#this is after toa btw

[rachiebeee]

they are best friends and siblings and i love them both so dearly. featuring piercings bc i stand strong in my belief that they would

[somewhereincairparavel]

The funniest thing about Jason slander, for me, is that it's so fucking contradictory, people would hate on Jason for being "too perfect" "too flawless" "too gary stu-esque" and that he's too boringly good and then will proceed to hate on him by nitpicking his already existing flaws that they claimed he never had (like being mistrustful towards Nico, "leading Reyna on by dating Piper", being too "serious and cold" )

Like mf, didn't you just say you wished Jason was flawed?? So now why r you yapping about what a "terrible sadistic egomaniac" person he is for thinking he can defeat Percy in a silly duel??? Lmao

[thestarstoasun]

Do you ever think about how many people Nico had to give Will that threatening talk friends and family give your significant other when you first start dating someone? Not to mention how powerful his people were, too. Nico had Hazel, Jason, Percy, Annabeth, Reyna, and it's up to you whether or not to interpret the rest of the Seven. When it comes to siblings, Nico had Hazel, and found family in Reyna.

Will had lost all of his older siblings in the 2nd Titan War. Austin and Kayla were hardly intimidating, but I believe they did their best at it. Lou Ellen would go with them. Clarisse would go later after everyone else because she had to be the one to look after Will now. She didn't care about how mighty or powerful any of Nico's family or friends were. She would fight them all. Clarisse would never tell Will, and Will would never ask because things would never be the same as before the Battle of Manhattan.

[xx0yeet-everything0xx]

dark jason grace but he practically cannot die after being blessed by so many minor gods and is about to dethrone is father. also red eyes. do you see my vision

[hogoflight]

Cyrene things that are canon for vampire au but could also (mostly) totally be used for writing based off of the myth in general.

This is kinda the vibe I’m going for here: if Cyrene asked for no pickles: Apollo: “?! Hey, she asked for no pickles??” Cyrene: “Yeah I asked for no pickles??” if Apollo asked for no pickles: Apollo: “aw I got pickles :((“ Cyrene: “HEY. hey. He asked for no pickles, buddy.”

also additionally if they went to McDonalds (? Somehow) they would share a caramel McFlurry because Apollo wanted one and Cyrene didn’t mind at all (romantic) (she is gazing at him laughing in the sunlight).

also back in The Day (city ruling) whenever Apollo left / Cyrene left and Apollo noticed he would always make her Tiganites (maybe anachronistic BUT IT’S OK I REALLY WANT THIS) with fruit and cream. When they reconnected he did it for her again (terrified) and she started quietly sobbing and they hugged and cried for a while. They were out of cream so he used Aristaeus’ honey instead (he is still alive. Idmon is not.) and invited him over. (For a general story: They also totally wouldn’t reconnect mysteriously at the same time that the ancient site of Cyrene is uncovered noooooooooo that would be too freaky. Well apart from that one time they caught up at Idmon’s funeral but that was more of an acknowledgment and a one-off ‘let’s grieve our son in this way no-one else can while the funeral rites last’ thing.)

The only times Cyrene has ever liked weaving was whenever she weaved flowers into Apollo’s hair. She kept gently bullying him for turning around bc he kept turning to look at her. They’re Very Normal about each other

[moodyseal]

Apollo TOA as a lawyer to me is likw, Saul Goodman in legal practice and shamelessness but Phoenix Wright in morality. Apollo Celebrity Lawyer Arc when!

I had to look up Saul Goodman because admittedly I'm not familiar with the man but I get it. So true and real. He'd crush it in court while honestly trying to get to the bottom of each case, even at the cost of losing (he's the god of truth after all!!) but he'd def be annoying about it. And also too direct and a bit of an ass, unless the case involves children

Though maybe that'd be more appropriate for the image he held up before his trials...? Afterwards he'd be pretty much the same with the exception that he's less bold and more... mindful, somehow

[alcoholicweiwuxian]

Bring back those “3 days in the infirmary” fics. I miss them. I don’t care that everyone was writing them !! idc that it’s been years and years since they were relevant !!! I’ve read them all and I want more pls and ty !!!!!!!

[literallyjusttoa]

One more doodle based on part of one of my fics. And cue shameless plug:

No, listen, you don’t understand, this line haunts me. Why is this never picked back up?? Did anyone actually tell Apollo that his son said this???? Apollo met with all three people who were in this room, did any of them pass the message on??? If so, why don’t we see it???? Actually, why is Asclepius barely mentioned AT ALL in ToA???????? WHAT IS GOING ON WITH ASCLEPIUS???????

