#nero pjo

[everythingwasalreadypicked]

Terribly sorry for the inconsistent updates (will happen again though) but here's some Sun of Magic memes, some (most) of it has yet to happen

[daisy-mooon]

Isn't True

Whumptober 2023, Day 2: "They don't care about you."

-

"They don't care about you." Nero says, in a tone that's somewhere between honest and comforting, with something poisonous hidden underneath. Meg feels paralysed, the rage from her tantrum subdued and killed like her feelings are nothing more than a wild beast that needs to be slaughtered.

What he's saying isn't true. They do care about her. The people at Camp Half-Blood. Camp Jupiter. The Waystation. Her home cares about her. Apollo cares about her.

"I know this is hard, Meg." His hand drifts to her shoulder and holds it. It's not hard or forceful or hurtful, but comforting. "But the people around you can lie. You mustn't blame yourself for falling for manipulation. Especially Apollo's."

It's not true. Apollo does care for her. He's like… he's like her brother. She echoes this. It sounds empty and defeated.

"Meg." Nero sighs. It makes her skin crawl. "You may see Apollo as a brother. But it's unlikely that he sees you as a sister. He already has one - remember Artemis?" His voice hesitates as I'd he doesn't know what he's going to say. He does. She hates him. "I suspect...that Apollo is using you as a replacement for his twin, until he returns to godhood."

Meg wants to scream, wants to slap him, wants to run away and hide and never look at him again. The memory of Apollo curled up in Artemis'- Diana's arms haunts her. She's not- she knows she's more than a replacement-

"Yes, I would die to save Meg McCaffrey." She remembered him saying, through the spiral of deathly haze she'd been subjected too in the Dark Oracle. He had said that. Not too her, as a reassurance, but too the spirit, as an admission. Forget any sibling like relationship, he cared about her, he did-

"Oh Meg." Nero starts to stroke along her back. "You poor, poor child."

She sniffs, and tries to hold on to what should be on what is the truth. Apollo cares about her. He'll enact their plan, do it with Lu and a burst of godly rage, and then save her. He has too.

The sunlight doesn't fully come through the windows. She tries to focus on that watery, half hidden star, and not on the beast sitting beside her.

[mothmanavenue]

//The Dark Prophecy, The Trials of Apollo

Parallel loves

[citrusreadstoa]

Reading The Hidden Oracle: Chapter 30 (SPOILERS)

"In 1928, Alexander Fleming failed to give me credit for inspiring his discovery of penicillin." I'm told this is in reference to how Fleming returned from vacation to find that something strange had grown in one of his petri dishes and that led to his discovery of penicillin. I didn't make that connection at first! So I guess in the PJO universe, Apollo made that mold grow in the petri dish.

"the primary-colored shoes of a traitor >:(" LMAO "She is a member of the Imperial Household." So she's not just any child soldier-gladiator taken in from off the streets. She's special. I wonder why. What set her apart from any others Nero has taken in (bc I'm sure it's not just her)? Also, you'd think that a member of the Imperial Household would be better cared for, unless the traffic light clothing was a disguise to make her seem pitiful?

"They Labyrinth has a convenient opening in the myrmekes' nest." I can imagine a giant ant wandering aimlessly through the maze, tired and desperate to get back to its home. Sad and alone without the companionship of its colony, it is slowly losing hope. Suddenly, a noise! It is a pair of demigods conveniently tied together at the legs in a foolish death race, a perfect snack to keep it going in its darkest time! I wonder if any of the campers have come across myrmekes during their Labyrinth-based camp activities or if the ants are smarter than the campers and avoid the maze entrance in their hill.

"You used a nature spirit to destroy nature?" That is actually really messed up. I didn't realize it. How does Meg tolerate this? She probably feels she has no choice but to follow what her "stepfather" orders her to do.

"I guess the grove was quite nervous about that attempt. We got two demigods for the price of one!" No, I'm sure it was just because these two idiots were tied together at the leg and even if only one of them heard the grove calling, the other one got pulled along anyway. But they could've woken each other up if they heard the trees, so he might actually be right, never mind.

"we didn't have fiddles back then." Hahaha Nero setting straight historical inaccuracies

"Nero leveled the neighborhood and built a new palace--the Domus Aurea." Wow, Apollo's spilling all the tea!

"it became famous as the Colossus of Nero!" That's it! That's the big giant bronze statue that I remember from years ago that attacks camp!

"mauve-and-gold Rolex" I want that. Give me that.

"They will be released" Into the cold embrace of death, probably.

"strung up Christians all over his backyard and burned them to illuminate his garden party. I was there. I remember the screaming." YEESH. Also, Apollo, you were there? I hope by that you mean you could hear the screaming all the way from the heavens and not that you were at the garden party.

"I saw how easily he could have twisted a scared child's understanding of the world" Boy, I'm really glad Apollo's not blaming Meg for all this. It's what I would have expected from a god and I'm glad Apollo's not falling into that trap.

"I command you. Help me. Now." I forgot Meg could just order him around.

[wu-does-art]

[the-goddess-of-gays]

this sounds like a line from a solangelo crackfic but it's a canonical interaction from tower of nero and it's the best thing ever

(or, reason #4395 why I adore will solace)

[moodyseal]

"What happened between book 4 and 5?" lots of shenanigans that's what ‼️

[lavenderfairiez]

I just finished ToA last night and here are some things I don't see nearly enough people talking about, specifically about the end of ToA so if you haven't read it this is your spoiler warning!!!

