#demigod of the great prophecy and etc

[clingonlikeclingwrap]

Been having CHB thoughts again lately… YJ98 PJO fusion??

[aroaceleovaldez]

Artemis kids?

Oh hey i had two asks of this sitting in my drafts right after one another, WHOOPS. >.< Sorry anons.

I suppose I will say the other thought I have about theoretical Artemis kids here - One thing I am very particular about when thinking about godly parents, or generally doing godswaps/godly parent assignments/whatever, is exploring different options and determining what might be the best fit. Cause a lot of deities have a lot of aspect overlap! And a lot of conflation and combining of concepts and stuff! So what I like to do is ask “Is there a better option for their godly parent? Is there a specific reason their godly parent needs to be this deity, or can I accomplish the same or even accomplish this easier with a different deity?” and work from there.

One of the things I see a lot with Artemis kids is the majority of the time, all the things you want from an Artemis kid you could actually probably get from an Apollo kid! (Or a Hecate or Persephone kid.) Apollo and Artemis share a ton of aspects - Archery/hunting, plague/averting disaster/healing, several sacred animals (particularly wolves is a popular one for oc themes), sky/planetary/space stuff, herding, protection of youth, etc etc. Artemis actually even has the title "Light Bringer." The majority of stuff comes down to like, Apollo leans slightly more towards civilization, music/arts, prophecy, and has some seafaring stuff, whereas Artemis leans more wilderness and magic and terrestrial stuff. That's about it! There's also some slight gender stuff (obviously Artemis presiding more over women and Apollo more over men), but both twins are very notably GNC particularly by ancient Greek standards (there are entire myths about this!). You can basically just have a dark mode Apollo kid to the exact same effect as you would an Artemis kid a lot of the time.

The rest of the time, if Apollo doesn't work, Persephone or Hecate probably cover what you're looking for! Persephone and Artemis are literally both sometimes considered thirds of Hecate. The three of them share a lot of common ground (and epithets! All three share the epithet "Angelos!"). If you want a dark and spooky magic moon-themed kid with association with wild animals, Hecate is a great option! (Heck, with Hecate you can even continue to play around with the territory of "Virgin goddess who has demigod kids" concept, since she's sometimes a virgin goddess too.) If you wanna have a dark and spooky moon-themed kid with wilderness associations and powers, Persephone is great!

[herrscherofmagic]

Second round of design sketches for my Hoyoverse Amphoreus AU!

Part 1

As before, explanations under the cut below ^.^

As mentioned before, the cast of this silly little AU is meant to be Amphoreus expies of the original Hoyoverse characters. I.e. this Focalors is totally unrelated to the canon Focalors, etc. etc. etc.

Phaethon (Based on ZZZ's Phaethon: the duo of Wise & Belle + their Bangboo, Eous)—

All know of the legendary Chrysos Heir Phaethon, but few know of their dual identity. Phaethon become known as an anonymous oracle who leaves behind stone slates with inscribed prophecies, and disappears before anyone can catch so much as a glimpse of their true form. But in recent years, a curious pair of siblings has opened up a quaint antique shop in Marmoreal Market, and rumor has it that this eccentric duo might hold the key to the truth behind Phaethon's identity!

yeah. I'm shamelessly ripping off ZZZ's whole thing w/ Wise & Belle running a store while secretly living a life as a legendary figure. sue me (this is a joke mihoyo plz don't sue me for realsies T_T)

This time, though, Eous is not a cute bangboo but instead a cute Chimera! Just a rather peculiar "Chimera" which takes on a form much like the Bangboo of New Eridu :)

As demigods of "Passage", they've tapped into some of the power of Janus, but only one sibling can fully use the power of the Janus coreflame, and neither has stepped up to the occasion... yet.

Amphoreus AU Belle & Wise also have a great rapport with Asphodel, much as the two of them in ZZZ canon have a good relationship with Trigger. That was a big part of the inspiration for bringing Trigger into this AU to begin with tbh. Belle & Wise fit the "demigod of Passage" role very well on their own but I was having trouble thinking of other ZZZ characters that'd fit with Amphoreus, but as I thought about Trigger's story and her relation w/ Phaethon, I realized she'd be a good fit for Amphoreus as well ^.^

Litost (Litost from Honkai Impact 3rd)—

One of the most infamous of the Chrysos Heirs, Litost is known for the juxtaposition of his high morals against his ruthless adherence to Talanton's law. As the ascendant demigod of Law, he wields tremendous power and is unafraid to judge even the Titans themselves. But when acting outside of his ordinary duties, he often shows kindness in his own discrete ways, leading to conflicting feelings amongst the many who fear his might.

yeah... it's this fucker. Fellow Captains, y'all know what this man is about, lol

I honestly really like his design and it's such a shame that HI3rd is allergic to playable males because Litost would have such a badass kit. I love his role in the story, and I have to admit I've found myself feeling surprisingly sympathetic for him. If I had to babysit a mentally unstable woman with the maturity of a kindergartner but the power of a literal planetary goddess... then yeah I think I'd probably be a bit pissed off at everyone just like Litost lmao

I digress, tho. Honestly in terms of personality & lore Litost in this AU is much like the canon one in HI3rd. I feel like he already fits the idea of "Law" really well, and he already has a sort of dignified demigodly vibe to him to begin with, so I didn't have to change much about his design at all either.

There's going to be other characters later on who I have to change quite a bit more, though, but that's for later ;)

Focalors (Furina/Focalors from Genshin Impact)—

To be merry and to celebrate all one's days is the way of life in the eyes of this Chrysos Heir: Focalors, the demigod of Ocean, inheritor of Phagousa's coreflame. Though supposedly a mighty hero, one is more likely to find Focalors lounging in the public baths of Marmoreal Palace, singing hymns of praise to the Titans and drowning herself with a seemingly endless flow of ambrosia!

This is an interesting case where I'm more directly inspired by Lady Furina, but I'm taking a fair bit of inspiration from Focalors as well (especially in her outward appearance). We learn much more about Furina, but canon Focalors is the figure that has the aspect of divinity in her character design.

So, I figure this Amphoreus AU Focalors is worth describing as a blend of the two, which is also fitting for her role as a demigod. One can easily imagine pre-demigod Focalors as behaving more like canon Furina, and [REDACTED] Focalors as being more like canon Focalors ;)

I think AU Focalors would get along pretty well with the rest of the Chrysos Heirs tbh. She's probably the most outgoing of them all, but by no means the weakest. Although... you're probably gonna wanna send someone like Litost to the frontlines before you send Focalors, lol

Alrighty! That wraps up round two of the Amphoreus AU designs :)

If I'm lucky I hope to get the rest done by the end of this week, but we'll seee

also here's a bonus close-up of Chimera Eous :D

[momentov1vere]

Assigning PJO/ HoO characters to Knights Radiant orders (+ my reasoning)

I put too much thought into this not to share it somewhere so here’s a sort-of character analysis that is much longer than it needs to be (bc I was bored and stuck in a car for 10 hours) :)

Not sure how much of a crossover there is between the PJO and Stormlight Archive fandoms but this was mostly for fun (and I want to see what happens lol)

Here we go!

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🔱 Percy Jackson : Stoneward

The powers don’t rly fit (Cohesion- manipulating objects at a molecular level- & Tension- changing the stiffness of something) but none of the Radiants have water powers so 🤷‍♀️

Loyalty is pretty much the #1 belief of the Stonewards (“Though sometimes gregarious, they are never flighty. If a Stoneward is your friend, they will be there for you”) and Percy’s fatal flaw is literally loyalty so that’s that

Percy is said to be one of the best fighters seen like anywhere in a long time and Stonewards are the order that is viewed as the best soldiers of the Radiants

They like a challenge and will often take on more than they can handle (like Percy choosing to take on the Great Prophecy)

Stonewards are also good at being able to find a solution to a difficult situation with only few resources and Percy often comes up with things on the fly/ improvises

I struggled SO MUCH picking one for Percy oh my god he had similarities to like half of them (I almost made him a Bondsmith or a Windrunner but they didn’t seem right)

🦉 Annabeth Chase : Elsecaller

Powers : Transformation (changing an object into something else- aka ‘Soulcasting’) and Transportation (looking/moving between realms); Annabeth likes creating new things (architecture) so there’s a bit of a connection to the Transformation power even tho she doesn’t really have powers

Elsecallers are always trying to reach their full potential, like how Annabeth is always be seen trying to learn new things and become the best version of herself

They are regarded as the ‘wisest’ Radiant order (just like Annabeth/ the Athena cabin are viewed as the ‘wisest’ demigods)

Annabeth always has her goals in mind but also always trying to lead and encourage others (like Damasen) which is common amongst Elsecallers

🐐 Grover Underwood : Edgedancer

Powers: Abrasion (altering the friction between surfaces) & Progression (quickly growing organic objects faster than normal- including plants, skin, body tissue, etc.)