[chaoticcatbehaviour]

Btw If another person who hasn't read TOA tells you that Jason died for Apollo's selfishness, then just tell them that Jason himself said that his death wasn't his fault.

Also if we followed that logic then Bianca died for Nico's development but of course nobody thinks that.

(The above paragraphs are from TON after Lu is captured, specifically, in chapter 21)

[the-primordial-archivist]

Proving that no one really hates TOA Apollo

When Apollo came back to CHB after becoming a god again, literally everyone rushed to hug him and he was definitely not the only one crying from the reunion

Piper eventually did forgive him for the whole Jason thing, which I highly doubt she would have done with someone she hated. She actually seemed pretty chill with him

Hazel tried to cheer Apollo up while he was dying, actually, she never really hated him

Reyna decided that she had hope in Apollo changing for the better, and he didn't let her down

SALLY JACKSON likes him, stating as well that he has changed and telling him she is proud of him

Grover and Apollo are on good, but not the best terms, but that's still not hate

Percy has taken almost everything bad he said about Lester, albeit he was bribed with cookies, but idgaf

He won over Meg and she finally deemed him a somewhat worthy servant (the unicorn did it), which I count as a win

There are so many other people, such as Lit, Nico, and his children, who do genuinely like him, but I'm in a bit of a hurry rn

This was just a list to make me feel better btw about all the hate Apollo gets, and I hope this makes you feel a bit better too :)

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

the pjo tv show is making me have thoughts about hephaestus & apollo’s dynamic, as well as apollo & ares dynamic — so i was wondering if you had any hcs for either duo or both !!

GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE

I do for sure have some Thoughts on Apollo & Ares so I shall start there.

Apollo & Ares

Favorite Son and Least Favorite Son.

After Apollo was born, we all know he went on a mission to avenge his mom. That included killing Python, but I also headcanon this preteen storming up to Ares and demanding a fight for his mom's honor.

This was brought on because in the mythos, Ares actually chased Leto around and drove her from place to place, never letting her rest for long.

Obviously, Apollo isn't too keen on this and demands a duel.

Ares takes one look at this kid and goes you know what? I like his spunk. I'm keeping him. and lo and behold Apollo gets distracted by Ares showing him how to properly grip a sword's blade.

Also fun fact! In Ancient Greece, fathers raised their sons and mothers the daughters. Fathers would teach their sons how to swim and write, so this gets interesting once you put ToA's context with it.

In all honesty, I don't think Zeus was too involved in Apollo's growth. He was still there, of course! Enough to have a hold on him and. well. manipulate/gaslight him/abuse him.

However heartbreaking it would be to think about Zeus teaching Apollo these things (my heart. my poor sobbing heart.), I would also find it heartwarming if Ares did that instead.

Or Poseidon. But I personally think he taught Apollo how to ride horses. Let Ares have his thing :3

Because wouldn't it make sense that if Zeus couldn't find the time teach Apollo, then that responsibility would fall to the eldest son?

Jump to the giant twins now.

Apollo helps Ares recover. That is all.

THEY WERE ON THE SAME SIDE IN THE TROJAN WAR !!!!!!

Okay so. Diomedes tried to stab Apollo a few times when he was rescuing Aeneus, and Apollo CANONICALLY tells Ares about it - and lo and behold, Ares gets into a fight with Diomedes (and gets shish-kabobbed).

SO I CONCLUDE-

Apollo: Diomedes tried to stab me :(

Ares: WHAT.

Apollo: Yeah three times.

Ares: WHY.

Apollo: Aphrodite's kid? Aeneus? I was saving his ass after Diomedes stabbed Aphrodite.

Ares: THAT BITCH.

Apollo: But don't worry I took care of it-

Ares, picking up his spear and sword: HE SHALL TREMBLE BEFORE MY FURY. NOT EVEN HIS ARMOR WILL MARK HIS GRAVE WHEN I FINISH WITH HIM. HE SHALL CHOKE ON THE BLOOD HE HAS SPILT AND I SHALL LAUGH AS HIS CORPSE DECAYS. HE WILL RUE THE DAY HE HARMED EITHER OF YOU-

Apollo: he didn't touch me tho-

Ares: BUT HE TRIED!

Ares, snapping his cape: I shall take my leave. Got a bastard to stab. rides down and fights beside Hector. gets stabbed by Diomedes.

Ares, clutching his stomach: ...this didn't go as planned.

