#older TOA

[backsurasy]

Late happy birthday to my birthday boy

[piperscharm]

something the percy jackson fandom isn’t accepting is nico getting better. everyone’s used to him being the emo little meow meow. he ain’t the fandom’s lil emo pout pout boy anymore. remember his 10 year old jumpy and excited self? he’s coming back to that. maybe not as much energy but he’s becoming more (un)serious, content and calm. he’s not angry, sad and emo anymore. in fact, he’s slightly annoyed by his emo boy title. my boy is becoming lightly happy again. he’s coming full circle and that’s beautiful. i’m sorry that some of you can’t accept change (i have a lot to say on with jason’s death).

[moodyseal]

Cabin 7 kids 🥺 they appeared for only one second in TON but I would totally die for them

[incorrect-riordanverse]

ares cabin the type to only have peace with each other when its 12am and they conglomerate in the kitchen for midnight snacks

[mediumgayitalian]

Despite his best efforts to be silent, Will wakes up as soon as Nico opens the door.

“Neeks?” he mumbles, squinting at the sliver of light bleeding into the bedroom. Nico hurries to close the door behind him, padding forward to the bed and dropping a kiss onto Will’s hair.

“Yeah, baby.”

Will sighs, curling up, leaning into Nico’s touch. “Good.”

Nico feels his tired eyes follow him as he putters quietly around the room, hanging his sword and his jacket, shucking off his torn jeans, tossing his shirt in a corner somewhere.

“Y’hurt?”

Nico smiles. He loves the heavy drawl of Will’s y’s that he gets when he’s sleepy or passionate, as much as he teases. It always makes him fluttery, makes the hairs on the back of his arms stand up.

“No.”

“Promise?”

Nico digs around until he finds a pair of Will’s flannel pyjama pants, tugging them on and rolling the waistband until he can wear them without tripping. He doesn’t bother with a shirt.

“Yes.”

“C’mere.” The blankets shift and whisper as Will peels them slightly back, lifting his arms around the empty space next to him. “Can practic’ly see ya shiverin’. Y’r g’na turn blue inna min’t.”

Nico can’t stop a giggle. He curls into Will’s hold, pressing a kiss to the sun on his chest and muttering something about cowboys and bull-wranglers. He’s well-used to the playfully stern pinch Will nicks on the curve of his thigh, and snickers more.

“Y’r not funny.”

“Y’r’n’funny,” Nico mocks, exaggerated. He clears his throat, and says with exaggerated deepness: “Y’ain’t from ‘round these here pards, pardner.”

Will pinches him again, but does nothing to hide the curve of his smile as he presses a kiss to Nico’s neck, his bare shoulder.

“M’gonna bite you.”

“Y’would’nt —”

Will does bite him, and Nico smacks him in revenge, although he doesn’t really care. If anything he kind of relishes it.

“Freak,” Will says fondly, knowing exactly what Nico’s thinking. He drags his head up to press a long, lingering kiss to Nico’s cheek. “Sleep. Warm up. Talk in the mornin’.”

“Mornin’,” Nico mocks tiredly, but settles in too, presses a last kiss to Will’s jaw before settling against him, breaths evening out to join him in dreamland.

[literallyjusttoa]

Two rough sketches about how being one of the only Olympians with one (1) functioning parent probably made Apollo way more prepared for Hermes and Dionysus. Apollo has been the number 1 coolest parent sibling for the past 4000 years.

[freddie-77-ao3]

Octavian started another war where he was willing and eager to firebomb a camp full of children so he could reap the glory of victory. I'd say his villainization by the fandom is very well-earned, especially since he had none of Luke's more sympathetic traits.

feel like you missed my whole point but okay.

Um. I mean if we consider Luke's sympathetic traits to be he was actually treated as a human with a backstory, sure, Octavian deserves to be villainized more but uh, I'd consider Octavian's reasons for waging war a lot more legitimate than Luke's tbh?

Like. Luke's boiled down to daddy issues. He was upset his father wasn't there, and decided to make that everyone else's problem. Sure, if it wasn't Luke, it would be someone else, but Luke's the figurehead here. Luke, who was actually treated pretty well by Hermes all things considered.

And yes, May Castellan would have been terrifying, and shouldn't have been Luke's caregiver but...

