#this can also apply to Percy herself

[anotheroceanid]

Pre-Gaea WTHB Apollo in a nutshell

Apollo: Wow, I feel happy and I'm having so much fun!

Apollo:

Apollo: *narrows eyes* Something's wrong here.

[graceshouldwrite]

Writing Compelling Side Characters

**NOTE: Some of these tips don't really apply to ensemble casts, where there are multiple Main Characters (plural).

1) Agency - motivations, actions, effects

Technically, they ARE side characters in your MC's story, but don't base your writing on that fact.

Side characters need:

Their own REASONS for joining the story (because they want to, not because the PLOT wanted them to) Example: In Arcane, Caitlyn inadvertently gets involved with Vi due to her compassion and desire to help the undercity, not because the plot needs a love interest

A GOAL, on which they act INDEPENDENT of the plot, and actually affects your MC/the main plot (not the other way around) Example: In Loki, Sylvie's independent goal is to take down the TVA, and her actions reveal the TVA's corruption to Loki, influencing him to join her in fighting against the TVA instead of working for them

A STAKE in how things end (e.g. someone getting paid after agreeing to join a heist); they aren't just in it to be a "comic relief" or a "damsel in distress" Example: In Breaking Bad, Jesse joins Walt in cooking meth because he makes BANK from selling drugs, not because Walt needed a funny and traumatized sidekick

Their own RELATIONSHIPS with other characters, aside from the MC—they have their own friends, enemies, love interests, etc., and these relationships can completely change the plot Example: In the original Percy Jackson series, all of the side characters (e.g. Annabeth, Nico, Thalia, Luke, etc.) have their own relationships with each other that greatly affect the plot. Check it out: Annabeth's attachment to Luke, even after he became evil, completely changed the plot in several ways: kickstarting a journey to save her from Luke in The Titan's Curse, revealing his true evil identity as a vessel for Kronos (big bad!) in The Battle of the Labyrinth, and mainly contributing towards Luke's reversion away from evil in the last book due to him remembering his promise to take care of her a long time ago, etc.

Their own PAST that affects how they act, move forward, and how they treat the MC Example: In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Azula's pressure on herself and desire for perfection is greatly driven by her father's expectations of her as the fire-bending prodigy, resulting in a childhood of earning parental love and care AFTER she proves her worth to him. This created a mentality ceaselessly focused on her goals—which are usually her father's missions—causing her to be deadly, manipulative, and constantly causing problems for the main character.

The side character is not an extension or byproduct of the MC's plot; their own story happens to collide and intertwine with your MC's plot, but is ultimately independently driven.

2) Affecting the ending

The story can't have reached the same ending regardless of the side characters' existence. They must be necessary to the MC in helping them reach their goal faster, more prepared, etc. For example, in Avatar, Aang would not have been able to reach his goal of defeating the fire lord without the help of his friends, who each taught him valuable life lessons as well as combat skills.

Each character must have an independent impact on the MC—don't treat them like a group (e.g. "the side characters," who are one individual collective). Arcane does a great job with this, as each side character has a completely different impact on the MCs (e.g. Silco, Ekko, Caitlyn, and Vi—not a side character but for the purpose of this analysis, bear with me—all have a different impact on Jinx). It isn't just a literal impact. It's what the MC learns, and the theme of the story. They should help the MC realize things about themselves, and contextualize the MC by showing them in different situations with different people.

3) Avoid stereotypes Don't create characters from moulds and conform 100% to the trope: e.g. the "comic relief" can also be "the outlaw/rebel" or the "love interest," the "brooding antihero" can also be the "caregiver" or the "wise one," the "seductive girl" can also be the "science nerd" or the "broken optimist," etc. Mix and match. Everyone has more than 1 personality trait in real life, and probably fulfils more than 1 role to the other people in their lives. Give them intersecting personality traits to flesh them out.

4) Theme and Arc Especially compelling side characters have their own arc and embody their own theme.

Example 1: Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice is more than the brooding love interest—he develops by being less arrogant and learning to see people beyond their social status, and opens up to new ideas, people, and situations.

Example 2: Nico di Angelo from the Percy Jackson series goes on a journey of self-acceptance and embracing his identity, instead of just being the stereotypical emo kid who is constantly in a state of angst.

Example 3: In Arcane, Silco goes from a ruthless crime lord who believes that attachment is weakness, to someone who genuinely cares about his adoptive daughter, so much so that he can't give her up even in exchange for his lifelong dream.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[7s3ven]

can you please do poseidon/reader and she finds out luke is the lightning thief?

THE GRUDGE. luke (pjo)

( master list )

IN WHICH… Y/N L/N can’t forgive Luke for his crimes despite loving him more than she loves herself.

“I know in my heart hurt people, hurt people. And we both drew blood, but, man, those cuts were never equal.”

Warnings : spoilers, small angst (in my opinion lol. I’m more sensitive to family/friendship angst, not relationship angst), short(ish) oneshot

A/N : to any other writers, do you ever act out the situations you’re writing so you can write a better descriptions of reactions and then you realise that you’re actually a good actor?

Because I literally just acted out Y/N’s reaction and either I’m great at fake crying (which has been a talent of mine) … or my heart-wrenching sobs were real 😨. Also, the song one of us from the Lion King suits Luke perfectly.

—

The life of a half-blood wasn’t easy, especially not when you were a forbidden child. Y/N flipped through her fashion magazine, aimlessly swinging her legs as she lay on her front. “Y/N.” Luke called out, pushing the creaky door open. She lifted her head, staring at him curiously.

“Hey, Luke.” She smiled at him, clasping her hands together. He grinned back, slowly walking over to her side.

“You feeling okay?” He asked, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder. With Percy, her half-brother gone, she was alone in her cabin. Again.

Y/N gazed at him through her lashes. “Yeah. I’m good. I’m fine.” She whispered, reaching out to grasp his wrist. Luke bit the inside of his cheek.

“I have your phone.” Luke uttered, handing Y/N her device. Phones weren’t allowed in camp but Luke found a way around that, much to Y/N’s happiness. She had spent far too long in the mortal world to give up scrolling through social media.

“Thanks, love.” Her pink-tinted lips curved into a soft smile. “You have no idea how much I need this now that Percy is gone on his quest. It’s so lonely here.”

Y/N always hated being in her own company. Her cabin got messy and she never had the motivation to clean it. She was thankful for Luke because he always helped her with the mundane task that should have been easy, but not for her.

“No problem, princess.” Luke lightly kissed her forehead while she laughed. “I can’t wait until Percy is back because I have a feeling that things are about to change.” Nothing good lasts for long. Y/N, more than anyone, knew that. She stalked through the thick vegetation, harbouring a heavy sword. She had heard rumours of Luke… and she needed to confirm it for herself, even if it meant endangering her safety.

“Luke.” She called out, her voice shaking. She didn’t want to believe the rumours but Luke was unpredictable. Ever since returning from his quest, he hadn’t been the same.

Y/N had been at Camp Half-Blood for longer than most and she had seen demigods come and go, desperately searching for glory but never finding enough of it.

“Luke.” She said again, repeating it like it was a mantra that would save him from the terrible fate he had chosen. She dragged her sword against the ground, her eyes scanning for the slightest bit of movement amongst the trees.

She sighed, thinking of returning to camp before she spotted a flicker of orange. "Luke?" She whispered, but he still heard her. She stepped towards him, breathing heavily.

"Luke... what... is it true? Did you..." Y/N couldn't find the right words. "What did you do, Luke?" She asked, grabbing him by the front of his shirt when she noticed how he avoided her gaze and how his eyes looked so guilty. "What did you do?!"

"I did what I had to, Y/N. The gods... they don't care about us." Luke stiffened as Y/N glowered at him, her eyes filled with so much rage and hate and sadness and everything in between.

"You're wrong, Luke!" She exclaimed, harshly shaking him.

"I'm not like you, Y/N! My father doesn't care about me. Yours might give a shit about you but that doesn't apply to anyone! Look around you. Poseidon ignored Percy for years while nurturing you. My father abandoned my mother and I when he could have helped us. Ares hates Clarisse for being a girl and forces her to train harder until she collapses. They try so hard to find every little flaw in us that they ignore what we've done for them."

"But why this, Luke? Why betray us? Me! You betrayed me, Luke! And all your friends and family! Hermes may not give a shit about you, but I do! I have loved you since we first met, Luke! I fucking love you and you betrayed me!" Y/N slammed her fists against his chest, screaming until tears welled up in her eyes. "What did you do to Percy?" She muttered, her voice barely even a whisper. "Tell me. Tell me now and I might spare you! Please… please.” She hiccuped, her hits growing weaker.

Luke wheezed as Y/N gripped his throat for a split second. "He'll be fine... he only got stung."

"I hate you." Y/N seethed, rage engulfing her soft heart until it spilled out and poisoned her body with its toxins. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you! Gods, I hate you, Luke! Fuck you! Fuck… you!” She screamed, the sound echoing around the empty trees.