He’s able to make plants grow faster using his magic reed pipe so that would translate into Progression

Abrasion would kind of fit for him too, bc of the goat legs (he’s able to navigate more difficult terrain than humans)

Edgedancers care about the ordinary/ overlooked people of the world and spend most of their time making sure those people are protected. Grover cares deeply about nature/ animals and always tries to protect them bc humans often deem nature unimportant (nature = ordinary people in this scenario)

☠️ Nico di Angelo : Dustbringer

Powers: Division (control over destruction/ decay) and Abrasion

I don’t know if Nico has anything that really fits the Abrasion power- except for maybe the fact that his shadow travel helps him get places quickly- but Division is definitely similar to his power over death/ earthy materials

Dustbringers typically don’t get along with others (including people in their own order) because of personality differences and stereotypes about their powers like how Nico is often ostracized at first bc he scares people

☀️ Will Solace : Edgedancer

Powers: Abrasion & Progression

Will is a healer so Progression would be a good power for him to have; while he doesn’t have any powers similar to Abrasion I think it would be useful for him to have to get to injured people faster

Will cares about everyone and will do his best to heal anyone because he doesn’t want anyone to suffer, and he doesn’t just focus on the powerful demigods- he makes sure to lend his power anywhere it’s needed

Fighting is not the the Edgedancers’ main concern, preferring to protect/help the injured (especially people who aren’t necessarily warriors) and Will also is more like a wartime medic than a fighter (though he- and the Edgedancers- can fight if necessary)

They want to see and understand both sides of something, even their enemies, rather than seeing everything in black and white. Will struggled with this in TSATS but eventually realized that places like the Underworld aren’t necessarily just about death/decay, but are also about life

🌩️ Jason Grace : Windrunner

Well first of all the man flies and that’s basically what the Windrunners do lol

Their powers: Adhesion (temporarily sticking two objects together) and Gravitation (changing the direction/ strength of something’s gravitational pull)

He cares a lot about protecting innocents/ the defenseless and keeping his friends safe which is a main idea of the Windrunners

Windrunners are very militaristic in general and Jason was raised by the wolves and the Romans to be that way as well

Tempest would be his windspren & prefer a horse form cus they can do that (I think)

⚡️ Thalia Grace : Windrunner

I know she hates flying but I don’t think it’s really a requirement of the Windrunners to ‘fly’; they mostly just change the direction/amount of gravity that’s pulling on them so she could find creative ways to use Gravitation (walking on walls/ceilings which then appear to be the floor to her, etc)

The Hunters of Artemis are pretty militaristic as well (they have a specific leader & ways of doing things, similar to the Romans)

Thalia cares about innocent people/creatures and is very protective over the people she cares about (Annabeth, the Hunters, etc)

Windrunners tend to attract “big-sibling types” and Thalia is definitely a big sibling type lol

🏹 Frank Zhang : Stoneward

Powers don’t rly fit him either but personality-wise I think it’s right

Frank is really loyal to his friends (sometimes to the point of attacking/fighting people more powerful than him to save them) and will always be there for them both in battle and for personal issues

He’s pretty good at improvising and his shapeshifting allows him to come up with creative solutions (turning into an iguana to get out of the Chinese handcuffs lol)

He’s also pretty quick to come up with creative solutions without many resources (using his firewood to free Thanatos when there was no other heat source, etc.)

💎 Hazel Levesque : Lightweaver

Powers : Illumination (illusions) and Transformation

Hazel learned how to manipulate the mist from Hecate, essentially giving her illusion powers, & she can change the shape of earthly materials (can’t change the material but it’s close enough to Transformation); this is one case where I almost made her a Stoneward but Lightweaver just fit better for everything else I think

Lightweavers are the ‘artistic’ order and attract people who love art/ creativity (Hazel is an artist)

They tend to not follow rules the way other orders do, instead choosing to reach their goals by their own means (ex. Hazel choosing to go her own way and make her own choices rather than taking one of the paths Hecate gave her in HoH)

🔥 Leo Valdez : Dustbringer

Same as Nico; both of them being Dustbringers would be an example of contrasting/ clashing personalities within the order

Fire is definitely a destructive ability similar to Division (they can burn things) and without a level of control (which Dustbringers need to learn before they can advance their powers) things could get bad (and have- rip Esperanza Valdez)

Leo hasn’t really been ostracized for his personality like Dustbringers could be but his powers originally made people scared (they didn’t know he had them at the time but his cabinmates did say a that having that power was dangerous and they hoped no one would ever have it again so he took that a little personally)

🗡️ Reyna Ramirez-Arellano : Bondsmith

She’d be bonded to the Stormfather (1 of 3 beings who can gift Bondsmith abilities), allowing her to generate Stormlight and infuse other Radiants with it; this is incredibly draining and similar to Reyna’s ability to share her strength

Bondsmiths’ main focus is unity/ bringing people together and Reyna definitely spends a lot of time attempting to unite the Roman and Greek camp (after all, she did spend an entire book helping Nico and Coach Hedge get the Athena Parthenos back to CHB as a peace offering)

Bondsmith powers aren’t typically used for fighting but rather for assisting other Radiants and keep them fighting; Reyna is skilled with weapons but doesn’t use her powers to fight, only to help others keep up their strength/ motivation

🕊️ Piper McLean : Lightweaver

Piper had some personal things that she had to work out (lying to her friends in TLH, etc) before she fully embraced her power, & Lightweavers have to come to terms with truths about themselves before they can progress as people & as Radiants

There aren’t really any Radiant orders that work with manipulation magic so it’s hard to bring the Charmspeak in but the illusion magic Lightweavers have does allow them to change their appearance, so I’d imagine her using it to make herself super beautiful for espionage purposes or smth (maybe using it to transform into someone’s loved one?)

Transformation would allowed her to turn something into something else (etc. mud to food) which kind of relates to her cornucopia & how it makes food out of nothing

——————————————————————————

Hooray we made it to the end!! Sorry that this was so long, I had a looong time to think about this and wanted to get all my thoughts down

I mostly used coppermind.net and the descriptions of the Radiant orders on Sanderson’s website so some of this info may be a little inaccurate but this was just for fun lol

[anotheroceanid]

What would OG luke think if he meets your Luke??? I don’t know why but I think he would love baby Luke but hate how Percy named a child of Apollo after him.

First it would go like this…

Luke, staring at Percy and pointing to Apollo: WHY?

Luke, staring at Percy and pointing to the triplets: WHY??

Luke, staring at Percy and pointing to Luke’s scar: WHY???

Once the shock passed, once he had calmed himself with some tea, asked Percy if she wasn't forced to do anything or if she wasn't mind-controlled or even hit by some arrow, he would pick the boys up and tell them to be always wary of the gods… to what Little Luke would be, “I already knew that, gods are weird” and they realise they share more things in common than a name, a blonde hair and a scar.

But now, talking more seriously.

Luke would be terribly worried, let's say if someone in the underworld told him that Percy disappeared, or even that someone travelled back in time or he travelled to the future… Anyway, be wouldn't be able to do anything, but it wouldn't be a surprise to him that something like this happened. And, like most people, he would jump to the wrong conclusion that some lovestruck god kidnapped her.

When they learned about the triplets, if he also got to know about them, he would have bittersweet thoughts about all the boys, but especially Luke. Given the conditions he was raised, the scar, etc etc, Luke would feel there somehow that name was bad luck.

Despite all that, he would come to like Luke. More than the other two, Milo is way too optimistic and prone to give the gods a chance and Hector has (literally) a god’s ego himself. That would not make them look less godly in his eyes, and even without the prophecy, they are children of a big 3 kid (Percy, no less) with another Olympian, also, their powers are way too great for an ordinary demigod, calling them /demi/ anything would be an understatement. So Luke is the more, as far as it can be seen, humanly one. And he's a no-nonsense person, he hardly gives people a second chance, especially if his mother was somehow affected by their misdeeds.

[thegoldenappleofdiscord]

children of minor gods - headcanons

children of hygeia, along with strong apollo healers, help manage the infirmary. i think they have a much stricter sense of hygiene and health than apollo healers, so they butt heads a lot.

they are the ultimate neat-freaks. also, you can't win an argument with them.

children of the graces (goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, etc) are essentially shoved in with the aphrodite kids, considering that the graces are aphrodite's companions. unlike the aphrodite kids, though, their powers can vary depending on which grace is their mother, especially since the graces are the goddesses over a plethora of things.

almost all children of the graces can charmspeak

children of aristaeus are the sort who can do just about anything they put their mind to. they're very homely (their cabin would be a cottage), and especially enjoy the culinary arts. they, along with the demeter kids, help manage strawberry harvests.

children of pheme are the best mediators there can be. they also have the ability to project their voice to great volumes so that they can be heard by everyone. they know everything there is to know about anything.

make one of them mad and camp gossip for the next month will be about you and only you

children of eris like shiny things. the hephaestus cabin hates them because things tend to stop working around them - clocks stop ticking, wheels skid to a stop, and perfectly oiled machines break down. the more stressed a child of eris is, the more these effects worsen

children of iris get free iris messages

children of iris can control frequencies of light

hypnos children are actually really lively in their dreams. they try to mitigate the nightmares of demigods at camp half-blood.

since most demigod dreams are prophetic, hypnos children are aware of many prophecies before others at camp are

[apollothesunrat]

Y'know what I want to do?

