on the door, and since she didn’t care who it was she didn’t answer. There was another knock. Thalia sighed and only said “what” without moving. She heard the door open and opened her eyes to see who was bothering her silence. And it was her. She stood in the doorway with her arms crossed wearing a purple shirt and ripped

jeans. Even then, she looked so strong and powerful and looked like she could rip you into a million pieces with just one look.

Thalia got so nervous that she started shaking, thinking she would not be able to control herself and let her feelings pour out of her...in front of a goddess’s shrine (which is never a good idea)

“Why have you been avoiding me, Grace?” She said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Thalia closed her eyes, so she wouldn’t have to look into her piercing brown ones.

“Well even if you pretend like you’re not avoiding me, you can’t do it forever. I will find you eventually, just like right now.” Thalia felt that she sat right next to her on the floor, her arm against hers, and their legs touching.

“Talk to me Grace” she said with real worry in her voice, and maybe that’s what made Thalia realise that her feelings were true and unavoidable.

“Reyna we can’t see each other, I can’t be with you alone, we have to ignore whatever this is” Thalia turned to face Reyna and noticed that her face was trying to hide sadness by doing a not so perfect poker face.

“I am a huntress of Artemis, you are praetor of new Rome, we are both leaders in what we do, but we chose to serve in different places, and we’re also from different places, I’m greek, you’re roman, I serve Artemis, I cannot fall in love with a-“

“Woah, why does that have to matter? Your brother is roman and he is dating a Greek, percy is a son of Poseidon and he’s with annabeth, daughter of Athena, their parents don’t even like each other, why do you have to bring the gods into our matters?” Reyna took her hands and pressed her forehead against Thalia’s.

“You know,” Reyna started, “I just came back from talking with Aphrodite, she said I won’t find my place with men, and she didn’t have to tell me that, because since I saw you, I somehow knew that my place was with you, Thalia Grace.”

“But Artemis won’t let me, I won’t be a hunter anymore.”

“Artemis chose not to be in the company of men, not women, what tells you that most of the girls that have been hunters haven’t been dating each other trough the centuries?”

“But, being a hunter means not falling in love, or liking someone.”

“That may seem to you, but most girls were found being together in the hunters since forever, Thalia, don’t tell me that you believe they chose not to be with someone forever”

“I just thought, if I accept my feelings...” she hesitated. “ if i told you that I like you, Artemis won’t want me in the hunt anymore.” Just by saying it, she felt a heavy weight being lifted from her chest, it’s true, she was afraid that the goddess wouldn’t want her service anymore, but she was more afraid of admitting that she liked Reyna.

“I like you too, like, really like you, I always thought that Jason was handsome, but he never mentioned his sister.” Reyna laughed, Thalia felt dizzy just from hearing her.

“But, what will I say to Artemis? She won’t be happy about my decisions. There will be consequences.”

Just as she finishes saying her sentence, the shrine in the corner of the cabin started shining, a silver light reflected by the moon came from the window, and an arrow appeared at the bottom of the shrine.

Thalia went to pick it up thinking “this is my firing letter” she picked up the silver arrow and saw that at its’ butt rolled, was a little note that had silver ink in a perfect handwriting that said: I approve of your decisions Thalia, you will not be fired from the hunt. I am happy for you and you two have my blessing. Artemis

“What is it?” Reyna had gotten up and stood behind Thalia.

Thalia couldn’t stop the tears from falling, but she was so grateful, so happy, and so relieved. With Artemis’s approval AND blessing, she had it all.

Since she didn’t answer, Reyna said “is something wrong, Thalia?” Thalia turned and hugged her tightly.

“She said she approves!” Thalia showed her the note and then proceeded to tell her the story about when Artemia bought her a new shirt and what her exact words were.

“So, this means you won’t keep avoiding me, Grace?” Reyna smiled.

“I won’t, promise”

“That’s great.” Since they weren’t touching anymore, they were facing each other and it had started to become awkward.

“So...can I kiss you now?” Reyna asked looking at the floor.

“That’s great.” Thalia repeated.

“Oh shut it, Grace.” Reyna grabbed her by the waist and kissed her lightly for a few moments.

Thalia felt her insides melt, not even ambrosia tasted as good as Reyna’s lips.

They separated, and Thalia said “um, maybe we shouldn’t me making out in Artemis’s cabin...”