Apollo, patching it up after Zeus yelled at Ares: you don't say?

anyway. Apollo & Ares would also watch battlefields and Ares would basically be like "right. this is how to properly disembowel your enemies!" gruesomely decapitates some poor mortal. "See? Easy!"

also they would sing!!! war hymns and other things. Ares can dance too btw :3

also when Aphrodite and Apollo were polyculing with Adonis, Ares was doublely jealous because Adonis is 1) taking the attention of his girlfriend and 2) banging his favorite brother

Ares also cautioned Apollo about drawing too much attention to himself, especially Zeus's.

Too bad Apollo didn't quite take it to heart...

I think Ares already knows Apollo is being abused by Zeus. He knows the signs. He knows what's happening...because it happened to him first.

He would drop hints. Which...weren't very subtle, and kinda freaked Apollo out a bit because ohmygodsdoesheknow-?

And when Revolution time came around? You bet Ares sensed it coming from a mile away.

And perhaps he did...hmm...like with the master bolt theft...ooo gonna have to marinate that for a bit. see what i can cook up there. or if any of you have theories shoot them at me!

back to the thing. Once Ares catches wind It's A Go...he's gonna be on Apollo's side. Because godsdammit he's sick of Zeus and his horrible parenting a good war would give him a clean slate.

...Even if he has to put up with both Hera and Athena.

Apollo & Hephaestus

okay so. I haven't thought much about them because they are elusive for me BUT-

The show gave me a THOUGHT!

"Some of us don't like being that way either."

HEPHAESTUS DOESN'T LIKE THE SYSTEM. HE DOESN'T! HE HATES GOING ALONG WITH IT!

MY FIRST THOUGHT WHEN I HEARD THOSE WORDS?

APOLLO

he doesn't want to be part of it either. but he buried it inside himself. but post toa...he doesn't want to do that anymore.

and I think Apollo does like Hephaestus! I remember there was a moment where Apollo mentions being in his study or something and missing the entire 40s or whatever staring at Hephaestus's Newton's Cradle.

why was apollo in there. and did hephaestus let him in there?

BECAUSE HEPHAESTUS IS A PRIVATE GUY RIGHT? WHAT'S APOLLO DOING IN A PRIVATE ROOM OF HIS?

...unless he invited him in :D

I need to do a lil' more digging on Hephaestus and Apollo but I hope this was all interesting :3

feel free to add on readers!

[13leaguestories]

Playing TOA is such a funny experience because after playing Ruben which was sooo good and surprisingly wholesome (btw absolutely obsessed with how touch-averse/SA-ed phoenix was handled, it was a very comforting run :’) thank you for making it <3), I went in for Nour and what.

I DIDNT EXPECT THIS AGSHSHDH??/?/!!: Honestly when I first playing, I was chilling but the twist… no comment, I’m enjoying it but Xeno had a point I fear cause Nour is worrying me since how is Zarik more chill than Nour right now even tho he and my phoenix beat each other up??? (peak romance cause they annoy each other)

Also it’s so funny making an impulsive phoenix in Zarik’s path who also happens to be smart and nice, just not to him but also to him because the hand/waist grabbing when we get out of the boat? had me hehehehehehheheheheh and the dialogue is so good too (the part for a warm phoenix where it goes “your warmth is not meant for people like him” as if they’re not going to bite back their words as the story progresses)

Had a question about Nour tho, with every path there’s a dynamic like Ruben with fiery and mindful but what is the opposite of protective for Nour? I couldn’t be distant to them so I wanted to know if that’s okay <3

Lmfao, Zarik is more chill than Nour because Zarik is only in his Ch3. But I couldn't just let Nour be nothing but classic "I haven't seen you in forever" angst. Naw, I had to put some meat on their story lmfao.

Nour's other disposition is reserved.

Thank you for reading the story!

[islandtarochips]

Bestieeeeee!!!!

What if one day Alicia and Kanoa are on a mission and when they have the objective captured, the person says something about Tiala? Like, for some reason, the person knows about Tiala's kidnapping and threatens to do it to her again. Can we see Kanoa's reaction 👀?

(Alicia simply turn off comms without a word as soon as the person says that, btw)

Well I'll be damn...*cracked my knuckles* Let's put it in a short one shot shall we?

⚠️TW: Might mention something SEXUAL, THREATS , KIDNAPPING and PHYSICAL VIOLENCE⚠️

Words: 2109

It was a hot afternoon, the two Captains were on a mission with their team. But in different areas. These two had already captured the objectives of the drug trafficking. And they’re trying to make him TALK.