But she still couldn't bring herself to stab him. "Get out of here, Luke. Go! Leave! I never want to see your face again!" Y/N's voice shook as she shoved Luke away from her.

Heart-wrenching sobs slipped past her lips as she pointed an accusing finger at Luke. "The gods have fucked up, Luke, but you are no different. Maybe you had the right idea at first... but you went with it the wrong way. And it cost you everything. Don't go near Percy again. Don’t you dare touch him ever again! You don’t deserve his kindness! Don't even look at him because I promise you, if you do, I will drive a stake through your heart!” Y/N's confident voice faltered for a moment. She shakily inhaled. "I hope you're happy with yourself." That fated day still haunted Y/N's mind. She often had nightmares about it, where things turned out different had she stabbed Luke. She always woke up with a loud gasp, covered in a light layer of sweat.

On her nightside table, her phone rang. She hadn't been using it much since Luke left. She slowly reached for it. Nobody had her phone number except her close friend, who lived in Tokyo, her cousin, and... Luke.

Her heart was beating unusually fast as she shakily turned the device over to peer at the screen. Her stomach churned and she dropped her phone in horror. Percy was in the infirmary, still recovering from the pit scorpion attack. She was somewhat thankful for that.

She let the phone ring, letting out a sigh of relief when it finally stopped. But it started again, and again. Until on the third ring, she finally clicked the green button.

She didn't say anything, flinching at the sound of Luke's voice. "Y/N? Y/N. Thank goodness you picked up! I knew you weren't going to answer my iris message so I was hoping your phone was working."

Y/N cut Luke off from his ranting. "Luke... don't call me again."

"Wait, Y/N. Please listen to me. I love"-

She hung up before he could finish. She stared at her phone, gripping it tightly. With a guttural scream, she threw it across the room. It landed safely on Percy's bed and a part of her was glad that it did. It was one of the only things she had left from Luke.

She didn't know if she could ever forgive Luke for betraying her trust. And the worst thing was that she still loved him from the bottom of her heart. "You good?" Y/N quietly walked towards Percy, helping him sit up. He groaned.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about Luke... I know how much he meant to you." Percy's eyes softened as he stared at Y/N, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"He, uh... tried calling me last night." Y/N pressed her lips into a thin line.

Percy tilted his head to the side. "So what'd you do?"

"I ignored him until the third time... then I hung up after I told him to stop contacting me."

"You don't have to be so tough all the time, Y/N." Percy uttered, pulling her into a tight hug. His arms wrapped around her waste and she sighed.

"I really want to scream, Percy. I just... can't believe he could do that so easily. I mean, leave us... leave me. I'm trying not to care and I'm trying to say I'm fine but I can't let it go." Tears welled up again, dripping down the red apples of her cheeks.

Y/N would be lying if she said she hadn’t tried to figure out why Luke did what he did. She tried to piece everything together but it only hurt her head and heart to think.

After ensuring Percy was comfortable, she stepped outside. The camp was in utter chaos after Luke’s betrayal and they were trying to find more spies amongst them. Most people suspected Y/N because she ran into the woods to confront Luke and she was closely associated with him, which didn’t help. But she loved her friends and she could never leave them as Luke had.

She wandered into a small clearing, dipping her hand into a cold river nearby to calm herself. She didn’t even notice someone was watching her from behind until they cleared their throat.

With a panicked gasp, Y/N looked over her shoulder. She was expecting a fellow camper, maybe even Luke, but not Hermes in all his glory. The pair stared at each other for a minute before Hermes finally broke the awkward silence.

“You’re Y/N, right?” He hesitatingly pointed at her, worried he had the wrong girl.

She nodded.

“I know I’m probably the last person you want to see after Luke left.” Hermes started off, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

“Luke is the last person I want to see.” Y/N retorted, “You’re second on that list.”

“He really did like you, you know."

“It wasn’t enough apparently.” Y/N shrugged, already accepting that she could tear Luke from his fate, “Maybe I deserved the betrayal… but not from Luke. He practically made me into the person I am. I guess he wanted to see how high he could build me before I fell. He had everything yet he still wanted more.”

“He cared about you. Dare I say, Y/N, he love”-

She cut him off just as she had cut Luke off. “Don’t say he loved me because if he did then he wouldn’t have done this! He… he wouldn’t have done all this!” Y/N choked on her words as she bit back a sob.

“He still loves you. Not loved. Not past-tense. Never past-tense. I’ve seen him, you know. He misses you and for a while, he tried to contact you in every way he could just so he could hear your voice. Even if you were screaming at him. I know that in another life, he wishes he didn’t have to leave you behind.”

“There shouldn’t be another life!” Y/N exclaimed. Getting angry at a god was dangerous but she was so frustrated and angry and hurt. Hermes didn’t seem to mind. He nodded his head, understanding her emotions. “Don’t you get it? You also have to take the blame. You’re part of the reason why he betrayed us!”

“He’ll forgive me eventually.”

Y/N shook her head. “No. You and every other deity thinks that your neglected child will forgive you but they might not. They might forgive but they will never forget. If I can’t even forgive the boy I love with all my heart, how do you think Luke will ever forgive you?” She furrowed her eyebrows.

“Forgiveness takes strength." Hermes whispered, barely loud enough for Y/N to hear. "Luke is much stronger than I originally thought and you, the mighty daughter of the sea god himself, are too.”

“Yeah, well,” Y/N shrugged as she stood up, brushing the dirty off her pants. “I don’t think I’m quite there yet.”

“It takes time.” Hermes said, “Meanwhile, I would suggest answering that.” He pointed at her phone that was ringing in her hand. Y/N didn’t even notice with how distracted she was.

She briefly looked down at the screen and raised her head again, her lips parting when Hermes was nowhere to be seen.

She hesitatingly pressed the accept button and raised her phone to her ear. She heard him quietly gasp, surprised she even answered again. “Luke… hi.”

PJO TAG LIST : @lostinhisworld @julielightwood @outerbanks-stuff @jennapancake @csifandom @evrybodydies1 @kkrenae @s0ulsniper @annispamz @justanotherkpopstanlol @soraya-09 @simpforeveyone @papichulo120627 @corpsebridenightamare @lilacspider @prettylilsimp @urmomsbananabread @ur-lacol-dsylexic @hottiewifeyyyy @kamiliora @be-bap @finnickodaddy @th0tblckgrl @shoyofroyoyoyo @uniquely-her @imafrkinsimp @syraxesrevenge @ahh-chickens @dracoslovergirl @midnightstar-90 @8812-342 @liv1104 @krkiiz @arialikestea @ch16rles @lizziesliz @maryclx01 @lukecastellandefender @yuminako @coryoskywalker @julielightwood @crybabysbakery @jsbaby @liviessun @p3pperm1nttea @angie-esc @purplerose291 @prettylilsimp @10ava01 @froggiesstalks @happy-jj @czennieszn @gisellesprettylies @loveyava @csifandom @luvvfromme @mashiromochi @kamiliora @yorksyree @mqg125 @jamesmackreideswife @niktwazny303 @2hiigh2cry @user021099 @living-in-my-imagination88 @xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx

[somewhereincairparavel]

Jason getting glasses is actually so symbolic of his duality imo. You know how there are idioms that go 'look behind one's lens" ?? That applies perfectly to Jason.

He also had a coin for a weapon, maybe representing that he has "two sides of the same coin" ??

Jason is absolutely terrifying if he's driven over the edge, something that doesn't happen often (thank you Rick for showing us how much you hate making jason interesting or powerful) like when his fingers started sparking after he realised Piper and the others were on the argo ii when some kind of creatures starts attacking the ship, when Caligula broke Piper's jaw ultimately setting Jason off, or when he and Percy chose to unleash their full potential of storms in MOA together.

He can be legitimately SO cold, ruthless and indifferent if he wants to, till the point where it shocks his friends, like how he didn't trust Nico and didnt feel keen on saving him, saying in an abnormally casual way that it was perfectly okay to leave him to die at Rome in FRONT of the said boy's sister, causing Hazel to start being really scared and paranoid to be alone with Jason (I know this is widely used a reason to hate him in the fandom, but I find his nonchalant coldness towards the Nico situation extremely realistic considering how he was brought up in Camp Jupiter. Camp Jupiter is always attack and not defend, and they're ruthless in nature, so much so till the point where that amount of cruelty is considered very normal, and even a desirable quality for a perfect roman. Hazel obviously wasn't exposed to this as she was only in CJ for a very short period of time, so she took it as a shock. And considering that Jupiter is Jason's dad, you can't expect any sort trait of Jupiter to NOT seep onto his son right? Thalia can be extremely ruthless and merciless too, like when she had no hesitation in wanting to go against Luke in TLO even after Percy showed Luke sympathy after he saw Luke's younger memories) and notice how coldly Jason talked to his enemies (sciron for example).

His eyes are even considered ’cold and calculating’ and even Annabeth, the number one intimidator, felt personally intimidated and said that Jason made her extremely nervous and uncomfortable simply with the way he was looking at her like he knew too much information/was hiding many things. Annabeth knew that Jason was smart in a very dangerous way and that he could use information against her, that's coming from the daughter of Athena herself so you could imagine how genuinely threatening jason could look.