“Yeah maybe we shouldn’t...but we’ve gotta leave an offering before we leave.”

Reyna set down her knife in the shrine, offering it to the goddess, as a sign of respect and gratefulness.

They left the cabin holding hands, into the dining pavilion, where everyone was in their own matters.

After dinner, the whole camp was going to spend the night at the beach, so Thalia and Reyna decided they may as well join them. Their friends had offered them to sit near them, but they figured that not being part of the seven (since they haven’t really had said that they were dating ) they wouldn’t be talking much, so they sought a clear spot almost near the woods, with a good distance from everyone else, to enjoy their own company.

They set a blanket on the sand and sa in silence, looking at the moon and stars, holding hands, like a couple that’s been together for so long.

Finally, Reyna said “you know, I felt so bad for myself when boys rejected me, that i never thought I would actually be with someone worth living with one day. Now that I am with you, I feel sad that i even bothered to waste my time on them.”

Thalia chuckled, “I never really saw myself with anyone, until you arrived with the Athena Parthenon looking so intimidating and scary, that’s when I said: that’s gonna be my damn wife one day.” They started laughing so hard that they didn’t notice two people pass behind them going straight to the woods, until they started talking.

Reyna and Thalia noticed that someone had sneaked behind them but decided not to care much, since they weren’t on duty and laid down again.

But the people behind them started talking “come here, no one’s going to notice”

Then silence.

Then another voice “If we take more than twenty minutes just to get more chips they are going to notice seaweed brain.”

Thalia sat up. She whispered “ shit, that’s percy and annabeth. What are they doing in here? I thought they were with the others”

Reyna sat up too, “well maybe they didn’t see us, so they thought it would be a good making out spot.”

“Ugh shut up, I hope that’s not what they’re doing” Thalia didn’t really want to see her friends eating each other’s faces (or anything else, since she knew percy and annabeth really well)

“Then lets go and tell them to make out somewhere else.” They got up and started to walk slowly toward them.

They reached them by the side of a big tree, Percy was pinning Annabeth against the tree and both her legs and arms were around him, and obviously they were kissing.

Thalia and Reyna found the situation a bit awkward and decided to head back, but since there was not much light in that part of the woods, Thalia stumbled on a rock and fell on top of Reyna, making a lot of noise when falling.

“Whoa who’s there?” Percy said after separating from annabeth and uncapping his sword, giving a little bit of light from the celestial bronze.

“Reyna? Thalia? Hey what are you doing in here?” Annabeth asked trying to get them up from the floor.

“We could ask you the same question mr and mrs going to get chips” Thalia said sarcastically.

“What-were you spying on us?” Percy demanded while also blushing really hard.

“No, eel head, but we saw you walk through our spot on the beach and thought you came here to make out and we were right and we came to tell you to go somewhere else since we’re going to use this place now.” Thalia said.

“Hey! We got here firs-“ Percy started saying, but Annabeth interrupted him.

“Wait, so you mean, Thalia finally accepted?!”

Thalia got confused “what do you mean accepted?”

“well I had to talk to someone about my problems when you were avoiding me, Grace.” Reyna told her. “But yes, she finally accepted, annabeth”

“IT WAS ABOUT TIME THALIA” annabeth hugged the both of them “ I’m so happy for you guys.

“Wait” percy said. “What’s going on here? Can we keep the making out spot or not?”

“Don’t call it that!” Annabeth elbowed him.

“Then tell me what’s happening because I’m lost”

Thalia explained “Reyna and I are dating, I didn’t think it was good for us at first, Reyna talked to annabeth and then I said yes. And we caught you guys kissing but we won’t say anything if you kindly give us the making out spot.”

“It’s not called like that! It doesn’t even have a name!” Annabeth yelled.

“Hey I don’t want to give you our making out spot, go get your own.” Percy said offended.

“If you don’t give it to us, we’ll tell everyone what we saw right here, Jackson” Reyna threatened.

Percy hesitated for a moment but then his expression turned calm and grabbed annabeth by the waist “ah whatever, everybody already knows we’re always kissing right wise girl?”

“Control yourself, Percy” annabeth tried to get away from his grip but he hold her more tightly and kissed her on the cheek.

“You know what, keep it, we already have tons of places to make out.” Percy said looking at his girlfriend, then whispered something in her ear.

Annabeth blushed and pushed him away jokingly “shut up seaweed brain, think of what you’re going to say to Jason for taking too long. Anyway, we give you the making out spot, so enjoy it guys.”