“Alright, we don’t want to get this messy but you need to tell us where the NEXT location of your stash is.” Kanoa demanded as he was standing in front of the man.

This enemy that they have caught had gotten his hands tied on the arms of the metal chair. The three of them are in a small abandoned shack. Hardly anyone came in there so Alicia had suggested that this will be the best place to be a safehouse for them.

The man just glared at the male Captain and scoffed. “You will NEVER get the info out of me you pendejo.”

Alicia glared at this Mexican man as she took a step forward. “WATCH it or I’ll cut your tongue out.”

Kanoa signaled Alicia for her to stop before hearing this man laugh.

“DO it. I would LOVE to see you TRY.” He started to grin at the two captains.

“Noa? Is everything alright?” It was Tiala calling through the comms. Checking up on her brother and Alicia.

The Samoan Captain started to press his comms. “Leai. Na te le o tau mai ia i tatou.” He could hear his younger sister sigh as they both talked about trying to find something to make him spill the intel.

While Kanoa and Tiala were talking in their native language. It suddenly got this enemy’s attention.

“Ah. You must be SAMOAN, no?”

Kanoa looked at the man on the chair. He was silenced at first. Which gives Alicia a very bad feeling when she gazes between him and the man.

“......yes.”

The man slowly grinned as he leaned forward a bit. “And I’m guessing you must be Captain Kanoa Toa. Am I right?”

Now THIS is getting more suspiciously scary.

Alicia took a few steps forward to the man as she grabbed his shirt. “HOW did you know? Did your boss tell you?”

“Woah woah woah. Take it easy, chica. Like I said, I’m not gonna tell you ANYTHING.”

Before Alicia could try to do something to him, Kanoa had stopped her and told her to calm down. Which she groaned and let go of him.

“Noa? What’s going on?” Tiala had called once again after hearing a commotion.

“E leai se mea sis, na o le tagata lea e iloa poʻo ai aʻu.”

“E ā? E FAAPEFEA?”

“I don’t know. But we still need time to find out where these drugs are. How is your end?”

Tiala sighed as it went to show she had bad news. “Not good. Luke and I are on the dead end with another empty building. Blast, Nigel and Alexander had found nothing as well. It’s like they’re moving it somewhere FAR away.”

Kanoa was starting to get puzzled at this. “That’s why we’re TRYING to get him to talk.”

“Ha! Good luck with that, amigo.”

“Shut up you.” Alicia had warned him as she gave him a death glare. Oh how much she wanted to PUNCH this guy.

But this Mexican man just kept on grinning at the two Captains. Doing their hardest to make him talk. “You can try making me talk all you like. But it will NEVER take you anywhere. Who knows, they might even have to kidnap your sister again after all of this.”

Alicia’s eyes went wide after hearing this as she turned her head to see Kanoa was just standing there. Seeing him frozen as he was facing his back from them. 

“Hello? Noa? Are you there? Alicia, what’s going-“

Alicia quickly turned off her coms since she doesn’t want ANYONE to hear this. She was silenced for a few seconds before walking over to Kanoa. “Noa?” She then saw her friend had ripped his earpiece off and threw it on the ground.

Kanoa was just staring at this man. Ignoring Alicia’s existence. “What did you say?”

The man just smirked at the Captain as he continued to talk. “You heard what I said. And you might wanna rethink your decision, amigo.”

“Or WHAT?” Kanoa said as he took a few steps forward.

The enemy had smirked widely with Kanoa stepping forward. “Or else your little hermana will go through that SAME fate. I even heard that she’s very FUN to play with.”

Alicia was starting to feel her blood getting cold after hearing this. Then she witnessed Kanoa grabbing the man’s shirt as tight as he can grip on. Almost lifting the chair with him off the ground. “Noa-”

“What the FUCK did you just say you MOFO?”

“What? You’re deaf already? HA! Okay. Let me say this ONE more time.” This Mexican man started to look into the Captain’s eyes. “Once my boss’ men start looking for your team. And find your pretty sister in that area. I’m sure that she’ll have a GOOD time with us while you and your team are DROP dead-”

Before that man could finish his sentence, Kanoa had already punched the man in the face. While Alicia was just standing there. Of course, she wasn’t surprised at how Kanoa can punch. But seeing him knocked out that man and made him fall down with the chair he’s being tied on. It’s unexpected.