But he could be the sweetest guy ever?? Jason goes up to Nico's cabin bc he wanted to give him a hug and constantly kept reassuring Nico that he wanted to be his friend even after Nico's indifference in HOH. He took Piper on a secret get away date on his cabins rooftop, breaking the rules to make her happy, genuinely thinks that he would turn into a tree like his sister had because he thought it was customary for all Zeus kids, so much so that it made Annabeth laugh, etc.

[shanastoryteller]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA MY ONE TRUE LOVE!!! CAN I HAVE SOME PERCY AND TONKS CONTENT TO MAKE MY SOUL CONTENT PLEASE ✨✨✨

There are several titles that fall under the auror. When the ministry was first established, it was just inferior and superior, meant in the Latin way, but that fell out of favor rather quickly for obvious reasons. There was some talk of adopting the ranks of a legion used by the Romans, but since such ranks are still in practice in magical Italy, it didn’t the smartest idea. Tonks thinks that it was probably a Zabini who suggested it. Now their ranks are just numbered, from fifth to first, and junior, standard, and senior.

Everyone starts the same – fifth ranked junior auror – and works their way up one by one. Training is a year and if they make it through that, they’re a junior agent who better make it up to the first rank by the end of their third year, otherwise they’re likely getting cut.

There’s a track to speed through the junior phase and get to the land of securely employed standard auror, but that’s for people that have combat or specialized experience, usually for people who aren’t entering auror training straight of school like she is. Or for when they’d needed to replenish their ranks during the war and those applying had been fighting anyway.

Which is why she’s looking in confusion at the thick roll of parchment that Shackbolt has shoved under her nose. She’s only a couple months into training and while she thinks she’s doing pretty good, she’d also tripped over her literal two left feet during the first week of boot camp. Sometimes she changes in her sleep and doesn’t notice for a while, okay? It’s not like she did it on purpose. She’s pretty good at dueling, her mother made sure of that, but they haven’t even gotten to that part yet. “I’m confused.”

“Fill this out and give it back to me by the end of the week,” he says, already turning away from her.

She makes her arm extra long so she can grab his elbow before he gets too far away. “But I don’t have anything that qualifies me! There’s no way Bones will approve this.”

He raises an eyebrow and looks down at her arm. “Are you sure about that, Trainee?”

Oh. But she hasn’t really gotten a chance to show those skills off either, and being a metamorphmagus is impressive, but not that impressive. But she does as she’s told, leaving it on his desk and trying not to think too much about it.

Bones approves it.

Being on the advanced track has it advantages – blessed job security – but it also means she just gets a jump on desk duty, really. Apparently they don’t just send newly minted aurors out to battle dark wizards to the death, for some reason.

She sighs. She’s never been very good at paperwork.

How very not good she is at is proved when during her very first week when Percy Weasley shows up at her desk, looking even more sleep deprived than he had as a runty fourteen year old, which is impressive. He’s a lot taller now. Late growth spurt, perhaps. Or maybe she just wasn’t paying that much attention. He drops a stack of paper on her desk and she recognizes her own messy scrawl. “These are filled out incorrectly. I can’t process them like this.”

Her shoulders slump. She’d tried to pull other reports and fill them out the same way, but it was all so confusing. How she’s supposed to know how to categorize these things? Why are there thirteen different codes for a house robbery, anyway? And there are so many different sections, and she wasn’t even there, she just has other people’s notes to go off of, and they take notes like she did in History of Magic.

She’s going to be here all night redoing them and they’ll probably still be wrong and Kinglsey will regret ever pushing her through the advanced track and her mother will have been right, which is really the worst of all –

“Hey,” Percy says, and she blinks several times before looking up at him so she doesn’t embarrass herself. “I can – if you’re busy, I can just,” he reaches for the papers he’s dropped on her desk.

She slaps her hand over them to stop him, but instead his hand ends up trapped beneath hers. “No! No, it’s okay, I have to learn how to do this. It’s important.”

He stares at her with a look she can’t explain. “It’s just paperwork.”

“It’s my job,” she says stubbornly, “it’s all important. I’m going to be a great auror – the best auror. And that includes my paperwork.”

He smiles at her, which is suitably distracting from her own ruined night. She doesn’t know if he’s ever smiled at her before. He’d always seemed so stoic, nothing like his brothers. “All right. If you’re sure.”

“Yes,” she says, freshly determined, finally lifting her hand off his. Everyone else has figured out how to do this. She can too. She will. “But thanks.”

“No problem,” he says, then, “My dad has a muggle coffee pot in his department lounge. If you want. The password is rubber duck.”

She does prefer coffee made the muggle way. That’s how it’s made in her house, of course, with her muggle father, and there’s something to the taste that she thinks coffee loses after it’s third hour of being charmed hot or squeezed through by magic instead of just hot water and a little patience.

How does Percy know that?

Before she can ask, he’s already turned and walking away from her, and she barely has the chance to shout, “Thanks!” before he turns the corner.

[maluceh]

Top Lily variants? I've seen so many "[random hp character #10] variants" online, with various degrees of accuracy, but I don't remember ever seeing one for lily. Your Jily ones were so accurate (the only pair I'm not super familiar with was peraltiago, and I know enough about them to know they fit), so I was curious if you had any just for her as a character. You basically wrote the Lily (& Jily) gospel so I trust your takes <3

*cracks knuckles*

I'm about to give you a full detailed dive into Lily's character and personality that you absolutely did not ask for. I’d have to say the ones I had already picked for Jily variants (since I always look for couples where they both have James/Lily’s personalities). I’ll try and make it to ten but there’s only so many characters that truly fit Lily for me. Mostly the characters that I see as Lily, are sarcastic, witty, overachievers, intelligent, charismatic, and snarky…

Amy Santiago (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

I know you said you haven’t seen it, but TRUST ME. Amy is a control freak know it all, she finds comfort in order and structure. Although she’s a bit more uptight than I imagine Lily to be. Her constant need for reassurance and approval from figures of authority is something I can definitely see in Lily. Her relationship with Holt is kinda what I imagine Lily to be like with Minerva/Alastor. Also, the fact that she is deeply loyal (as most characters in this list).

Over the course of the show she loses up a bit, and learns to have more fun and I think this could be applied to Lily in her Hogwarts years. Lily being a muggleborn is a very VERY important part of her character, as well as her morals and political standing with blood purity.

We can draw certain parallels between her and Hermione (overachievers, Head Girls, prefects), you don’t get those badges by simply passing by through school. So from this we can deduce that Lily was an excellent student that focused on exceeding at school, because there’s an extra need to prove herself among not just her teachers but her peers as well. To make them see that she’s just as much magic as they are.

So, like Amy, she's constantly trying to prove that she is smart and qualified (Amy in a field mostly male, Lily in a world mostly pureblood).

Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson)

Annabeth too is a smart character that wants approval —in this case, from her mother—. She is more arrogant and snarky, a little sharper around the edges, which is so Lily!!

Her upbringing has made her become more guarded with her feelings and who she puts her trust in, also her reluctance to accept Luke’s betrayal. These are things that I see in Lily’s canon descriptions and appearances. From growing up with a sister that does not accept her and being betrayed by her best friend. In canon, after SWM (Snape’s Worst Memory), when Snape camps outside her common room waiting for her to ask her for her forgiveness she says that she has been making excuses on his behalf for a while. A lot of people call Lily a hypocrite for only ending her friendship with Snape after she was personally affected by his views, but personally I think that’s part of what makes her such an interesting character.

She’s at war with herself, not really there or here, having to be in the middle of two worlds that do not fully accept her (Annabeth with her father and Camp Half Blood/ Lily with the muggle and wizarding world). And after losing one of the people connecting her to a place of security (Thalia/Petunia), she refuses to see that the last person connecting her to that safe place is also going to leave her to join a side of the war opposite to hers (Luke/Snape).

Kate Sharma/Sheffield (Bridgerton TV/Books)

Kate is funny, closed off and witty. She rushes to judge people and decide for herself whether they are worthy of her time or not, sometimes without even bothering to actually know them. Sometimes (specifically in the books), she’s so ridiculous and funny, not really forcing herself to fit in societal norms, which is something I can definitely see in Lily.

Also, her on the show with Anthony in S3, is just how I imagine married Jily, just perfect.

Dana Scully (The X Files)

In Dana I see Lily’s fierce loyalty and sense of right and wrong. The hiding of her emotions, and also how determined she is, that even though she wants to believe she doesn’t, not even after seeing hundreds of crazy things happen in front of her, she still clings to her own truth.

Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)/Cinderella (1950)

Tiana and Cinderella remind me of Lily in the sense of a hardworking woman, also really headstrong and married to her own way of thinking. A shell hard to break, because of all the walls she’s put up in order to survive. Like Lily, Tiana doesn’t take kindly to outsiders and people who come off as standoffish (Naveen/James and Sirius), but eventually ends up getting to know them and treasuring them as life companions. And you might think me crazy for adding Cinderella, but her unwavering kindness and optimism in the face of hardship is undoubtedly Lily, she’s not all sunshine and rainbows tho —yes the 1950’s version—, she hates the situation that she’s in and wastes no time (alone with her friends) to complain about it, she bites back and only “behaves” out of survival, she’s nice and warm but also angry and headstrong.

Yoon Jin-myung (Hello, My Twenties)

Here is another hard worker female character that I can’t help but see a little bit of Lily in. Although Jin-myung is much MUCH more shy and introverted than Lily, still, she has a complicated relationship with her family and tries really hard to do a million things at the time, forgetting to care for herself and diving into routines of work/school that are almost self destructive.

Honourable mentions.

Chili (Bluey) Morticia Addams (The Addams Family Values)

Mostly how I imagine Lily as a mom/ her married life (along with Kate too). Morticia might seem like a stretch but aside from her dark interests and aesthetic, she's a loving mom and partner and she puts her family first, she’s also a bit of a freak, like Lily.

Sloane (Ferris Buller’s Day Off) Pam Beesley (The Office)

Only on the prankster side of Lily, more chill and easy going, losing up a bit to have fun with Sirius and James.

[saintsenara]

Not disputing you ofc but do you remember the exact line about ron looking like bill perchance? I would love it for referencing purposes

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

and i am afraid that you're getting a more long-winded answer than you may have been hoping for...

male weasleys are split down the middle into two camps, physically:

charlie, fred, and george are described as being short and stocky [although "short" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, since they're all taller than harry: fred and george shrink when they take polyjuice potion to transform into him in deathly hallows].

the implication - i think - is that charlie and the twins look like molly, who is described several times as short and plump in build. ginny is also described numerous times in the books as short and is said in chapter thirty-three of order of the phoenix to resemble fred and george facially, which, since's she's described in deathly hallows as having her mother's brown eyes - which probably triggered some sort of freudian shudder in harry - means i think we can conclude that this half of the family all look their mam.

[and also that molly is a hottie herself. she often gets turned by the fandom into a fairly sexless being - even though she didn't have those seven children immaculately, did she? - with a strict, prudish vibe. and - to do some discourse for a moment - we all know that the fact that she's described as fat is the direct cause of this. but several men are canonically ready to risk it all for ginny - and it's time we all acknowledged this is because she inherited her bonafide baddie powers straight from molly.]

percy and ron - on the other hand - are, like arthur, described as being tall, thin, and gangly. bill is never explicitly said to be slender, but he is described in the fifth chapter of goblet of fire as "tall" immediately after harry has stated that charlie is short[ish] and broad - which allows us to reasonably infer that he's on the arthur-weasley-skinny-legend side of the family.

and we can also assume - since ron is never said to resemble molly, nor [to harry's great relief] ginny, facially - that his features - his long nose and blue eyes - come from his father, who is also the source of percy's short-sightedness.

and, while harry [the narrative perspective] never says that he thinks arthur is hot - because why would he? - nor percy and ron [although i think it's worth noting that he doesn't consider it ridiculous that both of them manage to pull - and it's never suggested that penelope clearwater and lavender brown aren't cuties] it's actually possible to justify the idea that they are canonically fit using more than pure hot air...

[harry does - obviously - think bill's a babe. he sees fleur checking him out and immediately thinks... same.]

because a very striking narrative choice that the series makes is the idea that all pureblood nuclear family units look identical to each other - which serves as a visual metaphor for the importance of blood-status and lineage within the wizarding world. this is why narcissa malfoy is as pale and blonde as lucius and draco [even though bellatrix and andromeda are dark haired] and why molly is a redhead even though red hair and freckles are stated in the text to be weasley - rather than prewett - traits. harry's resemblance to his pureblood father eases his passage through wizarding society. voldemort's lack of resemblance to his pureblood mother does the opposite.

the weasleys and the malfoys are narrative mirrors within the series - with the fact that ron and draco are both so near-identical to arthur and lucius as to be immediately identifiable as each man's son by anyone who meets them part of this mirroring. it makes sense, then, that since the non-ron weasley children don't have a specific malfoy mirror, the same general principle applies, and the three weasley brothers who are built like arthur also strongly resemble him facially - and that bill also has a long nose [and a long something else, i'll wager!] and a cracking pair of baby blues.

or that if bill is hot, arthur is hot - and therefore if arthur is hot, ron is hot.

[where bill outpaces his brothers, i fear, is that he clearly has rizz - whereas ron's seduction skills are famously weak before he gets his hands on a copy of twelve fail-safe ways to charm witches - i.e. when he cockblocks harry spectacularly by beefing with cho unprovoked about the quidditch team she supports, which always sends me - and percy is... percy.]

[if ron had simply played it cool he could have finessed going to the ball with fleur, and i'll die on that hill...]

[rosietrace]

This is a personal rant about my thoughts on Greek mythology retellings, and just the way Fantasy books and the publishing industry is at this point 🧍‍♀️

I have nothing against Greek mythology retellings, or just anything Greek mythology related in fantasy in general!

However, I have certain gripes about the way Greek mythology is portrayed in media, specifically in the way its interpreted in Fantasy.

[ More under the cut! ]

I love Percy Jackson, and I think that Uncle Rick did a wonderful job at expanding the world and making Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology entertaining and easily digestible for young audiences. Genuinely, he does a better job at writing children's books than R*wling could ever be capable of.

However, as much as I can love PJO as much as I do, I still find certain bits of the world building and character writing as... Very hit and miss.

To start, I don't like the way Ares was written in the series. I can understand that it would make sense for his personality to be that way, because he's the God of War and it helps with Clarisse's character development; but I find fault in it because Ares in the myths is nothing like PJO Ares. (He literally killed one of Poseidon's sons because he raped his daughter, Alcippe, and he's one of the only gods who doesn't hump anything that can breathe in air. At least Ares has the courtesy of asking for consent 💀)

The Gods being the reason behind WWII and Hitler being a child of Hades. All I must say.

The portrayal of the Aphrodite cabin

The fact that Athena can have children. Annabeth, pjo fandom at large, I love you are, but you gotta admit it must've felt weird when you first read the books and you find out Athena — the maiden Goddess of Wisdom — can have offspring. Regardless of the reasoning, I still find it weird 😭 (EDIT: I've now just remembered that it was a reference to how Athena herself was created 🤡 I'm a clown)

I get that the Hermes cabin is also the cabin for the unclaimed, but couldn't have Hestia's cabin worked too? She doesn't have offspring, sure, but it probably would've made more sense for the unclaimed to go to Hestia's cabin so that the Hermes cabin wouldn't be so crowded

This isn't really a world building issue, but I think I should bring it up: I'm not saying this against the Kane Chronicles fandom, but... Sadie and Anubis. Why. Like you can't convince me that no one WASN'T weirded out by that.

Less of a complaint and more of a question because I can't remember if the question was answered in HoO or not, but when Percy told the Gods to start claiming their unclaimed children and be more decent parents (as he should, go off king), did that request apply to the Romans at Camp Jupiter too? Because that's gotta have been confusing when the unclaimed kids at CP suddenly started getting claimed 😭😭

I could go on a whole ass tangent about PJO, but that would make this post longer than it needs to be 😭😭 and any of the points might not make much sense, since I haven't read the books in a LONG time

Off to the YA Fantasy segment... Hoo boy.

The oversaturation of Hades/Persephone retellings makes me SEETHE. Why is it always Hades and Persephone why can't it be something else 😭

I just don't like the “modern feminist” retellings of Greek myths in the YA Fantasy genre, in general. They tend to completely miss the point of the original myth, and it's the case with a lot of Hades and Persephone retellings where they try to paint Hades as the good guy taking Persephone away from her control freak mother, Demeter.

Because that wasn't what the myth was about. The myth isn't a love story, at least, not a romantic one. It was about Demeter's love for Persephone and how much she wanted her daughter back after Hades stole her away. Keep in mind, in the historical context of the myth, the daughters of women in ancient Greece never really get to see their mothers after their engagements are solidified.

If they wanted to make a “feminist” retelling of the myth, they'd have it centered around the love Demeter had for Persephone to almost doom the mortal realm to an eternal winter to get her back.

I love the myth of Hades and Persephone, truly, I do. I understand the appeal it has on people, the appeal it has one me. I can see why people adore the myth in the way they do because Hades is one of the better husbands in Greek mythology (a low bar, but my point still stands).

Personally, I blame Lore Olympus and especially the video of the myth by Overly Sarcastic Productions for the way the myth is portrayed in mass media. And I say this as a former LO fan and a fan of Overly Sarcastic Productions 😭

I'd also want to go into my many, MANY gripes about “Crown of Starlight” by Cait Corrain, but in all honesty? I don't think I can properly convey how much I DESPISE Cait and their book. So I'd highly recommend y'all to check out the videos about Cait Corrain by Reads With Rachel, WithCindy, and Xiran Jay Zhao on YouTube if you're interested in going into more detail about the controversies, especially for those who weren't made aware of it.