“Yeah, I know you will enjoy it, I have.” Percy smiled and winked.

“Come on seaweed brain, we haven’t finished yet” Annabeth grabbed his hand and they started walking towards the cabin, leaving Thalia and Reyna wondering what they were up to.

“So are we going to honor this place’s name or what?” Thalia offered.

“Well, it’s not called making out spot for nothing” Reyna kissed her, and Thalia didn’t think about the consequences at all.

-

[bookplush]

no because the titan’s curse is absolutely steeped in sacrifice, from beginning to end. the book begins with dealing with the repercussions of thalia’s sacrifice being reversed, of her being present again and percy’s reaction to that. annabeth charges the manticore and gets herself chucked off a cliff in order to save thalia and percy, bianca sacrifices herself to allow the quest to continue, zoe sacrifices herself to save artemis.

and at the very end of the book there are two more sacrifices, one by thalia to spare annabeth and the other by percy to spare nico.

thalia chooses to join the hunters in order to prevent the destruction of olympus, yes. but the whole reason she wants to spare olympus in the first place is to save annabeth. she nearly joined luke earlier in the book, and only didn’t because she saw that he had hurt annabeth, that he wasn’t the luke she knew anymore. allowing kronos-- allowing luke-- to take olympus would be unleashing someone with the willingness to physically torture annabeth into full power, and thalia can’t let that happen. so she makes a sacrifice and joins the hunters.

and it is a sacrifice. i know the book paints it like something she wants, but frankly i don’t believe it. thalia was nearly as anti-olympus as luke was in the olden days. the whole reason they remained on their own for so long was because they tried to avoid anything to do with olympus for as long as possible. thalia has always wanted freedom from olympus, just like luke has. but she gives up that freedom to become a lifelong servant of an olympian (albeit one of the nicer ones), in order to save the demigods loyal to olympus. in order to save annabeth.

and then, only a few chapters later, percy makes the choice to take on the responsibility of the hero of the prophecy, in order to spare nico that same burden. percy has never wanted to be the hero, he just wanted to find a place where he fit in and felt normal-- remember how, in tlt, he hated being claimed as a son of poseidon, because suddenly he was yet again an outcast in the camp supposed to be for outcasts? but in order to spare nico the responsibility, he chooses it for himself, even though it is, in his words, the last thing he wants to do.

both thalia and percy give up something they want-- thalia her freedom, percy his chance at normalcy-- for the good of the world, but they both make those sacrifices in order to spare one specific person. its also interesting that thalia’s sacrifice is letting go of the duty of the prophecy, while percy’s is accepting it.

i was confused for a bit about why the titans curse, of all books, focuses so heavily on sacrifice. wouldn’t it make more sense for the last book in a series to be focused on sacrifice? why a random third book? but then i realized that the ability to make this choice is crucial for percy’s character development. the only reason percy is able to make the choice to take on the prophecy is that he has witnessed so many other sacrifices over the course of the book-- bianca, zoe, thalia-- and he now understands their necessity.

in the first three books, percy goes on the quests and saves the world and stuff, but it’s always just to save someone he personally cares about. in tlt it’s his mom, in som it’s grover, and in ttc it’s annabeth. but after ttc, percy’s motivations broaden. in botl he’s aiming to save the whole camp, and then in tlo he’s fighting for the whole of olympus, the whole world. percy’s ability to deliberately forgo his own desire for a normal life in favor of becoming the hero of the prophecy is what allows him to transition from the reluctant hero only here to save his friends we see in the first books, to the confident battle leader giving out orders to the whole camp that he becomes in botl and tlo.

*i also think it’s important to note that when i say sacrifice here, i mean personal sacrifice. the thing, in my opinion, that makes percy significantly different from luke is that luke believes the ends justify the means, and so hurting and killing mortals and other demigods (including ones he cares about, like annabeth) is justified. meanwhile, since percy values personal loyalty so much, he won’t make the decision to hurt or kill others just to meet his own goals, even if he thinks those goals will benefit everybody (like how he could’ve screwed that naiad over in botl to clean the stables, but he chose to come up with a different solution. he could’ve said “well saving camp is more important than saving this one naiad, needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, tough luck” but he didn’t). personal sacrifice is what percy learns to respect here, not sacrifice of the unwilling.

annabeth : thalia :: nico : percy