Kanoa tightened his fist as he glared at the man who was laying on the floor. He walked over and knelt down on one knee while grabbing a full fist of the enemy’s hair. Pulling his head backward to see his face with a bloody nose. “HOW do you know about this huh? Was it your BOSS?” He punched his face again causing his lips to bleed. “TELL ME!”

The man groaned as he spat the blood on Kanoa’s face. “V-Vete a la mierda…”

Kanoa had turned him away a bit as he got spat on with blood. He closes his eyes, getting annoyed before looking at him again. He pushed his head down before getting up and started to untie him.

Alicia started to question what Kanoa is doing. “Kanoa, what are you doing?” She watched him untying their objective before seeing him dragging the man away from the chair and took him outside. “Noa?” She quickly followed him outside.

Kanoa had kept dragging this man before dropping him on the ground. Almost 3 feet away from the house. As he continues to walk further down to where the sticks are at.

Alicia followed outside as she stopped to see Kanoa picking something off the ground. “Kanoa, what are you doing?”

He didn’t answer.

Soon both the man and Alicia saw him pick up a long big stick. As he was examining it and walked back to the enemy.

She doesn’t know what he was doing but she did see that the end of the stick has its sharp edges. She started to feel her guts telling her something. Something BAD is going to happen. “Noa…?”

Kanoa didn’t say anything but just kept walking up to the man. He kicked him upward to face him.

The man groaned as he looked to see Kanoa with the stick. “T-Tch…what are you gonna do with that huh? BEAT me with it? Hehehe…”

Kanoa didn’t respond. But instead he lifted the big stick up as he pointed the sharp edge down.

And with that sight in front of the enemy’s eyes he started to feel his vein run cold. “W-Wait…WAIT!”

He started to scream in pain, feeling that sharp pain from the weapon on his leg that the Captain had used.

“GAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

Kanoa had pulled it out before piercing it down on his other leg. Causing another painful scream from the enemy.

Alicia was just standing there in shock to see Kanoa like this. Seeing him piercing over and over again. From the enemy’s legs to up to his waist. Kanoa had also pierced his knees without hesitating. Seeing him stabbing the man with brute force and faster pace. As if he was killing an animal.

While Kanoa is stabbing the enemy. His mind started to flash into the image of his sister. Has bruises and scratches on her.

Remembering the cry from her when he tried to hold her. Remembering her crying voice of her telling him to not touch her or even come near her.

Everything that had happened to her…is all because of men like THIS one.

“GAAAAHHHH! STOP! PLEASE!” The man started to beg.

But Kanoa did not listen. He kept stabbing his legs and waist

Alicia had started to feel Kanoa was no longer there and she knew she needed to stop him. “Kanoa…Kanoa stop it. He had enough.”

The Captain didn’t hear her as he was still stabbing the man. Hearing his screams is the only thing he COULD and CAN hear.

She took a step forward and was slowly reaching out to him. “That’s enough Kanoa.” She started to feel like she’s losing him. “Kanoa ENOUGH. KANOA!” Then she started to quickly stop him by grabbing his arm and pulled him away. “KANOA THAT’S ENOUGH!”

Kanoa snapped his neck at her before pushing her off. Alicia had stumbled back and was giving him a shocking expression. Not only because of him pushing her away but seeing his face. His eyes. His body motion.

For a second there, she could see that Kanoa is no longer there. Physically he is but…the soul in his eyes is not. Only the ANGER she could see. Alicia put her hand out to him and tried to talk to him.

“Kanoa…listen to me. We need him ALIVE. We need the INTEL. I know you’re upset that he triggered you but you need to STOP. Right now. He suffered enough.”

Kanoa was just staring at Alicia with his eyes soullessly but he turned back to the man. Seeing him shaking in pain and mostly in fear.

“P-Por favor…” His words started to shake when he spoke and seeing his tears flowing down from his red eyes.

Kanoa was just staring at this man emotionlessly. Before raising the stick up again.

“NO! PLEASE!” The man begged as he closed his eyes embracing another stabbing pain. But…he felt nothing. As soon he opened his eyes and saw Alicia had gotten ahold of the stick.

She tried to get Kanoa’s attention. “Kanoa! LOOK at me!” She saw he was still glaring at the man as she felt a bit hopeless at this. But she’s not giving up. “Noa…please…”

As Kanoa is still holding onto the stick to KILL this man. He slowly turned his gaze at her. Seeing her soft eyes as she stayed calm. Still gripping onto this weapon.

“Kanoa. I PROMISE you that your sister will NOT go through the same fate as the last time. I would never let that happen again. You will not face this alone. So please, put it down.”