I want to to create a "What if Kronos rose early" au(possibly a collaboration?). Because the Great Prophecy never says when Kronos has to defeated, never says if it is before or after he takes over. But if needed I could change the prophecy to make it fit better

Now this is by no means my own idea. I got the idea from multiple tiktoks and fanfics that presented the idea in iteresting eays that wanted me to make my own version.

Let ne explain below the cut because I do believe this will get lengthy.

In this universal, I believe a good majority of the characters we know would still exist because of the Fates. Most notably: the seven, Nico di Angelo, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Grover Underwood, Will Solace, etc, etc. Because I do not believe the gods would disappear. Just because they are overthrown does not mean they are forgotten, many pagan mortals would still believe in them as well as the children they have. I believe they would simply go into hiding like many titans did when the gods took over. They simply hide away and occasionally have demigod chimdren in the hopes that one their children will help them overthrow Kronos again one day.

But that isn't the most important thing right now. The main story/idea for the stroy is all I have planned at the moment.

Our main characters are the big three children. We start our story with Bianca di Angelo at 19, Nico di Angelo at 17, Thalia Grace at 10, and Percy Jackson at 5. It begins seven years after the di Angelo's were released from the hotel, they were released about a year after Kronos took over because Hades didn't want to risk them getting killed or hurt simply because they knew nothing of the outside world.

I plan to have the story progress one year per chapter until Percy is twelve and then start following a timeline closer to the og books. Basically Percy turning 12 starts progressing canon events. It is by fate that certain characters die and all that, those type of canon events.

I honestly don't have much planned after that because I lost my original paper on the au.

So yeah, if anyone would like to help me or possibly collaborate on this, I believe that could be fun because I need more ideas and it is easier to create when I have someone helping me not put in dumb stuff.

You can reach out to me through dms here or whatever you want.

[its-haughty]

Girl with a big ass hammer gotta be one of my favourite things ever

Here is Ozzy!!! Also known as the role of “The Prophecy” in her world. She’s fated to go on a journey with The Hero, bein the silly goofy sidekick that carves a pathway to The Big Bad’s Lair. Although she may be a barbarian she’s a lot more than that. Her bloodline has divine knowledge and knows about The Prophecy/Fate of the world.

(More information under the cut)

Ozzy’s role in the story isn’t a bad thing, she gets to go on a fun adventure with The Hero so it’s a good thing! Right? …Well, it sorta sucks when your parents harbour potentially useful divine information/power and as a result getting them… killed in every timeline… and she’s unfortunate enough to remember what happens in previous resets/timeloops, having to repeat the same despair inducing grief over and over again? It’s come to the point that she doesn’t understand how to deal with her own emotions correctly. This girl is fucking 10 jesus christ

Ozzy: I’m 11 so shut the fuck up

She’s peppy, easily excitable and likes messing around! But she’s also a flawless liar. Not only because she’s good at keeping the cheerful act up but you wouldn’t suspect an 11 year old to lie to your face like that would you?

Her parents are demigods who have divine power of understanding The Prophecy in great detail. (trivia: Her father has the ability to cure people’s wounds, scars, etc with his words whilst Ozzy’s mother is blessed with enhanced hearing, being more aware of possible dangers or threats) - if you haven’t guessed, Ozzy and her parents are based on the three wise monkeys!!

If she lived in the modern world she would fucking love minions i’m so sorry

Ozzy is scarily strong. She can lift that big ass hammer without a sweat. People think it’s not very heavy but it is HEAVY (for reference, Hans wouldn’t be able to hold it lol)

(She soooo gets adopted by Billy and Hans don’t worry)

No extras this time :((

[hwalyn]

ateez x pjo written au

summary ! the two great prophecies are over, there is now peace for every demigod greek and roman alike. but not everyone is feeling settled into this comfortable lull, some feel anxious as if there’s a new great danger looming in the background. with a new addition of a son of persephone in the mix, 10 demigods find themselves thrust into danger and a new great prophecy begins.

warnings ! blood, gore, death, fighting, cursing, trauma, bad jokes, absent parents, cheesy romance, suffering, etc. . . more warnings might be added

well be careful love, your story starts

HERE ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ CHAPTERS

prologue !

“So you want me to babysit?”

[foreverydinger]

NAME: Tony Rydinger GODLY PARENT: Apollo — God of Archery, Music & Dance, Truth & Prophecy, Healing & Diseases, the Sun & Light, Poetry, etc. ("Seriously, Dad, can you cool it on the epithets?") CAMP YEARS: 2011-Present (Coach starting in 2022) AFFILIATION: Archery Coach/Apollo Alumni Head SPECIES: Demigod ABILITIES: Audiokinesis (Control Over Sound Waves & Music) WEAPONS/ITEMS: Archery (always seen with his gear or his guitar on his back, sometimes both) / Magical guitar pick that automatically tunes it for him. BIOGRAPHY:

There is little of the outside world that Tony knows. He's lived in Camp Swynlake for most of his life. All he really remembers from his years before the camp is a mother's smile, her calloused hand from years as a musician, and a winged woman's screech before the satyr assigned to him whisked him away. Getting to the Apollo Cabin at the beginning of the war was not easy, especially being seven years old, but he clawed his way from being the smallest camper with absolutely no knowledge to being a member of camp upon whom everyone could rely. Sure, he didn't have healing powers like some of his siblings, nor did he have the best singing voice in camp, but he was a wiz with a guitar and a smile that could blind you. The Apollo cabin took some of the hardest hits in the war, they lost just so many campers during that final battle. He has gotten a tattoo of sunflowers on his arm, a petal for every sibling that wouldn't return. He adds to it when his siblings go missing on quests as well. They deserve to be remembered. As Alumni Head for his cabin and just lifer here at camp, Tony is fiercely protective of his siblings above all else. He cannot imagine a life outside of Camp Swynlake anymore. This place is a part of him, a part of who he is that he cannot shake. Tony's a great deal taller than he was when he arrived and with many more scars than he could even recall stories for but every time a new freckle appears or he watches a new camper shoot their first bullseye he knows that this is where he belongs. Gods' games be damned.

[bunkernine]

fascinating thought. Here is my counter for this: leo isn't searching for companionship, but rather he is too scared to stick around.

Agreed- a place like waystation should not have been introduced in toa, for leo to end there. But waystation is also a place for runaway demigods without a home which is exactly how leo feels. The place is a living machine constantly changing and challenging him, and he has created his own personal family of ppl who 1, accept him no questions asked; 2, let him do as he please without criticism; 3, have similar stories to him; and 4, he is not forced to be there with ppl he's forced to know. There is NO other place leo has been to that has all 4 of these conditions.

Imo, waystations a great ending in closing that part of his arc. Unlike foster homes, wilderness, chb (between tlh+moa), the argo, ogygia, leo doesnt HAVE to be there and can leave when he wants. He also doesnt have to be besties with anyone there either, unlike his forced (but enjoyed) cohabitation with piper + jason, then later cabin 9, then later the 7, then later calypso. ← these are ppl leo cannot avoid due to fate prophecy safety etc ... There's not a complete choice the way he has at waystation.

He's also not searching for companionship per say, but rather someone who understands him and would willingly choose him for being HIM. 🤔 Id argue this is the effects of loving his mom who understood him completely → hurting her → going to his family that believes him to be the devil. Leo HAS companions, but he only really considers them when they have a mutual understanding. Festus is seen in the same way leo is— hence his strong reaction to his deaths. Jason + Piper he edges away until they learn and understand his problems. Frank and Hazel he fucked around with until they all came to understand each other. He and calypso just bicker in general lol but they only grew closer after mutual understanding→ Consequently, this is why u dont see leo hanging out with percy annabeth nico or reyna, because they never reach that point. But all of these can feel temporary: festus dies like 7 times lol; piper and jason date and are more sociable with the 7 so they feel distant; frank and hazel as well; and there's no reason to be confident he would make it back to ogygia nvm calypso's whole schtick where the moment you care for each other, ur forced to leave.

id argue THIS is why he goes back to chb in toa. harley calls him there signaling leo is wanted. But we also know that leo didnt engage too much with the camp, so chb is also uncomfortable. When finding out jason dies and piper wants to stay away from all this demigod shit (the part of him that hes struggled with but has found relief in other demigods existing) theres no reason to stick around → so he runs like usual. BUT he ends up at waystation because thats where ppl who run end up! Theres no connection to the 7, his past mistakes, or expectations. he can live happily how he wants, which he hasnt been able to do since he was a kid :)

He also doesnt need to travel the world either 😭 he literally spent the entire summer doing that, and then another 6 months doing that with calypso. Granted, he's never done it alone, but he does not want to BE alone. Leo is an introvert, enjoying his peace when hes working, but he also desires someone to be by him unconditionally and whole heartedly..... this would've best been piper and jason.... if it wasnt for the fact that piper wants to leave demigod shit and has her own home, and Jason is um. LOL 💀