• Apollo not feeling right in his godly form and uncomfortable around the other olympians (not including Artemis)

• LEO CALLING JO "MOM" 🥺 (and Emmie and Jo in general) BUT HE HAS TWO MOMS NOW I LITERALLY STARTED CRYING ABOUT THIS LAST NIGHT

• Apollo visiting Percy and Annabeth in New Rome!!!

• AND they talk about Jason!!!!!! Annabeth cried herself to sleep

• honestly Apollo's whole battle with Python that shit was so cool

• obligatory fuck Calypso

• REYNA CALLING LEO "HERMANO" 🥹

• Meg standing up to Nero in his throne room!!! I LOVE HER SO MUCH

• Rick's infallible ability to put EVERY. SINGLE. FUCKING. CHARACTER. in a relationship 💀 PEACHES HAS A LOVE INTEREST NOW???????? LET CHARACTERS BE SINGLEEEEE

• HAZEL'S CURSE IS GONE AND SHE CAN JUST LIKE USE HER JEWELS NOW!!! and Frank wants an engraved diamond necklace that says "H+F Forever" I love him so much...

• while we're on the topic of Frank!! WHY DOES NO ONE EVER TALK ABOUT HIS SACRIFICE AT THE END OF THE TYRANTS TOMB??? Like I knew that he would be fine but I still started like tearing up

• THE ARROW OF DODONA!!!

• how completely unaffected Zeus is by Jason's death??? Fuck you Zeus.

• Apollo's new kids at camp!!!

[mooni]

in canon, apollo invented the honey, he gay meme. not only is this one of the most meta things across the entire franchise, the way he phrases it makes it sound like in the pjo verse, the meme actually went viral. apollo is canonically a fucking memelord and i could not be happier

[arihuntress]

Would there be a Trials of Apollo animated series. I think this would be the poster for anouncing the "COMING SOON" of Tower of Nero.

Fake News: Tower of Nero!

Coming soon into theatre….

[everythingwasalreadypicked]

More Sun of Magic shenanigans (aka I am putting random scenarios here because I do not have a written outline and I don't want to forget it)

Apollo: Why do you have a phone I thought demigods couldn't use one?

Al: It’s enchanted! Uhh, totally just trust me.

Apollo: ...sounds fake but I do not know enough about magic so okay :/

Meanwhile, Nero sitting in his office holding his phone and a certain dead author's mistform card:

[the-eclipse-is-in-me]

Apollo being REAL

Apollo is forever the REALEST of these lines

[overheard-at-camp-half-blood]

I never noticed this on the back of Tower of Nero. I always thought they were just reviews

[siingomuse]

some of the book names in pjo/hoo/toa are actually FIRE mate like. "the lightning thief" that's actually so fire???? "the titans curse"??? that's so epic bro like. that's so cool "the battle of the labyrinth"?? that would be the COOLEST band name mate "mark of athena" like. greek mythology song named that WHEN?? and ALL of the book names in Trials of Apollo? FIRE "the hidden oracle" thats so awesome like WHAT??? "the dark prophecy" fire song name "the burning maze" aidoneus song drop named that when?? "the tyrant's tomb" call your band that drop the songs and I would be your NUMBER 1 listener like thats so cool "tower of nero" fire shit mate rick you were COOKING with these names

[citrusreadstoa]

Reading The Dark Prophecy: Chapter 20 (SPOILERS)

"Leg irons are fashionable / Cue the screaming god" What the fudge is the leg iron. What new torture device--

"playing my combat ukulele." Again, what makes it a combat ukulele? I have yet to see it do anything other than play regular ukulele music.

"That night I slept like the dead" Can Brieanna sleep? Can ghosts will themselves to sleep?

"I'll do my best to train your friend Calypso this morning" Complaint: we hardly get to see Leo and Calypso together. Where is my Caleo content?

"You don't have to fly. The idea was to make two ankle bracelets, but I didn't have time." Ten bucks Apollo is going to end up using the flying feature one way or another and he's just gonna get pulled by one foot swerving uncontrollably.

"Commodus blames me for his death" Because you killed him. "Why?" "Probably because I killed him." Yeah.

"Meg made a sound like a cat's sneeze." That's... an astoundingly accurate way to describe a short laugh.

"He's also vainglorious" This one's probably straightforward, but just in case... VAINGLORIOUS (adj.): excessively proud of oneself or one's achievements; overly vain Yep, just what I thought.

"So he's like your competition, then?" Lol Leo's not wrong tho

"Why Commodus? . . . Why not some eviler, more famous guy" That's what I've been wondering, too. I figured the guy who got stabbed 23 times but 60 people actually volunteered (I think the emperor's name was Julius Caesar but idk) would be one of the three. I simply assumed I was ignorant of Roman history (which I am). I looked it up. HE STARTED THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE. HE WAS EVEN POSTHUMOUSLY DEIFIED. WHY IS THIS GUY NOT ONE OF THE VILLAINS? They're probably going to make a reference and give a good explanation later. Talking meta, it's probably because everyone already knows him and expects to see him. We already have Nero and Caligula, so having a third name that everyone's heard of would get excessive. Or, idk, maybe Rick Riordan just didn't feel like it.

"the third one, the emperor in the west" Oh, so now Meg watches her words. Doesn't care about Nero or Commodus, she just can't say Caligula's name. What's the point at the point? She's already drawn everyone else's attention. "Nero never used his name." Oh, that explains it.

"Nero took him." NERO BETTER NOT BE HURTING PEACHES

"A line of chevrons rippled on the green water" CHEVRON (n.): a line or stripe in the shape of a V or an inverted V

"I think that's another part of the same creature." Sea monster sea monster sea monster

Ooooookayyyyy we need to wait 'til next chapter to see the sea monster.

[guardianspirits13]

This is what happened, right?