When Alicia had said those words, she could see his eyes slowly to light up before he looked at what he was doing. He quickly backed away while dropping the stick.

“K-Kefe…I-I…I’m…”

Alicia then quickly walked up to him and hugged him. “I’m so glad that you’re back, Noa…”

Kanoa was still in shock but once he felt his friend’s touch. He started to remember why he snapped. He was shaken and slowly hugged her back tightly. “L-Licia…I-”

“Sssh. I got you.” She said in a whisper. Then she slowly leaned back and smiled at him. “You just go ahead and wash your face to clear your head. I’ll deal with him.”

Kanoa just slowly nodded and left the area as he went down to the river.

When Alicia saw him out of sight. She turned her attention back to the enemy with a glare.

The man was shaken seeing her glare. “I-I’ll tell you….I’ll tell where they’re taking the drugs…”

“Wise choice, amigo. And also.” Alicia slowly took a few steps before pressing her foot onto the man’s injured leg. Seeing him flinched and groaned. “Make that kind of threat again about my friend’s sister. I would be the one who will END you instead. UNDERSTAND?”

The man quickly nodded before getting carried away by Alicia. Who put him over her shoulder as she walked back to the house. Before she went inside, she looked over her shoulder to see where Kanoa had gone. Still hadn’t gotten over what she had seen.

Never have she seen him THIS upset. I guess she understands about Kanoa and his sister’s bond.

NEVER mess with their family.

I hope this...doesn't scare ya, Witch. I'm starting to have a habit of showing violent in the story. But gotta be honest, that IS the reality of someone showing violence like that. Anyway, I hope you like this one and hopefully you're not too scared of Kanoa...and if you're wondering about the comms. Alicia had called back and apologize to Tiala for worrying her. She told them the intel but NEVER she mention about of what her older brother had done to the poor man.

[ruegarding]

Hey, quick question if you don't mind me asking, what were your thoughts on Chalice of the Gods?

overall, i wish rick stopped at toa like he said he was going to. the more rick adds, the more the world-building suffers as a result. that being said, i didn't completely hate cotg like i thought i would. there's a few good moments, but, in general, it reads like a cash-grab.

let's start with the good. percy has some of the most in-character moments he's had in the universe since pjo.

percy's confrontation w geras was so good that i actually wish this was part of percy's character arc in hoo. percy spent almost all of pjo knowing he was going to die—he saw the fates cut the string in tlt and in som he put together what the prophecy meant: he was going to die either at or before 16. and this is exactly why this confrontation works and why i think it's better than new rome. new rome can protect a demigod from monsters, not from fate. percy wasn't scared of monsters. if he was, he would've stayed at chb year-round.

and i really like that geras was willing to entertain percy bc he had turned down godhood. like the first time percy ever thinks abt immortality seriously (in botl) this is what he has to say:

so immortality is fundamentally at odds w percy's character bc he defines himself so thoroughly w the ppl he loves. and this is exactly what allows him to get through to geras! it's such a good exploration of percy's character and the future he's now able to consider.

similarly, this section

is more in-character than almost all of hoo. this is a prime example of how percy's loyalty works and addresses how it's misconstrued in fandom. percy has a desire for freedom, and that desire informs how he respects ppl. percy's loyalty isn't a possessive "i won't let you do this" bc he will, he will always let someone make their own choice at the end of the day bc it's what he would want. and this was actually established in tlt, when sally says "you're enough like me to understand" and asks percy to let her save herself. so percy lets bianca fight talus, he lets nico walk away, he gives luke the knife, he lets ganymede choose his own story, even when he disagrees w it. and this is why percy's arc in hoo sucked! rick tried to give percy the typical hero complex, but it's contradictory w percy's character. so when i saw this passage i was so relieved. i thought this part of percy died w pjo.

also, to talk abt someone other than percy, this moment

is good. i love this abt annabeth.

and grover saying the hardest thing is sitting by and not being able to do anything. bc grover is usually in a support role and he wasn't there at all in hoo. i also like that percy is confronted w the fact that he's not expendable. thumbs up from me.

the bad...i'm just going to keep short bullet points.

what even is this plot

it doesn't work as part of pjo and yet it's marketed as the sixth book in the series

why is zeus a disney villain. i hate everything abt it

the inconsistencies...annabeth's cap...why are we continuing to treat percy like he's disinterested in learning??? also. what do you mean you're not allowed at camp after you turn 18? WHAT DO YOU MEAN????? this was not a thing. and wasn't rhea in hiding or something?? now she's casually having brunch?