I feel like the publishing industry just... Isn't good anymore, after Booktok went viral. Reading has been “hot girlified”, and all Booktok seems to ask when they get recommended a book is: “Is it spicy??”

Reading is like fast fashion, now. It's all based around certain popular tropes that that's how books are promoted now. Not for the plot — or sometimes lack thereof — but for the tropes the book has.

The only thing I can thank Booktok for is that they helped me discover The Cruel Prince. And even then, it's marketed as romance on there, when it's a political fantasy with a romance subplot.

‼️ Woah! A secret bonus section! ‼️

I, personally, don't read — nor do I like — Sarah J Maas. (Especially considering the problematic aspects of her storytelling, character portrayals, and is (apparently, correct me if I'm wrong) a Zionist)

However, that isn't to say that I don't like some of the characters she makes. A lot of them have potential, actually! From what I've seen, I think Nesta, Gwyn, Azriel, Eris, Tamlin and Lucien from ACOTAR are the only characters I actually like, based on what I've heard — and seen — on anything in the SJM critical tag on this hellsite.

And while we're at it, let's discuss the elephant in the room with ACOTAR, right? Rhysand.

By all that is good and holy, I hate Rhysand so much and I think I'd hate him even more if I actually READ the books. I don't get why Booktok is so invested in him when Maas retconned Tamlin's character to make him look better as Feyre's love interest.

Also, from what I recall, didn't Rhysand sexually assault Feyre? And he didn't bother to apologize for it, and justified it with his sad tragic backstory??

I can't with y'all, istg 😭 the fact that “Feysand” is apparently a Hades and Persephone retelling too makes me even more mad about it because it isn't even a GOOD retelling. It just takes away what ACOTAR originally was— a Beauty and the Beast retelling, with Feyre and Tamlin as the leads.

Didn't Maas dedicate ACOTAR to her husband because “He would go under the mountain” for her??? BECAUSE IT CERTAINLY WASN'T RHYSAND WHO SAVED FEYRE FROM UTM, I'LL TELL YOU THAT

I think, out of all the series Maas has made thus far, Throne of Glass is the only one I ACTUALLY kind of like, based on what I've heard. Crescent City seems to be too complicated to understand, and even though I've never read it myself, I miss what ACOTAR could've been. (My hope lies with Nesta, Elucien and Gwynriel, at this point)

[demigod-shenanigans]

I’m never going to write this out because I simply don’t have the motivation, the time or the ideas for which myths/gods to use for this but please know that in Orpheus Eurydice Valgrace-verse newly resurrected Jason eventually applies to University New Rome and gets told like Percy that technically being a forbidden child and especially one who’s been dead, he is not eligible to go to uni in New Rome. Unless, of course, he gets godly recommendation letters.

Yes, Zeus made this rule and yes, he’s absolutely going to make it apply to his own kid because he’s a dick.

This is purely so I can enjoy the thought of Percy and Jason venting at each other because what the hell as well as the thought of Lost Trio going on relatively low-stakes adventures à la CotG.

Leo and Jason are so affectionate and annoying the whole time and Piper can’t even bring herself to be (lightheartedly) annoyed at them because they’re her best friends and they’re safe and they’re happy and she’s so relieved to have them both back.

Piper is still finding herself and trying to figure out where she fits into the mythological world and how attached to it she wants to remain after everything it did to her and her friends and also her poor dad, who isn’t even a demigod but keeps getting dragged into these things anyway simply due to being related to her. Eventually she decides that after helping Jason with this, she’s done with quests, but she also seriously considers New Rome as a university location because that way she can live semi-normally but still be connected to that part of herself and be with her friends, and any big decisions about what she’ll do afterwards don’t have to be made right then.

One weekend Leo can’t come (possibly due to some Waystation-related emergency) so Reyna comes instead and Jason has to grapple with the fact that his childhood best friend is now closer with his ex-girlfriend than she is with him. But the sticking point is even though their relationship isn’t the same and probably won’t ever be the same, Reyna will still come and help in an instant if he asks. And sometimes change is good. Sometimes change means they’re different now because they’ve both learned to be happier.

Well, there’s one concept for a quest, I suppose. Something with Janus where they all realize that endings and beginnings are sometimes the same thing.

[writingmia]

percy jackson/heroes of olympus love languages headcanons

In honour of the teaser trailer and the show release date, I have relapsed into my Percy Jackson addiction, so here are some of my headcanons for the characters and their love languages.

Authors Note: This are my personal headcanons for my interpretation of the characters, but I'd love to have a discussion if you disagree with me. I have tried my best to avoid putting physical touch as the main love language of any character, not because I find it less valid than others, but because I see a fair amount of mistyping with physical touch, since majority of people in love tends to want to have physical contact with their partner. Finally, these are non-specific, so you can apply them either for ships or as imagines with you and the characters.

English isn't my first language, so please beware.

Warnings: none

Percy Jackson: quality time/words of affirmation Percy's love languages were influenced by Sally Jackson herself, and the way she raised Percy. He didn't get to spend a lot of time with his mother, the one person he cared about the most, for in the first years of his life, so it became natural for him to treasure every second he had with her. This continued on when he found out he was a half-blood, especially with the dangers that come with the job and the constant knowledge that he or the people he cared about might not make it to tomorrow. Spending time with the people he cares about, no matter what they're doing, is one of the main ways he shows his love. Furthermore, he is very vocal with his affection towards his loved ones. He isn't scared to verbalize his appreciation for them, to praise them for their achievements or to verbally reassure them, much like Sally did for him growing up

Leo Valdez: acts of service/gifts When Leo cares about someone, he takes care of them almost subconsciously. He doesn't really think about the fact that he constantly does small things for the people he cares about - it comes naturally. He knows their favourite snacks so he can always have them at hand, he fixes their weapons or devices or whatever needs fixing without them needing to ask. On an equal level with that, he is also constantly making little gifts for his loved ones to make their life easier. A new weapon with the perfect balance for them? He made it immediately after hearing their weapon was causing them issues. He finds out what their favourite flower is? He's giving them a small bouquet of them, made from scrap metal he found lying around and just fiddled with without even thinking about it. He just wants to make the life of the people around him easier and he'll go to great lengths to do that

Annabeth Chase: quality time/acts of service Annabeth is a busy woman. She's always in a rush, always has a project to work on, a duty to fulfill, a place to be and people to please. So the way her loved ones know how much she cares about them is because she manages to find time to spend with them. They might not even be doing anything important, just sitting by the lake or in their cabin, not even speaking to one another, with Annabeth consumed by another project or a book, but she has found the time to go and be with that person. Even more, if she stops something she undoubtedly has to do, just to help out a person she cares about with a task or something else that gives them trouble, that is someone she is ready to die for. If you're anyone else and you try to bother Annabeth Chase, you can bet you'll end with a knife in the throat or, somehow worse, with the worst death glare you have ever experienced

Hazel Levesque: physical touch I find Hazel with a love language physical touch a fascinating concept because of the way she was raised. When she was a child, things were a lot more conservative, so casual touching isn't something that was implemented often. Still to this day, Hazel would sometimes get flustered or uncomfortable by PDA, so the fact that she shows affection to people by finding small reasons to touch them is something so special to me. Whether it would be a pat on the back after a job well done, casually grabbing a person's arm while telling a story to keep them engaged or sitting thigh to thigh when it's not strictly necessary, Hazel would find these little excuses to hold contact with her loved ones for just a bit longer, and while in the beginning she was very unsure of that, with time she had grown more confident and comfortable in showing affection

Those are my headcanons for now. Please feel free to share yours in the comments, I would love a discussion! If you want me to post more headcanons I have for the characters, or if you want me to do the love languages they live to receive, please let me know!

All from me for tonight, - mia

[werewolf-art004]

SHIPPING DEEP DIVE-Part 1: Percabeth!

QUICK DISCLAIMER: Please read my pinned post about the rules I have for this series! It explains a lot off the bat as well as personal rules I have for ships I support and why I may not talk about a certain ship. ALSO THERE WILL BE HEAVY SPOILERS FOR THE CHARACTERS AND SERIES DISCUSSED RELATING TO THE SHIP. PLEASE LEAVE IF THAT CONCERNS YOU!

For starters I wanted to talk about possibly the first ship I remember supporting heavily: Percabeth (The ship between Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase). Starting around middle school when I started reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

Very quickly, yes this kinda breaks my second rule of no characters of minor age. But let me explain: I didn’t really ship the two until I read Battle of the Labyrinth and/or Last Olympian. By then they were 15/16. Which while not technically of age feels more age appropriate to start shipping two characters. Also Percy and Annabeth themselves referred to each other as a couple so I feel okay doing so as well.

ANYWAYS the ship itself…Maybe it’s nostalgia for being my one of my first, but it may be one of my favorites as well. (Recent ships definitely top it but that doesn’t diminish my love for Percabeth) I feel like it has all the grounds for what makes a good relationship between two characters, making it a good start for this series. I should start with a “short” analysis of each individual character.