This is why calypso going away is something leo's "okay with" but is jealous over. His current closest ally enjoys being with other ppl instead of him but he's also used to not being anyone's first choice. He also feels guilty about holding calypso with him and how the past few months went.

is leo traveling the world a viable option? Totally, sure, hes only 17 and has time to settle. Travel by himself? Preferably not. But all the ppl he couldve done that with (piper - home / jason - dead / frank + hazel - praetors / calypso - high school ) are not an option :) traveling and temporary places is the ONLY thing hes done for the past 10 yrs tho... And its not like that's helped him either :) it only feels like leo is lonely because he misconstrues his desire of being loved as a desire that can only be completed with a romance where u value ur partner over anyone else. Cuz 💀 hes a teenager lol. But its very clear that leo has friends he LOVES and considers family... But leo's just not their first choice or priority so why stick around

[zazzander]

i saw a joke post of "if hera did the demigod swap on another pair of demigods camp halfblood would send octavian back" and i went "that would not fucking happen" but lacked the knowledge and proper depth to elaborate. your octavian character analysis was incredibly in depth, analyzing every single moment and dissecting his character in a way that shows a clearer grasp of the character and who he is more than the supposed pieces given but never expanded. the fic has shed a new light on a character and explained exactly why i liked him so much in son of neptune.

so therefore i propose a question for you: if hera actually did swap octavian into camp halfblood without any of his memories with another greek demigod into camp jupiter (nico, rachel, etc), what do you think would happen?

apologies for any inconvenience! your take was exactly the thing i was looking for, and im so thankful that ive found others who share the same love of octavian. have a good day/night!

Thank you for the ask! This answer is potentially very simple or very complicated.

To begin with, the issues with Octavian being part of the switch:

Firstly, Hera would never. While she's isn’t openly against Octavian, I get the impression she didn't want him to interfere at all. Possibly because he'd tell her all the ways her interpretation of the prophecy are wrong (lol).

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Octavian is a legacy and Camp Half-Blood is only for half-bloods (it's in the name!). Octavian would likely struggle to enter the camp to begin with.

So the short answer would be... they'd just be very confused by Octavian and likely treat him as a clear-sighted mortal. They wouldn't kick him out so much as just like... not let him in?

But that's a boring answer.

The More Complicated Answer

In this scenario, the switch would probably be led by Apollo and, yeah, Rachel would be the other side of the switch. With Rachel missing, the Greeks are more likely to see Octavian as her replacement, but it still might be awkward.

Also, Octavian’s “team” would have to be different, primarily because Octavian isn’t a great fighter – Octavian effectively replaces Piper in terms of abilities. So they’d need some muscle for any quests.

When the Greeks realise that Octavian can see the future, they will likely make the connection between him and the missing Rachel. The gift of prophecy is rare. So at the point they realise Octavian can see the future, I don't think they'd drive him out without just cause. After all, prophecies are how quests begin – without their Oracle, Octavian is their only alternative. They are definitely not going to let him go easily!

Like Jason, with his memories gone Octavian wouldn't have the prejudices nor the knowledge of history and legend that Canon!Octavian does. He wouldn’t view the Greeks as his enemies.

At the same time, I don't see Octavian taking the loss of his memories in his stride in the same way Jason does. Octavian is the opposite of chill. So I think a great deal of panicking and yelling ought to be expected.

However, we also know that Octavian has a dream: becoming a hero. This isn’t something seers usually get to be, they just help the heroes on their journey. So I think Octavian could quickly become very motivated to achieve whatever quest Apollo gives him. And a determined Octavian is a forced to be reckoned with!

One thing I can see happening is that the Greeks not being all that keen for their maybe-Oracle-who-is-definitely-a-mortal wanting to go on a dangerous quest. And even without his memories, Octavian would take exception to that. Unlike Jason, Octavian doesn’t care about breaking the rules. I don’t see him waiting around very long once he’s foreseen what he needs to do.

Basically, Octavian would sway his new buddies to come on a technically-sanctioned-quest-because-I’m-the-seer-and-I-say-it-is quest. While the Romans would hate this, I think the Greeks would be more inclined to let it slide.

In summary, while it would take a bit for Octavian to settle in, I think Octavian would be a lot quicker to fully enculturate to Camp Half-Blood. A lot of his personality fits better with the Greek side than the Roman – there’s a less of a demand from the Greeks that everyone be a warrior, for example.

I once joked about how, if Octavian had been switched, he’d never want to go back to the Romans – and that’s kind of true. The Greeks respect prophecies and those who provide them. Whereas the Romans never respect Octavian. They assume that they’re going to be perfectly fine with or without him. I don’t see them looking for him at all. They’d just mark him as a deserter and washing their hands of him.

Octavian really just wants people to like him, honestly. And while he’s definitely prickly on the outside, so are a lot of Greeks (see: Clarisse and Michael Yew). I think they’d respect him, even like him, a lot more than the Romans do.

That all being said, Octavian has a strong sense of loyalty to Rome. His loyalty doesn’t falter even when those he’s loyal to stop caring about him. Even if the Romans hate him, he will try to save them. So it’s not like he’d ignore the peace mission. But also don’t see him getting his memories back changing his opinion of Greek demigods.

If Octavian would be able to actually sway the Romans on his return is the real question. Furthermore, the reunion would then lead to the tricky scenario with Rachel returning to the Greeks, and Octavian being left in the lurch. The Romans probably don’t want him back – but now he’s not useful to the Greeks.

I could see his character arc being about him becoming more than an augur, where he develops his other skills and becomes a strong fighter. And eventually getting his wish of being a hero.

TLDR:

That joke post was half-right, but not for the reasons they were probably thinking. Still, if the hurdle of Octavian being a legacy and not a half-blood were overcome, then I don't see Octavian ever leaving the Greeks' side.

Once again, thanks for the ask and thank you for reading my blogs & stuff!

[raeynbowboi]

How to Build Apollo in DnD 5e

That’s right, today we’re tackling a herculean task by trying to build the golden boy of the Olympic Gods: Apollo. Now, obviously, we can’t build Apollo as an actual factual literal god, it would break the game and it would be preposterous. However, Apollo translates really nicely into DnD. He has many skills, multiple powers so that we don’t have to pad his spell list with crap, and he’s also shown off his fighting style across multiple myths and legends. Keep in mind that while I am using Apollo himself as our template, this is also a GREAT resource for if you want to play as a Demigod child of Apollo (such as Will Solace), a worshipper of Apollo, Apollo’s chosen champion, or if Zeus has condemned your godly gloriousness into the pimply awkward adolescent body of one Lester Papadopoulos. 

To start things off, we should examine Apollo’s many skills, abilities, and his MANY MANY MANY domains as a god.

Athletics - Apollo is the god of athleticism, though he shares this domain with Hermes. The original Olympic Games were held in his honor, young Greek boys held him up as the ideal of masculine physicality, and they still crowned winners with his sacred laurel wreath long after the games stopped being held for him.

Animal Handling - Before giving them to Hermes, Apollo was a pastoral god with a herd of cattle, and he also has horses that draw his solar chariot across the sky. There’s also art showing Apollo riding on the back of a swan, and he had a crow as his sacred messenger at least until he got angry and burned its feathers black.

History - Apollo’s been around a long time, and more importantly, he’s the second smartest and the second wisest of all the gods after only Athena herself. He invented mathematics, and two of his muse daughters embody history and astronomy, big staples of Ancient Greek scholarly rhetoric. A third daughter covers epic poetry which by modern standards would make her the muse of novels and plot-driven storytelling.

Intimidation - Diomedes carved a bloody canyon through the Trojan forces, but one threat from Apollo was all it took for him to scamper off with his tail between his legs.

Medicine - Apollo is the god of medicine, and as such, would be good at healing and checking for injuries.

Performance - This one’s a no-brainer, Apollo is the god of music, the father of the muses and the demigod Orpheus, and beat pan in a well-known musical battle.

Perception - Apollo is the god of prophecy, it’s hard to get the drop on a guy who may have seen your attack coming 30 years before you tried anything.

Persuasion - With the possible exception of Zeus and Aphrodite, Apollo is definitely a contender for the largest list of lovers by a single Olympian God. They had a terrible penchant for ending poorly, and he didn’t always pass his persuasion checks, but dang it if he didn’t try his hardest.

Religion - Apollo is a god. This is where I’d put any skill check for knowledge of Greek mythology, such as remembering myths, legends, heroes, demigods, the weaknesses of monsters, and mythological artifacts.

Now that we’ve covered Apollo’s skills that we should aim to provide him with, let’s examine his domains and abilities for appropriate spells, and figure out what spell lists he needs to be pulling from.