there's too much "percy is the stupid bf and annabeth is the competent gf who takes care of him." i hated every second of this. also annabeth is disabled. her being intelligent does not remove her disability. she struggles.

i rbed that post abt disaster cook annabeth and good cook percy and i stand by that.

the power monologue makes no damn sense (and another addition by op in the tags)

no seriously i'm begging someone to have a real conversation and understand percy is terrified of how powerful he is. i've been waiting for this since botl. WHICH WAS PUBLISHED IN 2008 BTW

i'm not a huge estelle or paul fan. like they're fine they're just not compelling.

the only time i feel sally and percy have the same connection as they had in tlt is when they're alone. this is a problem i've had for a while, but cotg does not fix it. when paul and annabeth are in the equation, it feels like percy is the outsider.

in summary, cotg is like a fanfic i would leave kudos for being a good percy character study despite having questionable moments. except it's canon. and these questionable things affect the world-building.

[flipzmclego]

You know, I have the idea of this Fluffy Soft Bonding storyline being juxtaposed against a second, incredibly Serious High-Stakes Capital-P Plot running simultaneously of "Someone Has Stolen And Is Using The Vahi, Oh Noes!", and a bunch of the other Toa and Matoran are completely and fully Panicked about it, but they know Mata Nui and the Hordika are all physically and emotionally vulnerable at the moment so they're trying their best to hide their emotions from them so they don't worry.

(The Hordika know instantly, of course, but they only know the others are Afraid-Hiding-Apologetic and of course assume they're repulsed by their mutation, which only drives them closer in around each other.)

And despite how seemingly Important this other plotline is, the narrative insists on centering its focus on Fluffy Hordika Hurt-Comfort Bonding... and in the end, it's the emotional connection that solves the mystery and saves the day.

Plot bunny for u: through unspecified fanfiction magic the Turaga go back to being Toa Hordika and freak out. The Hagah bring in recently reawakened Mata Nui (who lamented he would have liked to see the toa Hordika bc they sounded super cool and interesting) hoping he can work some god magic on them or just keep them entertained while they go look for Keetongu again bc the sasquatch fucked off right back into the mountains as is his right. They return to find Mata Nui squashed under a Metru cuddle pile as they incessantly chirp and whine for him to give them scritches and pats and kissies on the head. Hes been like that for roughly twelve hours and has never been happier

Aksdsfhgosdhgdhg-

This has sent me down a rabbit role for an appropriate plot device that transforms the turaga into Toa Hordika, and which would thematically connect with their interactions with Mata Nui. I haven't found an idea yet. But maybe later!

The Toa Hagah fetching Mata Nui makes sense. He's a god of life, especially through the Ignika. Mata Nui also tires easily and this will likely stay for decades to come, if not forever. And this is delicate work he needs all his focus for. So, no godly magic for the time.

The Toa Hordika are upset because this happened without their consent or control. Dragging up old trauma from the Visorak Horde and their failures.

It's also difficult not compare themselves to their more powerful siblings. (Failing to notice that neither the Mahri nor the Nuva had any control over their transformations, either.) Or not to feel as outsiders, again. They use their elemental powers differently. They have no access to their mask powers. They have instincts that go against what Metru Nui stood for.

(Things like: I want companionship. I want to rest. I want to play.)

With Mata Nui arriving? To say their perception of him is complicated is putting it simply. And they fear his judgement.

Not that it outwardly changes anything. They're the only group who hasn't visited him yet. Not even one of them. And now...

They've been hiding for two days since their transformation. No amount of begging, cajoling, assurances, and praise could get them out. Their friends are all busy so they're taking turns checking on them / staying close their hiding spot. The toa stay silent even when the Toa Hagah announce their arrival plus their guest.

Mata Nui doesn't need to be anywhere. Actually, what he needs most is rest, at best lying down. Pouks makes him a nice little hut if they are outside. They help him lay on his bedding. Whoever is on watching shift is now looking after him, too.

He doesn't mind. He's used to waiting. He'll wait as long as his Chosen need him to.

The Toa Hordika fear his judgement. They also need to see him. They need to know why he chose Them of all matoran in Metru Nui. Which ends up with them watching him sleep, slowly coming closer when none of their friends are looking.

Until one of them finds themselves staring directly into Mata Nui's eyes. They jump in the air from surprise. (Stopping for now because this is getting so long.)

[rayssion]

Let's chat about Magnus Chase and the gods of Asgard!!