Having a difficult parental situation absolutely does not give you the right to take your pain out on others. And that's what Luke did.

And yes, Luke absolutely was manipulated. Kronos manipulated him.

Now let's consider Octavian's motivation to "firebomb a camp full of children" as you put it.

Number one: Octavian was also manipulated. Gaea did manipulate him. He thought he was listening to Apollo-- a god who, to him, was good. Should be respected.

Number two: he didn't start the war. No, really. The greeks, from his point of view, brought a warship over the city and started firing. They damaged homes, likely hurt people, all within what was MEANT to be a safe place.

Leo might have been possessed but that was never communicated to Octavian. So no, he didn't start a war.

Gaea forced Leo to start a war. Either way, the Greeks started the war in his eyes.

Also the fact you take such offense to Octavian waging war on children... did you somehow think that Luke was only waging war on the adults? Because I can tell you, most people consider a twelve year old a child, and Luke did in fact try to kill one of those. You know, Percy.

Also victims of Luke: Silena, actively groomed by Luke. Yeah she committed suicide, but she wouldn't have if Luke hadn't done that. Also, grooming is in fact also a crime.

And, you know, all the other casualties from that war. Because there were. Castor, Lee, Bianca, Zoë, Michael, Beckendorf, the other 15 campers dead from the battle of manhattan, and all the other casualties.

Also he did send Chris into the labyrinth, and didn't particularly seem to care that he was driven mad?

Not to mention the PTSD he inflicted on a bunch of kids.

So yes, you're right, Octavian did bad shit. But he also had his reasons for said bad shit. Reasons that I, personally, find a lot more compelling than Luke's.

Plenty of people have daddy issues, anon. Not many of them try to end the world.

[randomwriteronline]

would it be fucked up if the mata let it slip to the rahaga and dume that they were briefly dismembered and had to pop their bodies back into shape when they arrived on mata nui. like gali complaining she isnt used to walking all these stairs and her feet hurt "worse than when i came out of the canister" and bomonga is like ? so she explains she woke up with like half her joints rotted into goo and several bones just fallen out of her body and she had to slot it all back together, and she realizes halfway through that hes looking at her with genuine horror so she asks whats wrong and hes just like thats not normal. thats not normal gali.

"... were not supposed to... put ourselves back together?... just like that?" "absolutely not." "oh" "thats horrifying." "oh"

[yonemurishiroku]

An Older Nico who comes back to the past after wreaking havoc in his original timeline tho.

The guy's nice. He helps them. He's powerful. He's soft for his younger self and he adores Hazel all the same.

But then they see his sword brimming with godly essences; his aura sometimes turns slightly red at the edges. He has a vial of fire - from Hephaestus' forge, Leo said - that he doused Clytius with. A pair of winged shoes enabled him to cut off Cupid's wings after Young Nico's forced to come out. When he brakes off Jason and Percy's fight, he can redirect Jason's bolts and Percy thinks the pearls that the older man uses to defend against his water are familiar. Maybe he saw it in Poseidon's palace.

They're just gifts, he said. But they don't look like it, especially when Annabeth finds a shatter of her mother's shield amongst the future Nico's possession.

It's only much, much later when they realize that those are the takings of his fight against their godly parents where - or when - the older Nico comes from.

[pinkpeony1]

rereading mark of athena and holy shit the characterization of percy is literally peak. dare i say better than in the og series.

like the combination of his maturity and desire to have just a normal life slowly developing through SoN and MoA (esp in regards to Annabeth). specially after the chrysaor attack and and in rome with annabeth where he truly realizes that his fatal flaw is fatal and that his loyalty to annabeth and his friends will cost him (and possibly the world)

he’s having to deal with letting her go on the quest and that he can’t carry the quest. he’s always been the leader but that he can’t always be true one responsible for everything (which was a huge theme in TTC and TLO but comes back up but in less of a “i want to be a hero” and more of the “i have to protect everybody and i carry all the pressure”).