Magical Abilities

Archery/Athleticism

Divine Favor (Paladin, War Cleric) Heroism (Bard, Paladin, Battle Smith Artificer, Order Cleric, Peace Cleric) Hunter’s Mark (Ranger, Vengeance Paladin) Jump (Artificer, Druid, Ranger, Sorcerer, Wizard) Longstrider (Artificer, Bard, Druid, Ranger, Wizard) Zephyr Strike (Ranger) Cordon of Arrows (Ranger) Enhance Ability (Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Ranger, Sorcerer, Wizard, Glory Paladin) Conjure Barrage (Ranger) Crusader’s Mantle (Paladin) Flame Arrows (Artificer, Druid, Ranger, Sorcerer, Wizard) Haste (Artificer, Sorcerer, Wizard, Land Druid (Grassland), Glory Paladin, Vengeance Paladin) Lightning Arrow (Ranger) Skill Empowerment (Artificer, Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard) Conjure Volley (Ranger) Steel Wind Strike (Ranger, Wizard) Swift Quiver (Ranger)

Disease

Inflict Wounds (Cleric, Oathbreaker Paladin) Ray of Sickness (Sorcerer, Wizard, Death Cleric) Ray of Enfeeblement (Warlock, Wizard, Death Cleric, Grave Cleric) Vampiric Touch (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard, Death Cleric, Grave Cleric) Blight (Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard, Death Cleric, Grave Cleric, Oathbreaker Paladin, Alchemist Artificer) Sickening Radiance (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Vitriolic Sphere (Sorcerer, Wizard) Contagion (Cleric, Druid, Oathbreaker Paladin, Undying Warlock) Harm (Cleric)

Fire

Create Bonfire (Artificer, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Firebolt (Artificer, Sorcerer, Wizard) Burning Hands (Sorcerer, Wizard, Light Cleric, Wildfire Druid, Fiend Warlock, Genie Warlock (Efreeti)) Hellish Rebuke (Warlock, Oathbreaker Paladin) Aganazzar’s Scorcher (Sorcerer, Wizard) Dragon’s Breath - Fire* (Sorcerer, Wizard) Flaming Sphere (Druid, Wizard, Alchemist Artificer, Light Cleric, Celestial Warlock) Heat Metal (Artificer, Bard, Druid, Forge Cleric) Scorching Ray (Sorcerer, Wizard, Artillerist Artificer, Light Cleric, Wildfire Druid, Fiend Warlock, Genie Warlock (Efreeti)) Fireball (Sorcerer, Wizard, Artillerist Artificer, Light Cleric, Fiend Warlock, Genie Warlock (Efreeti) Flame Stride (Artificer, Ranger, Sorcerer, Wizard) Fire Shield (Wizard, Wildfire Druid, Armorer Artificer, Battle Smith Artificer, Fiend Warlock, Genie Warlock (Efreeti)) Wall of Fire (Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard, Artillerist Artificer, Light Cleric, Forge Cleric, Celestial Warlock, Fiend Warlock) Flame Strike (Cleric, Wildfire Druid, Devotion Paladin, Glory Paladin, Celestial Warlock, Fiend Warlock, Genie Warlock (Efreeti)) Immolation (Sorcerer, Wizard) Investiture of Flame (Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Delayed Blast Fireball (Sorcerer, Wizard) Firestorm (Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer) Incendiary Cloud (Sorcerer, Wizard)

Healing

Spare the Dying (Artificer, Cleric) Cure Wounds (Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Celestial Warlock) Healing Word (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Alchemist Artificer) Healing Spirit (Druid, Ranger) Lesser Restoration (Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Celestial Warlock) Prayer of Healing (Cleric) Aura of Vitality (Cleric, Druid, Paladin) Beacon of Hope (Cleric, Devotion Paladin) Mass Healing Word (Cleric, Alchemist Artificer) Greater Restoration (Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Celestial Warlock) Mass Cure Wounds (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Battle Smith Artificer) Heal (Cleric, Druid) Regenerate (Bard, Cleric, Druid) Mass Heal (Cleric) Power Word Heal (Bard, Cleric)

Light/Sun

Dancing Lights (Artificer, Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard) Light (Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Wizard, Aasimar Race) Sacred Flame (Cleric) Faerie Fire (Artificer, Bard, Druid, Light Cleric, Twilight Cleric, Archfey Warlock) Guiding Bolt (Cleric, Glory Paladin, Celestial Warlock) Branding Smite (Paladin, Battle Smith Artificer, Hexblade Warlock) Blinding Smite (Paladin) Daylight (Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Celestial Warlock) Dawn (Cleric, Wizard) Destructive Wave (Paladin) Holy Weapon (Cleric, Paladin) Wall of Light (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Sunbeam (Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard) Crown of Stars (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Holy Aura (Cleric) Sunburst (Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard)

Music, Sound, Etc.

Vicious Mockery (Bard) Word of Radiance (Cleric) Thunderwave (Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard, Armorer Artificer, Artillerist Artificer, Tempest Cleric, Fathomless Warlock, Genie Warlock (Djinni)) Knock (Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard) Shatter (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard, Armorer Artificer, Artillerist Artificer, Tempest Cleric) Thunder Step (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Divine Word (Cleric) Power Word Pain (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Power Word Stun (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Power Word Kill (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard)

Prophecy/Divination

Guidance (Artificer, Cleric, Druid) Detect Magic (Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Wizard) Identify (Artificer, Bard, Wizard, Knowledge Cleric, Forge Cleric) Augury (Cleric, Druid, Wizard, Open Sea Paladin) Find Traps (Cleric, Druid, Ranger) Locate Animals or Plants (Bard, Druid, Ranger) Locate Object (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Wizard) Clairvoyance (Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Wizard, Great Old One Warlock) Divination (Cleric, Druid, Wizard) Commune (Cleric, Glory Paladin) Legend Lore (Bard, Cleric, Wizard, Undying Warlock) Contingency (Wizard) True Seeing (Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) Foresight (Bard, Druid, Warlock, Wizard)

SPELL DISTRIBUTION

In order to determine the best way to play Apollo, I’m going to showcase how many spells they get from each group, and add on additional spells based on class features, subclass spell lists, et cetera. The ultimate goal is to try and find a balance between as many of Apollo’s spells as possible.

Bard: (4,0,1,7,3,6,8) 29 + Magical Secrets (6-8): 35-37 Cleric: (1,3,2,14,9,2,10 ) 41 + Light (6): 47, Death (4): 45, Grave (3): 44 Paladin: (3,0,0,3,5,0,2) 13 + Devotion (2): 15, Glory (5): 18, Vengeance (2): 15 Ranger: (11,0,1,3,1,0,4) 20 Sorcerer: (5,5,14,0,5,3) 32 + Divine Soul (32) 64 Warlock: (0,4,3,0,2,5,2) 16 + Celestial (8): 24 Wizard (7,6,15,0,7,7,10) 52 + Theurgy (26): 78

RACES, BACKGROUND, AND ALIGNMENT

Racial Options

As an Olympian, Aasimar is a good fit for Apollo. He gains a resistance to Radiant and Necrotic damage, healing hands, and the light cantrip. Since Apollo doesn’t fly around on his own, the best choice for Apollo would the Scourge Aasimar.

Another good choice would be Variant Human. Give Apollo +1 DEX, +1 Casting Stat, take Athletics, Performance, or Perception for your skill of choice, and give him the Alert feat so he can never be surprised or Fighting Initiate to give Apollo the Archery Fighting Style if you’re not planning on giving him any Fighter levels.

Viable Backgrounds

Acolyte (Insight, Religion) Athlete (Acrobatics, Athletics) Entertainer (Acrobatics, Performance) Noble (History, Persuasion) Custom Background: Olympic Athlete (Athletics, Performance)

CLASSES, SUBCLASSES, AND BUILD OPTIONS

BARD

In terms of raw flavor, Bard is probably the best choice for Apollo, as being the god of music and poetry, as well as his numerous romantic entanglements, fits the image of the classic DnD bard. The Bard’s magical secrets also ensures that any non-Bard spell you really want can still be collected. While Bard doesn’t have the highest count of compatible spells, Bard has a nice, even distribution of Apollo’s abilities, with a little bit of almost everything. Casting with Charisma is also very on-brand for Apollo’s general depiction in media. The bard’s ability to steal any spell also means that it can exploit the Paladin and Ranger spell list specifically and swipe their high-level spells much closer to the bard’s early-to-mid level.

LORE

The Lore Bard specializes in learning and recounting tales of myths and legends, collecting information and gossip, and sharing insights to those who seek it. A rather fitting choice for the master of the Oracle of Delphi and the father of the muses. The added magical secrets is also a great choice to give Apollo more versatility in his magical abilities. The Lore bard also expands its skill list, which is fitting for the overly talented god of music.

VALOR

The bard of the Battlefield, the added focus on melee combat means that this build option is a good fit for not neglecting Apollo’s mastery of archery as a major component of combat without needing to take levels of fighter.

CLERIC

A very good contender for the build, Cleric is the only class out of all of the options that got at least 1 spell in all 8 categories. As Apollo is the god of healing and medicine, Cleric provides the biggest selection of healing spells, as well as the most radiant damage. Clerics have good Hit Die, and with enough Constitution can withstand damage long enough to aid and heal themselves and others. They get access to plenty of divination spells to call upon the help of the gods and the forces of luck and fate at play in the universe to guide them. On the character level, Apollo does seem like the sort of god that would worship himself.