First we have Percy Jackson, the protagonist and POV character. He is the son of Poseidon god of the sea. For those unfamiliar with Percy as a character, he is so charismatic and lovable. I feel like even people who may hate sarcastic characters would like Percy because he is so deep and funny. His narration makes the original five books for me. It’s why they are so fun to read. It’s so sarcastic and self aware it’s perfect! And this applies to Percy as well. He is so witty and yet self-deprecating at times that it strikes a good balance. It also helps keep his obvious over-powered and plot armor role from being unbelievable or cliché. His POV makes it clear his successes aren’t just luck for protagonist sake. And that’s IF he succeeds. He fails often and hard. Again, adding to his like ability. He is a loser who counters with wit and sarcasm in all scenarios. It’s amazing and literally never gets old!

Annabeth Chase…Where to I start?! Can I just say…I LOVE HER! She honestly might have been one of my first fictional crushes. She is just AMAZING! Plus seeing her through Percy’s first person view helped me fall in love with her as he did—but I’m getting ahead of myself. To oversimplify her character, she is the smart one of the main trio. As a child of Athena goddess of wisdom and battle strategy that makes sense. Which leads into what makes her special! She is logical and brainy. Unlike some “brains of the group” characters, Annabeth isn’t just there for exposition (though she does do that in the early books) she is the main plan maker. Her entire deal is strategy! It makes her interesting to follow. She starts off as a bit stand-offish and trying to prove herself. But as the books go on we and Percy start to see the layers underneath. We see why she is like that. We see why she wants to be that way. It’s so compelling to read and experience each time! She wants to be an architect to build a lasting legacy and get her mom’s approval. She has Hubris (excessive pride). And this might be her most interesting trait! It connects to all her vulnerabilities and strengths. She’s someone who tries desperately to control everything but still fails and needs others to help her. LIKE PERCY!

Getting into the actual Percabeth ship, I believe fully that Percy and Annabeth are the ideal example of how a ship should complement each individual character. Percabeth is the perfect balancing act of two different characters. Percy the impulsive and emotional type, and Annabeth the logical and semi-solitary type. Annabeth offers Percy logic and missing information he needs to get through quests. While Percy provides Annabeth emotional support and an outlet to let go and be herself (with minimal judgement). But even with this balance, one trait isn’t exclusive to one character. There are plenty of times the roles get reversed, with Percy offering a plan and knowledge to Annabeth, and Annabeth giving Percy the emotional support and safe outlet. That’s what makes it the perfect pairing. The equal balance. It’s not one sided or even a one way functional exchange. Even their Fatal Flaws complement each other. Percy’s being blind loyalty and Annabeth’s being excessive pride. The two flaws almost cancel out each other. Percy’s loyalty doesn’t allow him to let Annabeth tire herself out or go at things alone. He HAS be help her and make sure she doesn’t go too far. Annabeth’s pride helps keep Percy in line so he doesn’t do the same and risk his life for loyalty. Both characters are too stubborn to let the other perish. Which is another aspect I love! SPOILERS! But the two literally would rather fall into Hell(Tartarus) than be separated. It’s so touching and intense. Credit to Rick Riordan but he is a master at making readers care for the characters. Entirely because each and every character has so much depth to them. Each trait works together perfectly. And no character seems perfect, they’re all flawed! Like real people! But the flaws also don’t make the characters worse or depressing to follow. He keeps it light either way humor and other traits/characters to keep things balanced. All of this mastery perfectly encapsulated by Percabeth.

Percabeth is an important ship to me as it really was the gateway to what makes a perfect and healthy relationship. Both characters are perfectly balanced and unified. It gave me a basis for judging future ships I’ve come across and as I write my own OCs with ships of their own. Percabeth is a master class in character balance and unconditional love that is tested again and again, yet always comes through stronger.

[hantheheart]

LANCELOT HEADCANONS

hes a cat magnet. they just kinda congregat near him. there's an entire corner of the Liones' Castle courtyard with a tree that he goes to nap in that the cats of the castle all flock to so they can snuggle with him

my "The 4Knights are all disney princess adjacent" propoganda continues to live

Dogs also like him but in the way dogs like cats and the cats dont really like the dogs

he's definetly hissed at dog in human form at least once in front of the group and never lives it down

he acts all smart and shit but he can be hilariously gullible when it comes to stupid human customs, especially regarding high society bullshit. Donny and Jade are the worst at messing with him about this, but Tristan can and will continue to always be the one he never realizes is pulling his leg about it until someone else realizes and messes with him about it

There is a specific something about hearing Gwen and Tristan saying "my boyfriend" about Lance that gets him all happy. It just makes him all fuzzy to know that two of the people he cares about most, care about him as much and that he gets to say they're his and he's theirs. He doesn't say pet names but if one of them calls him by one, he gets all bashful and huffy but he really adores it.

He's a little SHIT and gets huffy when Gwen and Tristan won't let him fight off their suitors at balls and shit. His solution is to be mean to everyone but them and be arm in arm with one of them as often as possible. He has to be physically stopped from growling at the people who keep trying to "introduce" their kids to them to try and start something Best part is him not realizing that people are also trying to set their kids up with him. Forgets him being a prince of a kingdom is a big deal, even if Benwick is technically a small kingdom at that point Lancelot being so confused by when Tristan and Gwen being huffy at people for trying to steal their boyfriend "Why are you two mad?" "That girl was throwing herself at you!" "She was not, she was talking a lot though." "Lance. She was flirting with you." "…. why would she do that??" "……" "Lancelot Benwick, you may the most oblivious person I know." they both know how to handle high society bullshit, but they know Lance doesn't so as fighty as he is about them having suitors, they're also antsy to fend off people who want to court Lance and he just never realizes cause they do it high society style by being politely mean

he's touch starved AND Touch adverse usually, but when it comes to the people closest to him (mostly a Gwen and Tristan, but applies to others like his parents and particularly Percy Platoon) he has a habit of reaching for pulse points. Just to feel some proper proof under his fingers that the person is real. (For Canon, its residual instincts from while he and Jericho were in that Chaos Realm. For Chaos Cult, it's because my man stresses so hard he starts seeing shit and has horrible nightmares. And Slice of Life AU, its leftover trauma from when he, Gwen Tristan and Nasiens got kidnapped, the moment that seperates SOL from CCK) Absolutely makes him accidentally seem really romantic and suave when he kisses Gwen or Tristan's wrist, will make them so flustered

Scares the shit out of several people regularly by reaching for the pulse point on the neck, no one ever gets used to it Ban is the only one who's safe from that cause hes so fuckin tall

In Canon universe, his canines are much longer than the average person, mostly because he tends to lean more wild than human. In Chaos Cult, all his teeth are noticeably sharper than a normal person's, which is entirely intentional on his end to be more threatening. Slice Of Life is the only universe where his teeth are almost entierly normal looking

He's bitey so in most universes, he will draw blood

I still think if he could, he'd have so many of those funky lil throwing knives ninjas have in anime and shit Like the ones Mei uses in FullMetal Alchemist Kunai?? I think they're called?? But yeah he's a knife collector to me, he has some funky ones he's bought during his travels and just a bunch of tiny knives he can throw at people in addition to the arrows

He's neurodivergent as hell but I don't know if he's ADHD, Autistic or AuDHD

he can deadass purr. its really deep and rumbly and he gets really embarrassed about it. this boy more animal than man even when he odesnt want to be He's stupidly touchy. Like absurdly so

Hand on one of his partners as much as possible, sometimes they gotta swat him from sticking a hand up their shirts. Not even in an nsfw way, he hardly even realizes he's doing it, just searching for ways to have his skin against theirs. Definitely an offshoot of the pulse point thing.

ooo it being a side effect to Ban's time in purgatory and making Lancelot having a different body temepture so it's him readjusting his body tempture

EQUILIBRIUM

He also just. Doesn't have much in the way of boundaries anyways. Keeps leaning on people and things, side effects if being lil fuzzy creachure so often

He's the type of kid to decide who the favorite parent is depending on which will give him what he wants. Yes he has weaponized puppy eyes on them both and it has worked (more on Elaine than Ban)

Bans loyalty in family feuds (AKA Lance wants something and mom said no) can be bought over with promises to do stuff together. This has ranged from sparring, napping, reading (and then falling asleep halfway through book) and little father-son trips to other kingdoms

Despite his personal nonsense, his parents describe him as favoring the other. ask Ban and Lancelot is a momma's boy, Elaine would call him a daddy's boy

i genuinely do think that as Lancelot gets his head out of his ass and lets himself be more caring of the rest of the gang (Percy Platoon + Tristan Platoon) he gets such bad fucking anxiety that he's gonna inadvertently get them all killed. especially after Jade dies. He is, without a doubt or exaggeration, the strongest and most experienced of the group. He's the weird defacto leader regardless of anything people might argue on. Like?? Percy and Tristan both clearly tend to follow his lead and the Percy Platoon trust Lance pretty strongly. Tristan platoon do whatever Tristan says and i think as they get older Chion learns to chill his shit, especially regarding Lancelot.