PLUS the foreshadowing that he will choose to fall with annabeth because as much as he recognizes his fatal flaw he is too loyal: he knows why he shouldn’t but loves her too much.

and the reoccurring theme of his fear of drowning/suffocating and the blame that he holds onto for everything in the quest (esp chrysaor). it’s just. peak. so good. i just love that he is working through not always being the one how has to do it all while also longing for a simple normal life.

just…percy in MoA 💙💙💙

[curseofdelos]

I'm normal about this

[aroaceleovaldez]

HoO is so funny to me when you actually think about the ages of all the characters. Octavian is 18. Percy and Annabeth are 16, almost 17. Reyna is presumably 16. Frank just turned 16, Jason’s about to turn 16. Leo and Piper are like 15. Hazel’s like 14 and a half, and Nico is 13.

The Death Sibs are both the youngest and oldest on the Argo II. Octavian is a college freshman getting into petty drama with a bunch of high schoolers. He gets told to shut up at one point by a random 8th grader. Everyone is scared of the 8th grader. We Sent A 13 Year Old To Superhell and he came back weirder, Just Like Middle School. TLH was just three high school sophomores being sent to do a task and it going Exactly Like You’d Expect. Percy’s the only demigod on the ship who can legally drive (though Reyna gets her drivers license at some point before TOA). What Is Happening.

[1800-lemon-boy]

Friendly reminder that Zöe nightshade was older than Artemis and the first hunter.

<33

[ordon-pumpkin]

One of my favorite moments from Trials of Apollo. 😆

[money-and-dandellions]

The first mention of Dionysus is 1300BCE.

The first mention of Apollon is the 8th century BCE.

Does that mean that Dionysus is 500 years older than Apollon or am I wrong

[mediumgayitalian]

“You haven’t been sleeping, again.”

Nico hums, eyes fluttering shut under Will’s gently touch. His thumbs are calloused — years of endless determination with a bow and a guitar — and tickle the sensitive skin of his eyebags, but he welcomes the feeling. He goes so far as to lean into his touch, grinning when he hears Will’s fond huff.

“Why haven’t you come to me?”

“It’s just started,” Nico promises, turning his head to press a kiss to Will’s palm. He smiles, although it doesn’t reach his eyes, worry swimming in lakes of blue as he continues to gently brush his thumb just above Nico’s cheekbone.

“Still.” He exhales deeply, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment; when he looks back over his expression is urgent. “You worry me, darlin’.”

“You’re a worrier.”

“Still,” Will repeats. He presses their foreheads together. “Can I help? I want to help.”

“Hm.” He takes Will’s closeness as an opportunity, wrapping both hands around his hips and tugging him forward, gently, until Will gets the hint, wrapping his arms around him in turn and clinging tightly. He lifts his head and tucks it back into the crook of his head. Nico tips forward just slightly enough to press his lips in the dip behind his ear, lingering, more of a press to skin than a kiss; somewhere more to touch.

“I want you to sleep well,” Will admits, voice small, almost lost in the wrinkles of Nico’s heavy sweater. “I want — ease. I want you to eat ‘till you’re full and smile when you feel like it and sleep through the night. And be healthy, and feel strong, and —”

“I know, vita,” Nico interrupts softly. Will’s hold tightens, and his does in turn. “I know.”

“Let me spend the night.”

“…Okay.”

He feels the bob of Will’s throat as he swallows, feels the slightest tremor across his broad shoulders. “I’ll keep watch. That way you can — you can —”

“Thank you.”

Will nods. Nico pretends he doesn’t feel the wetness that drips onto his neck, doesn’t feel the way he shakes. He knows he feels — useless, sometimes, when Nico is plagued by nightmares, when he struggles. It frustrates him not to be able to fix it. Nico doesn’t know how to explain that it will never be fixed — but he helps. He always helps.

“You’re like morphine personified,” he teases — the closest he can come. “Relieving, addicting, sweet, and deadly in high doses.”

As Nico had hoped, Will snorts, swatting him gently on the shoulder before straightening. He sniffles, once, swiping the tears under his eyes.

“That doesn’t even make sense, you loser.”

Nico grins back unashamedly. “Doesn’t need to. I met my goal.”

He’s rewarded with a slight pinking of Will’s cheek, even as he rolls his eyes; clearly, obviously pleased. Nico can’t help stretching to his tiptoes and pressing a long, lingering kiss to his lips.

“I love you,” he murmurs.

“Love you too, baby.”