LIGHT

Far and away Apollo’s best choice for building him as a Cleric, Light gives Apollo access to more fire spells to fit his solar theme, and the ability warding flare is rather fitting for the god of light to use.

RANGER

If Apollo didn’t have so many other abilities, Ranger might have been a great choice for him. If you want to fixate entirely on his role as an archer and a hunter god, then by all means, Ranger is a fitting choice for Apollo in that respect. But when taking the whole of his mythos into consideration, it leaves too much on the cutting room floor, and the only real reason I’d consider giving him Ranger levels is that Hunter’s Mark helps encourage him to use his archery skills more.

SORCERER

Honestly, this one might have had a chance if not for Sorcerer’s abysmally small spells known. Thanks to a lack of subclass spells and having to stretch 15 spells across 9 spell levels, the Sorcerer walks away with the smallest spell list of ALL the primary casting classes. It doesn’t matter that Divine Soul Sorcerer gives Apollo access to a wide variety of spells because his miniscule spell book means that he can’t flex that variety whatsoever.

DIVINE SOUL

I wouldn’t advise building Apollo as a sorcerer, but if you’re set on Sorcerer, the Divine Soul is the best possible origin for Apollo, as it gives him access to radiant, fire, divination, healing, and ‘disease’ spells.

WARLOCK

Warlock is a surprisingly decent pick, especially if you’re playing a mortal that obeys Apollo, or even if you’re as Apollo himself swearing fealty to Zeus, Helios, or some other celestial entity. By making Apollo’s pact boon the Pact of the Blade, Apollo can make his pact weapon a bow and arrow, and unlike the Paladin smites, the Warlock can Eldritch Smite with their bow.

CELESTIAL

Like Ranger, the Warlock prioritizes Apollo’s skill with a bow over a lot of flashy magic, but unlike the Ranger, by following the Celestial patron, Apollo gets a rather decent assortment of radiant spells and healing spells. It can’t compare to the shere volume of the full casters, but it certainly works in Apollo’s favor.

WIZARD

Due largely to the Wizard’s massive spell list, it’s not surprising that Apollo actually has an impressive variety of spell options that work for a Wizard build. Lore wise, Apollo as a wizard makes some sense, as Apollo is considered to be clever and wise, even if he is not the single smartest god on Olympus. However, that wide range of magical power comes with two shortcomings: Wizards can’t learn healing spells, and it abandons his archery skills by the side of the road.

BLADESINGER

While the bladesinger does seem to favor melee combat, nothing says that you couldn’t multiclass a little with Fighter or Ranger to give Apollo Archery fighting style and prioritize Apollo’s bow as a bladesinger. Everything else works rather nicely, giving Apollo additional speed, AC, magical power, striking power, and attacks. If you’re hellbent on Apollo being a Wizard, but you still want to give him the melee option, the Bladesinger is the best option to do this with.

DIVINATION

Probably the wizard subclass everyone would assume for Apollo, Divination is one of Apollo’s primary gimmicks, and the portents of the Divination Wizard are ridiculously overpowered. It’s amazing, and the kind of game-breakingly good skills you’d expect when fighting the god of prophecies.

THEURGY

Although technically UA and no longer valid, if your DM will permit the Theurgy Wizard, this is the only way to play Apollo as both a Wizard, and as a god of healing and medicine. Furthermore, Apollo can straight up steal domain features from the cleric domain he chooses, and unlike the Cleric where the choice of Light is obvious, the Theurgy Apollo has a little more wiggle room, since he already gets access to most of the spells we chose Light for. As such, Apollo could choose Life to supercharge his healing, Grave to keep people from dying, or even War to be better adept at fighting with a bow. The choice is really yours and how you feel Apollo works best as a build.

BUILDING APOLLO AS: A VALOR BARD

Race: Scourge Aasimar (+2 CHA, +1 CON) Background: Entertainer (Acrobatics Athletics, Performance) Class: Fighter (1), College of Valor Bard (19) Skills: Animal Handling, Medicine, Perception, Survival Alignment: Chaotic Good

Fighting Style: Archery Number of Attacks: 2 Damage Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant Instrument Proficiency: Lyre

STATS STR 10 DEX 20 CON 14 INT 8 WIS 10 CHA 20

Skill Expertise (4): Athletics Medicine Perception Performance

Bardic Magical Secrets (6): 4 Divination 5 Swift Quiver 5 Contingency 6 Sunbeam 8 Sunburst 9 Mass Heal

Apollo’s Spell List

C Dancing Lights, Light, Mending, Message, Vicious Mockery 1 Cure Wounds, Detect Magic, Hunter’s Mark, Faerie Fire, Thunderwave 2 Lesser Restoration, Locate Object, Shatter 3 Clairvoyance, Mass Healing Word  4 Locate Creature 5 Greater Restoration, Mass Cure Wounds  6 True Seeing 7 Regenerate 8 Power Word: Stun 9 Foresight

BUILDING APOLLO AS: A LIGHT CLERIC

Race: Variant Human (+1 Wis, +1 CON) Background: Entertainer (Acrobatics Athletics, Performance) Class: Ranger (2), Light Domain Cleric (18) Skills: Animal Handling, Medicine, Perception, Survival Alignment: Chaotic Good

Fighting Style: Archery Feats: Alert

STATS STR 8 DEX 16 CON 18 INT 8 WIS 20 CHA 10

Domain Spells:

1 Burning Hands, Faerie Fire 2 Flaming Sphere, Scorching Ray 3 Daylight, Fireball 4 Guardian of Faith, Wall of Fire 5 Flame Strike, Scrying

Apollo’s Spell Book

C Light, Sacred Flame, Spare the Dying, Thaumaturgy, Word of Radiance 1 Cure Wounds, Detect Magic, Guiding Bolt, Hunter’s Mark, Inflict wounds 2 Augury, Lesser Restoration, Locate Object 3 Aura of Vitality, Clairvoyance, Revivify 4 Aura of Life, Divination, Locate Creature 5 Contagion, Dawn, Greater Restoration, Mass Cure Wounds 6 Harm, Heal, Sunbeam 7 Fire Storm, Regenerate 8 Sunburst 9 Mass Heal

I won’t go through the process of building the Warlock or the Wizard, as I only decided to build the two I felt had the strongest case, but I think Apollo came out fairly well considering the monumental task of cramming so many skills and abilities into a single playable character without cheating. Apollo is certainly a tricky god to build, but one that I feel came out pretty well.

[posallys]

i'm just on my posally shit again still, but poseidon and sally are literally connected (just like every other god/mortal, but that's irrelevant) because the fates have woven strings all throughout the universe, and there's the whole "even the gods can't meddle with fate" thing. And the prophecies are destined to pan out in a specific way, even if that way isn't known to the people involved in it, etc. and so the only way the great prophecy happened is with Percy being the demigod of the prophecy, meaning that poseidon and sally had to meet. They had to have percy. And i know that everything else is connected like this, too, but it just seems a little more important to me in the case of poseidon and sally because they were the two that had to meet for the entire thing to happen. Them meeting had an impact on the entire future of the olympians, etc., unlike a relationship between a god like ares and a mortal would.

[lizzibennet]

pardon me i went for my monthly run yesterday and i think i rattled about my single braincell and it decided to work

(sorry for the shit quality, i took this at 12:30am holed up in my room LMAO)

i find this choice of words very interesting 🤔 jealousy, sure - percy is poseidon’s golden child, has a loving mother, etc etc that one is easy. hatred seems to me a bit more far fetched - such a strong word lol - but i can believe it for the same reasons previously stated + redirecting some of the hatred he feels towards the gods to percy, since he’s their pawn and all. fear, though, is not a word i would have ever thought to use in this situation. fear of what, exactly? percy is younger than luke, has been training for less time, and while he has status as a child of the big three, he has less knowledge/connections in the greek world than luke. i never really thought of luke as someone who feared much, esp since by this point he’s already bathed in the styx, so… i know the prophecy is about a child of the big three and luke knows, but still. luke’s not even supposed to be alive at this point so? what did he fear from percy exactly? i���m not really sure what i make of this, this little quote intrigues me for some reason. what do y’all think?

(personally, i interpret luke as a selfish asshole whose problem was not so much that the gods fucked demigods over, but that they fucked him specifically over, and who wanted glory so great it’d overshadow the gods’. in this context i’d say since percy is a child of the big three and therefore stronger and more desirable in the context of the prophecy, luke fears he’ll grow more powerful than him and kronos will prefer to have him as his host, stealing luke’s chance at glory. i like that, except i have to concede at this point in the story that fear doesn’t really make that much sense since the “sides” are pretty much decided and have been for a while, if kronos ever wanted percy to join him he knows now that won’t happen. still - luke fearing percy will take all the glory is an interpretation i like obviously since i’m the one making this post)

anyway i would love to hear ur thots especially if you have a divergent opinion of luke!