The fucking pressure??! All of his friends- pretty much everyone he gives a shit about- would follow his lead if he were to be confident enough to decide to go straight after Arthur or to go to the heart of Camelot. sure, some people might weigh in opinions and other plans, but he's always been good about having plans and he can take on pretty much any Chaos Knight. So it become more "can he make the judgement of whether the others are ready for the fight to come" and whether he can protect them until then *And can you even imagine*

If he makes the wrong call, if he overestimates even one of them

the panic and desire to keep his friends safe could make him want to over prepare and wind up pushign the entire gang to take longer than they need to to go after Arthur, potentially winding up with someone having to decide to tell Lancelot he's over doing it- or *worse*

that they're running out of time that they have to act before there's nothing left to save, that they might've already lost so much

or EVEN WORSE, HE DECIDES NOT TO RISK THEM AT ALL AND DECIDES TO GO FIGHT ARTHUR ALONE

DO YOU KNOW HOW INSANE I WOULD GO IF THAT ENDS UP HAPPENING

HE BAILS ON THE GROUP TO DO THE DEED HIMSELF AND ENDS UP GETTING HIMSELF FUCKED UP OR CAPTURED

[javasquats]

Annabeth in PJO episode 3

Ok because a few people requested, here are the thoughts I had on Annabeth's characterization in episode three. I wrote it out and it's literally a whole essay so I'm putting it under a cut lolol also spoiler warning for discussion of themes in Mark of Athena, but I'll put another warning before that part.

I was watching and thinking about how in a way Annabeth is the main character of this episode. In the beginning when they stop to get snacks, we see her on her own in the gas station store (which I'd say is somewhat notable considering that Percy is the sole narrator of the books, meaning we only ever get to see what he sees). We hear Grover talk about monsters hunting demigods while we simultaneously see Annabeth pursued by the fury. This establishes an image of what her life was like before camp. We imagine the type of monsters that have sabotaged her attempts at normalcy. She's just a kid buying snacks!! And she is so like Percy in the way her normal life has been disrupted over and over.

Later in the woods, when Percy suggests calling her mom, the way she says "excuse me?" isn't just annoyed at his stupidity. You can hear the actual emotional injury in her delivery. Like the equivalent of a typical kid with a typical absent parent receiving a jab about it. Percy assumes that they're close because Athena gifted Annabeth the Yankees cap. But the fact that they're not makes this look a lot more like a deadbeat parent throwing gifts at their child thinking that makes up for their absence. Just enough to maintain Annabeth's hope for her mother's love and approval.

"You're loyal to your mother?" "Yes!" "You love her?" "Yes! Of course I do!" She is still captivated by the idea of having that motherly love. That perfect family.

And then Medusa is telling her story, and the writers give us explicit permission to understand this as describing Annabeth's story. Annabeth, like Medusa, is trying so hard to receive love and to feel like she is enough, fighting for Athena's approval. And then the son of Poseidon, like Medusa describes Poseidon himself (purely going off of what medusa says in this story, rather than the myth itself, for narrative purposes), comes along and promises her that love, shows her that affection. And she starts to think maybe she is enough! She is lovable! Annabeth starts to heal from the wounds caused by her abandonment.

(Mark of Athena spoilers btw)

And then Athena, who she spent so long fighting for the approval of and who was the one who caused those wounds that Percy helped her recover from, comes back and says Annabeth is a disgrace and a failure, just like she did with Medusa.

Poseidon also abandons Medusa in her story. His promises of love her empty, and Medusa is left alone, with nothing. Double abandonment whammy. So like we can imagine if we apply this to Annabeth, the amount of apprehension and fear about letting Percy in and believing that she is lovable, because what if it's a lie?

Slight Medusa aside: she only begins to act "monstrously" when she tries to manipulate Percy in the kitchen, once again drawing a parallel between herself and another woman. But this time it's Sally Jackson who she doesn't even know. She tries to turn Percy against Annabeth because she thinks Annabeth will turn against her. She sees herself in Annabeth and at the same time is redirecting her own pain at her.

"We are not our parents until we choose to be, and you two have chosen." As if humans are static. As if we aren't a continual work in progress. Always growing and changing. As if we don't learn our lessons in our own time.

(Tagging the people who requested this! Hope you enjoyed my whole ass ted talk!!)

@irregular-child @perpetuallyexhaustedmess @mortalmab

[juniorig0327]

Thinking about godswap AU (one last time because I already have three AUs I want to write and I need to get my thoughts together.

I had to think a lot about this not gonna lie. Because one thing about godly parents in PJO is that godly parents influence a child's personality quite a bit (which I personally don't like but whatever). And it's kind of limiting on what I could do. I think if I do actually write this it would be following the canon (simply because it's the easiest to do and I don't have to think a lot lmao). So I guess I could go over the cast and what I think their godly parents would be. (Part 1 because I've officially decided).

Percy - Now as for Percy I've been thinking about it as much I lowkey wanted to do Zeus!Percy I don't think I'm going to. I just grown to not like the idea. I think I'm just too attached to Percy being a son of Poseidon lol. I have been recently swayed by Hades, Nemesis, or Hephaestus as his godly parents for some reason.

Now I HAVE been thinking possibly doing like something based on this fanfic I read where Percy was the child of ALL of the big three kids cuz Sally slept w/ Zeus Poseidon and Hades but I don't think I'd do something that crazy. (I also thought about Orion and how he was made and eugh).

I'm so indecisive and it's lowkey showing.

I do have a slight HC I might use to make this work for my self indulgent reasons (godswap AUs are purely for my self indulgence borderline crazy stuff so). Anyways the HC is that the Jackson family is actually intensively connected to the godly world and pantheons (specifically Greek and like Aztec). So he just has a bunch of randomly godly bloodline from like everywhere. So maybe he's like Frank and has a godly gift from Hades.

Poseidon and Nemesis would be his two (mamma mia) godly parents, Nemesis appearing to a bitter Sally after Poseidon just- left. And maybe Percy is just a legacy of Hephaestus (demigod Sally??) and instead of Leo, Percy got his fire (thinking it would be a post Mt. Helens thing after seeing his grandson nearly die he decides to give him a gift and help him out.) That's also him slowly discovering Hades gift on Calypsos island (and possibly staying much longer than expected while he tries to figure out what the hell is going on).

Annabeth - Okay so for Annabeth I actually have two candidates: Apollo and Prometheus. Apollo is the God of Knowledge which makes since and I feel like her godly gift instead of it being a cap it would be like a special bow and arrow or something (not sure).

As for Prometheus, he's the Titan of Forethought and Fire (Kinda?). I feel like it would make the dynamic between Luke and her interesting especially when she gets claimed and everyone's wary of her because of her connections to the titans and Luke. Maybe her being able to see glimpses into the future (in certain situations, maybe only her own plans?) Nothing too ridiculous. Maybe she can only see possibilities or maybe only the forethought only applies to herself and can only applies to others the more she knows them.

Despite this I'm actually leaning towards Apollo (not because I want to make this as easy as possible for me to write). But I feel like Annabeth being shunned and people being wary of her doesn't fit her so I'm thinking Apollo (maybe having her Patron being Athena??)

Grover - Now this one on the other hand idk. Demeter!Grover sounded sort of cool but I'm not sure. I kind of wanted to give him a godly parent but I feel like it takes away from his whole Pan arc which was his main arc so now I'm not so sure. Might keep 'em a Satyr.

Luke - Now I actually got this from a poll of a post but Hades!Luke or Dionysus!Luke is definitely interesting. I feel like it would change the dynamic of Percy and Luke completely, especially hades. It would also require some tweaking of the prophecy which it would not be necessarily the next child of the eldest gods but just the one that fits the mold I guess? Noticing how it also fits the evil hades stereotype for his kid to be the bad guy lol. Hades possibly refraining from claiming him until maybe like right before his quest with a smug look on his face but Luke just ends up doing... nothing. And he's sort of pissed at Luke because "wdym you're not the child of prophecy??"

Ethan - Still going with Zeus for this. I really liked my Zeus!Ethan idea so I want to stick with it for sure (https://www.tumblr.com/juniorig0327/760067385645580289/zeuspercy-and-possible-siblings?source=share)

Nico (& Thalia because I don't really have any ideas for them yet) - Ah yes, Nico and Thalia. Now there's a few reasons I sorta don't have an idea for them.

One, they're godly parents are sort of dependent on Percy. Two, I feel like a huge part of their characters are being big three kids (unless i exploited the loophole in the prophecy and having the elder gods be The Big 3 + Demeter, Hera, Hestia + Aphrodite??)

Hypothetically if I did do that though I'd probably make Nico a child of Aphrodite with slight water affiliation or maybe have him embody the war-like epithet.

As for Thalia, I think if I kept Percy a son of Poseidon, Thalia would have to be a daughter of Zeus. The only other big three kid I could see her being is a Poseidon Kid to be honest.

That's it for my rambling (for now). Just uh, ignore all the other godswap posts maybe? (I kinda dont want to delete them).

Hopefully my last post for today (I've been saying that to myself alot today lmao).

[sad-lullabee]

🔥 Mary Shelley: The Original Rebel 🔥

Long before feminism had a name or anarchism was a movement, Mary Shelley embodied both—an icon for every woman and free thinker who ever dared to break the rules. 🌑 This is the story of how a young woman defied societal expectations, created a genre, and dared to ask questions that still haunt us today.

✒️ 1. Author of Frankenstein at Age 18

Let’s start with the fact that Mary Shelley was just 18 years old when she conceived Frankenstein, a novel that would go on to define an entire genre. Not only did she create what we now recognize as science fiction, but she also wrote a story that questioned the very nature of creation, power, and responsibility. Her story posed radical questions about science and society that were way ahead of her time—questions we’re still grappling with today.

"I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body." — Frankenstein

Mary didn’t just write a novel; she opened a door into the philosophical realm where science, ethics, and humanity collide. To create that kind of work at such a young age? Iconic.

🌹 2. A Voice for Women in a Time of Silence

As the daughter of feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and anarchist philosopher William Godwin, Mary was raised with a rebellious streak. But make no mistake, she wasn't just following in her parents' footsteps—she forged her own path in a society that stifled female voices. At a time when women were largely excluded from intellectual life, Mary created a groundbreaking work of literature that dealt with the raw power of creation, reflecting a woman's complex relationship with the act of creation itself.

Frankenstein can be read as a feminist text—an exploration of the consequences of unchecked male ambition. As Victor Frankenstein rejects his own creation, we see Mary’s commentary on a society that sidelines women’s creative contributions and responsibilities, while glorifying male “genius.” Her work showed that women could be thinkers, writers, and philosophers just as much as men, a radical notion in the early 19th century.

⚡ 3. Rebellion Against the Status Quo

Mary’s life itself was a form of resistance. She fell in love with Percy Bysshe Shelley, a married poet, and scandalized society by eloping with him. This choice meant financial hardship, societal rejection, and emotional turmoil. Yet, through it all, she refused to conform. She traveled, wrote, and remained unapologetically herself.

Her life and her work became a testament to individualism and nonconformity, values cherished by anarchists and free-thinkers alike. By pursuing love, art, and intellectual freedom, Mary showed that one could live authentically without bending to society’s judgment.

🧩 4. A Prophet of the Dangers of Authority

In Frankenstein, Mary exposes the hubris of those in power who think they can control life and death without consequence. She depicts Victor Frankenstein as a cautionary figure—a “creator” whose ambition and ego lead him to transgress natural boundaries, abandoning his “creation” and ultimately causing chaos. In this, we see Mary’s prescient warning about the dangers of authority and the consequences of those who wield power without accountability.

Her warnings apply not only to scientists but to any authority that tries to dominate, exploit, or “create” without considering the human cost. This is anarchist thought in its essence—challenging unchecked power and advocating for responsibility and freedom.

🥀 5. Legacy of Resilience and Creative Defiance

Despite incredible hardships—losing loved ones, facing financial insecurity, and navigating a patriarchal world—Mary never stopped writing. She edited Percy’s works after his death, making sure his legacy lived on, and continued to publish her own. Her resilience made her a symbol for artists, women, and radicals alike.

Today, Mary Shelley remains a figure for anyone who has ever felt out of place in a society that demands conformity. She’s an icon for every woman, every anarchist, and every creative mind that has dared to imagine something different, something better.

With Frankenstein, Mary Shelley didn’t just create a monster—she created a legacy of rebellion, resilience, and radical thought. She paved the way for generations of women writers, thinkers, and rebels who followed. In her courage to live and write by her own rules, Mary remains a reminder that true art and real change often come from those who refuse to play by the book.

📚 6. Iconic Reads for the Radical Spirit

"Frankenstein" – Shelley’s groundbreaking novel on humanity, rebellion, and the limits of science—an essential read.

"The Last Man" – Shelley’s lesser-known but powerful work on isolation, freedom, and survival.

"Mary Shelley: Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters" by Anne K. Mellor – A modern look at Shelley’s legacy, philosophy, and radical ideas.

[darkmagyk]

Ask game: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21

choose violence ask game (send me more pls!)

the character everyone gets wrong

Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth. In SO MANY ways. Right down to her name, where people decide randomly that Annabeth is a nickname for Anna Elizabeth.

But mostly it's the school thing. Annabeth is always going to be the smartest person in the room, but she would (literally) rather die then demean herself to prove it. She also has ADHD, Dyslexia, and missed grades 2-6. I don't know how you can read about her being unwilling to play the Sphinxes game and then think that she'd be a good sport about school? I don't necessarily think she'd do badly. She is 100% in the "smart enough to coast" category. But she's not going to study, she's not going to apply herself. And I suspect when she finds herself disagreeing, she's not going to be open to listening to most teachers. She'll talk back, she'll argue, she'll get detention. She reads books in greek, she probably doesn't have special affection for her school libraries full of books she can't read. Free yourself from the Hermione Industrial Complex and embrace smart girl characters who's only life goal isn't getting As on tests.

Other things, Annabeth did live in Virginia some as a child. But given that it was in Richmond, her father is from Boston, and they moved at least a little (in TLT her family lives in New York State), the idea that her upbringing would be particularly southern, or that she'd have a southern accent is silly.

Also, she thinks Percy is funny. She enjoys his company. They have a lot of similarities. And she knows he's not as smart at she is (no one is) but she doesn't think he's the dumbest person alive. She doesn't hate him. About 80% of all PJO Incorrect quotes can be summed up as Percy: says something dumb, Annabeth: You're an idiot, and I hate you. And that's just...not what's going on with them.

2. a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

It's a sexual position they don't enjoy? Let us not confuse sexual positions with gender or rolls in power dynamics.

Now, if you want to discuss power dynamics, Annabeth is a sub and Percy is a dom. Because Annabeth has a long history of feeling unloved, unwanted, and abandoned and wants to feel desired. And Percy has been dismissed and untrusted and wants to feel competent and trustworthy.

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

Recently saw a post that said Frederick had fucked Athena. You know, Athena, the famously virgin goddess.

(The funniest part was that it was part of a very anti-Frederick post, and yet...by saying Athena, the goddess of wisdom, broke her millennia long, life defining desire to not sleep with men, to sleep with Frederick Chase, they were saying he was a giant Chad and extra extra special. And that Athena saw so much in him, loved him so much, she developed sexual feelings for him and was willing to throw away one of her defining characteristics for him. And that...that was kind of hilarious)

5. worst discord server and why

Um, the Taylor Swift one I joined to trade tips for my show is really pretty bad. Everyone is so mean and bitchy and, I say this as someone who is weird about how much I love Taylor Swift, Swifties are the worst.

Otherwise, I can't keep up with servers, or really any chat with more then like 3 people them. So I can't really tell if they are good or bad.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

See previous comments about Annabeth. But, also, Jesus Christ Frederick Chase. Who is super interesting, and also dealt a bad hand he then played badly. Dude is a Norse Legacy who fell in love with a Hellenic Goddess. He went out of town and his wife ran off his daughter while he was gone. He can see through the mist. He dive bombed a Titan to save said daughter. He's a Red Sox fan and has a daughter who's a Yankees fan. He managed to enchant Athena. Favorite minor character.

Also, everyone is wrong about Poseidon. He's an ass, he's a bad dad (Hades is the best big three dad. And possibly the best godly parents. And that's being graded on the scale that calculates that time he told Nico he wished he'd died and bianca hadn't. That's how bad everyone else is.) And Sally has moved on to bigger and better things.

Combining those two things: Fredthena > PoSally. Fredthena is more interesting, and during the canon of the stories, it's actually still interesting instead of Poseidon just being Sally's loser ex.

Other things: in fic, Luke is Annabeth's looser older brother, not abusive ex. Annabeth is the punk and Percy is the good boy, Jercy wants what Frankercy has.

13. worst blorboficiation

Connor Stoll. He's literally just half a character. And that's fine.

Also Octavian. Who is allowed to just be power mad.

Also...I love Nico a lot, but the way fandom acts about him is...so much.

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

Nico. I love Nico, I think he's an awesome character and have written multiple fics about him. But people are so weird about him. And there is an extent to which I get it. He's one of the first incidentally queer characters in middle grade literature (as opposed to a character who is gay in a book all about being gay). He's got the emo vibes we love. And he definitely went through it.

But everyone is kind of going through it. And yet, people will unironically make posts about how Percy promised to protect Bianca and then let her die when...When Bianca set off a monster and Percy literally was like "I have a plan to get rid of it" and then Bianca said "I'll do it" and Percy was like "No, I will" and then Bianca just did it anyway. That isn't on Percy. Similarly "Percy choked Nico, its inexcusable." You know, that time that Nico helped his father trap Percy in a room in the underworld with no ways out or windows or anything. Nico didn't know, and he felt bad and tried to make it right, but it wasn't unreasonable for Percy to be pissed and attack the dude who behaved like an enemy.