[annabethisterrified]

Book Review: THE TOWER OF NERO (The Trials of Apollo #5)

***No spoilers until you go under the cut!***

After months in the human form of Lester Papadopoulos, the former god Apollo is nearing the end of his trials alongside the young Meg McCaffrey. All their adventures and misfortunes have landed them back in the place it started-- New York. Meg and Apollo must defeat the final, most powerful emperor of the Triumvirate, who also happens to be Meg’s manipulative stepfather. Meanwhile, Nico, Will, and Rachel have important roles to play as the final battle looms. Even if they can defeat Nero, a more terrible enemy awaits in the form of Python, Apollo’s nemesis. Still, if they can succeed, Apollo will finally be restored to godhood. But after everything he’s been through, going back to the way things were doesn’t sound so great anymore. Apollo and his friends will have to find a new way to make all the sacrifices and pain they’ve experienced and witnessed worth it. That is, if they can survive their final trial.

As both the culmination of The Trials of Apollo series and the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, The Tower of Nero excels at bringing the complicated, moving themes of the saga into final, meaningful reckonings. Nero proves to be a chilling and impressive enemy who forces Apollo and Meg to put everything they’ve learned through their journey together to the ultimate test. New and old characters combine to see the story to its end, and long-time readers are rewarded with actualized development and a bittersweet farewell. The Tower of Nero is a fitting and robust conclusion that shines with all the heart, humor, and growth that makes this saga a worthy frontrunner in children’s literature.

SPOILER SECTIONS BELOW

Welcome!!!!!!!!! Y’all. Y’ALL. I am REELING. If you’ve been around here a while, you probably know I’ve been online here since 2012 (?????!!!!!) where I subjected by followers to weird takes and frantic excitement about the upcoming installments of Heroes of Olympus, then Trials of Apollo. Since I was ten years old, this story has been such a huge part of my life. Now I’m 22 (?????!!!!). So. How am I feeling? I’m feeling like I need to flip over every piece of furniture in my house. In a good way. Look. I gotta break this down into three parts because I’m the worst!

I. TRIALS & TRIBULATION

The Trials of Apollo, to me, felt like the inevitable conclusion to Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Heroes of Olympus. We went through two series where we intimately followed the lives of young demigods growing up through two brutal wars, dangerous quests, and personal reckonings. Gods certainly made appearances, and some were more helpful than others, but the message was always clear-- the demigods were on their own. Two wars fought, two wars won, and at what cost? For what change?

Bringing a god down to earth (both literally and metaphorically) is really the only way a story like this could be rounded out. Especially when the god in question is Apollo. He’s the son of Zeus, who punishes him by turning him mortal. This family set-up already has enormous implications in reference to the previous chain of mythological events: Zeus killed his father Kronos, Kronos killed his father Ouranos, etc. 

Prophecy is also the scaffolding of this entire saga. Everything is dictated by it-- every quest relies on it, most of the demigods we meet are led by it, and the whole Greek/Roman world seems to build their lives around it. My point is, Apollo was a great character to use as the mouthpiece of this last series. He’s been present throughout the previous two series, and he’s relatively unaffected by the Greek/Roman divide. The enemy, the Triumvirate, is also an exciting antagonist-- they’ve fueled and funded the previous two wars, and their obsession with becoming “gods” is loaded with implications as Apollo races to return to his own status as a god.

Apollo himself is also a completely terrible being. From the first pages through his perspective, there’s certainly little sympathy or commiseration with our narrator. Apollo is many things: spoiled, petulant, selfish, and arrogant. He is not good, and now, he is no longer a god. Still, his voice and struggle remained compelling and engaging throughout the series. 

His bond with Meg McCaffrey is, without a doubt, the emotional heart of the whole series. I think they both see aspects of themselves in each other, and it was a genius move to make her the stepdaughter of the enemy. Nero literally sent Meg to be Apollo’s controller and thought that she would easily bring him down; the fact that both these very troubled people cling to each other in the face of such manipulation and frightening circumstances-- and then repeatedly choose to fight their ways back to each other time and again-- is really what makes this series work so well.

With Meg and Apollo at the forefront, after The Hidden Oracle the series takes on something of a “tour” format. We discover new places and revisit old characters across the country, which was definitely exciting for long-time readers to see familiar faces undergo even more development. (This might just be me, but I don’t think ToA can really stand on its own without the worldbuilding/establishment of the first two series-- that’s not a knock on it, but so much of it picks up where the previous series left off, which might make it a disorienting read for someone new to the world.)

Of course, the obvious midpoint reversal of the series is the death of Jason Grace in The Burning Maze. A flip switches completely-- not just for Apollo, but for the whole cast. This is not an incident that just “happens” and is swept aside. In the final two installments, Jason is threaded throughout the story, showing how grief is never truly over. But his sacrifice saved everyone he loved, and had profound impacts on everyone he knew. As brutal as it was, I appreciated how Jason really changed everything through his choice. 

By the time Apollo and Meg return to New York in The Tower of Nero, they are better, stronger versions of themselves. The things they once wanted-- godhood restored, or a father’s approval-- are no longer appealing. Their development (both individually and as friends) is utterly believable and hard-won. We see characters from The Hidden Oracle return changed, too. Losing Jason has dredged up dark feelings within Nico, Rachel is warding off the influence of Python in her mind, and Will’s healer heart is put to the test in yet another final battle. (Listen, this kid played instrumental roles in The Last Olympian, The Blood of Olympus, AND The Tower of Nero. The fate of the world really is in his capable, glow-in-the-dark hands.)

Together, Apollo and team venture into Manhattan for a very intense, exciting, and profound final reckoning with Nero. (CHAPTER 20, ANYONE????) Both Apollo and Meg, once and for all, come into their own and reclaim their power and independence. The pay-off is immaculate, and it’s jarring to remember the Apollo we once knew-- the easygoing one from The Titan’s Curse, the snobbish one from The Blood of Olympus, and the self-pitying one from The Hidden Oracle. His development throughout ToA is seamless and incredibly moving, and we’re left with a protagonist that we can truly, unequivocally root for and love.

II. HAVE YOU LEARNED?

When Nero is defeated, the real enemy still lurks. Apollo’s age-old nemesis, Python, has long haunted him. Their final reckoning is one-on-one, and after everything Apollo’s learned and been through, he goes into his last battle not necessarily caring whether he lives or dies-- he just knows Python must be defeated, no matter the cost. Don’t get me STARTED on his last conversation with Meg!!!!?????? (”Just come back to me, dummy.” I LOVE THEM) 

So, yeah, I’m already crying at that point. Apollo (slowly regaining his godhood) goes into this completely by himself, assuming all risk and responsibility. He’s forced to sacrifice the Arrow of Dodona, and eventually chooses to sacrifice himself by flinging them both down to Tartarus. But we don’t stop there! Oh, no, we go all the way down to Chaos. The primordial soup of all the pantheons, all of existence. Python crumbles, and Apollo clings to the edge-- he clings to life.

This is it. This is the literal rock-bottom moment of the saga, and I’m completely unsure of how he’s getting out of this one. Who’s going to rescue him? What can he even do at this point? Genuinely, I had no idea where this was going-- and I never would have guessed that it would be the goddess Styx who shows up. She’s played an important, but also very minor, role in ToA. I was baffled at first-- I thought, what does she have to do with any of this? But then it ended up playing out in like the most breathtaking, moving way possible. It’s one of the most defining scenes of the entire 15 books to me. 

She only asks him: “Have you learned?”

This is the goddess of promises and oaths. Since The Lightning Thief, we’ve seen how oaths are tossed around like confetti. Percy’s very existence (not to mention Thalia and Jason’s) is because of a broken promise. An oath to keep with a final breath is one of the revisited elements throughout the Heroes of Olympus series. Apollo makes willy-nilly promises in The Hidden Oracle, which he later regrets. 

Then, at the end of everything, Styx only asks Apollo if he’s learned. All the talk of promises and oaths in this story doesn’t actually have anything to do with “keeping promises”-- certainly, so many promises are broken we can’t keep track. It all boils down to whether we learn from what we experience and use that to become better people moving forward. It’s about making sure we mean what we say and what we do. It’s about commitment and devotion to the people we love and the things we care about. Promises don’t matter. Only action does. 

I can’t understate how thoroughly pleased I was that this was the final reckoning of the saga. It was an unexpected and completely profound moment, and such an important scene to use as the emotional climax of the book.

III. WHERE WE GO FROM HERE

After 15 years and 15 books, The Tower of Nero had to find a way to bring the saga to a close without nailing the coffin shut. More standalone novels are surely on the horizon (I’m looking at you, Nico and Will), but as a whole, this saga did need to come to a satisfying end. 

Let’s pick up after Apollo is restored to godhood. He wakes up to his sister Artemis, and the very first thing he does? After finally returning to his true form, the thing he’s relentlessly yearned for the whole series? He just breaks down sobbing. He’s miserable. There’s no relief or joy in the realization that he’s once again an Olympian. 

I’m always a sucker for the trope of “Character does everything possible to reach Goal only to realize that Goal isn’t actually what they want or need at all”, so of course, I was moved to see Apollo learn that he doesn’t actually care much about whether he’s a god or a human anymore. (In fact, he later remarks that he envies Lu’s new ability to grow old and age alongside Meg and her foster siblings.)

I was doubly-moved that Apollo’s restoration to godhood was not an action on Zeus’s part. From what little context we get (a lot happens “off screen” and even Apollo isn’t sure), it appears that Apollo either reclaimed his own godhood through sheer force of will to return from Chaos and reunite with his friends, and/or Styx aided him. But it seems obvious Zeus wasn’t involved, which has HUGE implications for the power structure of the Olympians moving forward.

A lot of us, myself included, had certain expectations for how Apollo’s inevitable reunion with Zeus and the rest of the Olympians would go. I, for one, was excited to see Apollo either tell off his father, or possibly assume a position as the new Camp Half-Blood director or New Rome’s pontifex maximus. Instead, we got a somewhat quiet, but incredibly tense interaction between all the Olympians. The closest thing to an outburst is actually between Hera and Zeus, as she tells him off for not mourning his son Jason, as Apollo did. (Dare I say....I liked Hera for a moment?) (ALSO, I’m fully on-board with the theory that Zeus did not intervene in Jason’s death as a punishment for Jason publicly calling him “unwise” in The Blood of Olympus.)

The whole scene reads as a powder keg. Already, it’s established that Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus (and possibly even Athena and Hera) have no illusions of Zeus’s grandeur. They do not view him as family, or even as a leader. He’s simply just the one with enough power to punish the rest of them when they get “out of line”. 

Apollo began naming Zeus as his abuser fairly early on in the series. Perhaps witnessing the way Meg thinks and speaks about her stepfather Nero made this clear for him. In either case, he begins to explicitly mirror the very same advice he gives Meg in dealing with her abuser: distance yourself from the abusive person/situation, and accept that tyrants do not change and it is not your responsibility to attempt to make them “see the light”. Thus, Apollo makes no appeal or argument to Zeus– he understands by then that it’d be fruitless. Instead, he’s concentrating his energy on doing everything he can do with what he has; he’s committed to being a protector and friend of demigods, and he sees that other gods are beginning to (if not already) see Zeus’s wrongness. (More on this here.)

Was it what I expected going into the book? Nope. But I have to admit that it was really exciting to see Zeus try to hide the very real fear of realizing that his son Apollo is no longer afraid of him, and is quite possibly more powerful than him, too. Apollo switches gears entirely away from Zeus, and focuses his energy back on the friends he’s made and the children he has. It’s a refreshing reminder that it’s often more productive to concentrate on helping others instead of harming those who harm us. 

That being said, I would have liked a few paragraphs or pages discussing what practical differences there will be for the lives of young demigods in the wake of this change. I understand that might not have worked given the very condensed timeline post-returning-to-godhood (the story ends literally the same day or day after), but I do hope and believe that Apollo’s transformation is going to change the way demigods perceive gods-- and what they will expect of gods in the future. Just look at how Apollo is received by the campers at CHB. They’re ecstatic to see him. They think of him as a hero. Apollo is coming back just to help and spend time with his kids, his friends, and the campers, and he’s going to keep coming back. The other gods are certainly going to feel some pressure to follow suit. 

Speaking of Apollo’s reunions...shall we?

I loved that we got to see all the main-players one last time. Mimicking the “tour format” of the series, we get to watch Apollo catch up with his loved ones, who helped him learn how to be a better person throughout his trials.

It was sad, but reassuring, to watch Nico come to terms with Jason’s death. I like how he outlined the differences between Hazel’s and Jason’s deaths, and why he isn’t interfering out of respect for Jason. Watching Jason appear to Apollo (ambiguously as a ghost or as a figment of Apollo’s dream-imagination) was another moving reminder of the stark differences in the ways that different demigods prioritize and think about what it is to be a hero. Jason’s idea and Percy’s idea, for instance, are super different because of the way they were raised. Percy would put anything on the line for his family and friends; so would Jason, of course, but he also has a much broader view of what’s worth sacrificing your life for...which is admirable in ways, but also painfully sad, since a lot has to change in order for Jason’s death to carry weight. Over the course of the last two books, I think it’s very safe to say Jason’s death did change just about everything for the people who knew and loved him, and even those who didn’t. 

Whew. Okay, back to Camp Half-Blood. Nico and Will are clearly now very comfortable with each other, and it’s refreshing to see how they both watch out for each other and bring out the best in one another. I’m excited for their inevitable solo book, but regardless, it’s good to see Nico getting the help he needs (from his own experiences, from Dionysus, Will, etc), and for Rachel to get some distance from her terrible parents by living out her art student dreams in Paris. 

Then, we drop by the Waystation. I simply cannot get over the fact that Calypso is at BAND CAMP. Anyway, it’s unsurprising to find out that she and Leo are still “complicated”, but I’m glad she’s experiencing the highs and lows of mortal life, and that Leo is working on helping out vulnerable youth (and has two mom figures in his life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Glad we get to see Thalia and Reyna both happy and healthy, too.

Next up, Camp Jupiter and New Rome. LOVE that Hazel and Frank have both reclaimed the curses that haunted them since The Son of Neptune. They really both did just...like...basically die to bring down the Big Bad and then come back better than ever. (Side note: I still obviously have issues with the fact that Hazel is SO YOUNG! There was no reason for her not to be 15/16 like the rest of the Argo 2 crew! Ugh.)

Anyway, then we say goodbye to Percy and Annabeth. Except for the annoying continuity error in terms of the timeline of them learning about Jason, I really really really loved this parting moment with them. I know some readers wanted Percy and Annabeth to stay in New York, but it always felt very natural and meaningful for me that they’d want to relocate to New Rome. That was always the Big Dream for most of Heroes of Olympus, and it makes sense to me that they’d choose to live somewhere designed for demigods to actually live and grow old and raise families. Besides, I’m quite certain they’ll frequently be visiting New York. I digress. 

It was super bittersweet to see these two finally off on their own (and basically living together, as Apollo teasingly implies) going to college! Definitely a huge sigh of relief and satisfaction after following all their exploits since they were twelve. I’m so glad we get to see them (all things considered) happy and excited for their new life together. They certainly stepped back in this series, as they deserved. But they still lose Jason, and that’s something that weighs heavily on them and likely always will. Apollo calls Jason “the best of us”, and I don’t think that use of “us” is lost on Percy, Annabeth, or anyone-- Apollo’s identity and alignment is with them now, which will hopefully lead to positive change.

Then, simultaneously the saddest and happiest (?) reunion-- with Piper. This was obviously really heavy, since the last time Apollo sees her is in the wake of Jason’s death. For me, I’m very proud and excited by the fact that Piper is the only character who basically forges a whole new life (outside of the sphere of the Olympians) for herself. She’s far from other demigods and gods, and is committed to reconnecting with her mortal family and making a beautiful life. She has a new friend, too, which is absolutely awesome. (I mean, we all KNEW, right? But it’s really great to see this confirmed on-page.) When Piper told Apollo that he did right by Jason, I definitely lost it. And I also just really loved the final beat with her-- Apollo’s stammering a goodbye, but Piper’s already turned around to walk back to her new friend and her new life.

The final farewell, of course, went to Meg McCaffrey. She’s reclaimed Aeithales, and is now foster-sibling-extraordinaire by rescuing Nero’s other adopted demigods and giving them a new chance. Meg’s really matured and grown into such a kind and strong leader, but it was super bittersweet to see how much she still values Apollo. Their reunion just about broke me. They share a bond that no one else will ever understand, and they brought each other out of darkness that nearly ended them both. I literally can’t think of a better final dialogue than what they share:

You’ll come back?

Always. The sun always comes back. 

I’m fine!!! 

Anyway, this brings me to the closing lines of the story. Just as Percy opens The Lightning Thief by directly addressing the reader, Apollo closes The Tower of Nero by bidding farewell to us. 

Call on me. I will be there for you. 

On so many levels, this line works really well as the ending. For me, and I imagine for you too if you’re reading this, these 15 books are a pillar of our childhoods. We grew up alongside these characters, and found enormous excitement and identity and magic in these pages. The story may have come to a close, but it lives on within us-- it’s something we can return to time and again for enjoyment and understanding.

More than anything, this story pulled off something I didn’t really know was possible: it makes me feel genuinely and enthusiastically glad to be human, no matter how strange or hard it gets.

____________

My fifth-grade teacher assigned The Lightning Thief as mandatory reading when I was ten years old. I picked it up reluctantly, but from the first lines, I just completely fell into this story. Twelve years since that assignment, I’m now a traditionally-published author myself...writing about what else but mythology, of course. These books saw me from elementary school all the way to post-college life. It’s hard to imagine where I’d be without them-- certainly, I’d never have achieved my lifelong dream of becoming an author, nor would I have found such an incredible online community like the one I’ve found here. I consider myself extremely lucky to have grown up alongside these characters and their incredible story. 

I know we’ve likely got more standalones in this world to come, but this is still the end of the saga. I’m sad to see it come to a close, but I’m so ecstatic with the send-off we got, and I’m excited to let the story settle and become a part of me-- something that will always affect how I see the world, something that reminds me of why I write, and something that’s always there to welcome me home.