So not me saying 'tomorrow' then proceed to delay that tomorrow for as long as possible, not my fault though! Each time I decide to write the review people just be like "oh, look at her, she seems at peace, let me just go.... Annoy her" that's my family summarised btw.

But yeah, we're finally here!

First off, the general rating for me is 4.5 for the entire series.

Now let's talk about somethings:

As a matter of fact, there's nothing I hate in this books like wth why dose it have to be this good??? Which translates to: I'm just going to fangirl, that's it, just FANGIRL.

I also want to establish that I didn't know not even a single thing about Norse mythology before reading these books. I didn't even know what Norse meant guys, I'm hopless like that. And even after they explained them a little my brain is still stuck at the "they're fancy vikings" setting lol I'm sorry.

So my whole Norse "knowledge" comes from, you guessed it, how to train your dragon🤡. It's bad, I know I know, yet it's still a start right? Like dude I never watched any Thor movie before (in my defense, it's not horror, and I enjoy horror) so just to put it simply, I don't know shit about Norse mythology.

Which is good btw!! Me not knowing anything about the mythology is actually good to measure how much Rick is good at explaining things that are totally new.

The first book took me two days to finish because it's like an introduction, so there were many new words and terms that my small brain couldn't keep track with, so I suppose you can really enjoy the series as a reread more than first time reading. Guys, it took me days to learn how to pronounce ginunngagap. So unless you already have a background on Norse mythology (not jumping into the books like stupid me) I feel like one's can't see the books true potential.

Alright, so we laid the ground about me being an uncultured swine, now we have the writing: we got the classic Rick's first person pov writing style that he went for in the original series pjo. But I got to note that it clearly improved, I can see that he was trying to step out of narrator Percy's shadow as he wrote mcga and toa, seeing that he wrote Magnus as an oblivious kid who's trying to stay out of everyone's business as much as he can, and he wrote Lester with no heroism in him whatsoever at the start. So clearly he wanted something to add contrast and volume to his universe and that's quite good. He achieved his goal with toa much more than in mcga in my opinion. Magnus, as lovely as he is, still finds time to roast people the good old Percy Jackson way, in other words you can see the resemblance between the two characters at some points. (I didn't include tkc because for me, Sadie and Carter are like Percy devided into two people, the fierce rushy personality went with Sadie, and the trying-to-pretend-to-be-calm-so-as-to-improvise-a-plan personality went with Carter, yet the two of them can be be snarky at their times).

To be Frank with you guys, not much of a character development happens during the books, I mean yes, Sam stands against her dad, and we get Amir into the picture, but yeah that's it. I guess the character who got the most change was Randolph, we love a little remedy arc at the end.

Oh other thing I like to point, Muslims don't call mosques you know "mosques" we call them Masjids (Masjid, sing.) I see it's a little slip but I prefer if it never happened, because mosque actually means "house of mosquito" so, yeah.

We also have the matter of Sam's hijab, I'd like to say that's not how being a hijabi works but I don't want to start a religious war here. Let's just say, you don't just wear your hijab when you want and not wear it when you don't want. What's the point then, if I can easily just go with my head uncovered? But we're not having this conversation, most of you won't be interested in this anyways.

And another thing! I've seen all these fanarts of Alex in the wedding dress (because I'm a sucker for Alex) and I wanted to point out, Alex was disguised as Samirah, Samirah is Muslima so her wedding dress would be, you know, Muslim friendly? Idk. But yeah, it should at least be ancle lengthed with high neck and long sleeves and the veil must be thick to cover her hair, like a hijab. Also it should be wide/big a little not clenching to her body. Just a little advice for artists there :).

Now that we spoke about Sam, can we talk about Alex? Tbh I like, knew nothing about genderfluidism(?) before this book (I read it on some blogs here on Tumblr and I imagined something totally different so I'll spear you my pathetic story) so it was nice learning new things with Rick. Like bro, in my head Alex is mostly a boy yet when I rant to my aunt I mostly use she/her. It confused the heck out of me during the first chapters actually. But I'm proud to say that I FIGURED OUT THAT LOKI WAS HER/HIS MOM LIKE BY MYSELF WAY BEFORE THE BIG REVEAL SO YEAH I'M HELLA PROUD.

I love Alex. Nothing else to say, I'm infatuated.

And yet if I'm infatuated with Alex then I'm fucking ready to die for Magnus at any given time! The boy is just so adorable!! He's so sweet even if he's being sarcastic like I just want to kidnap him and keep him in my pocket forever! I wanna hug him and pat his back, ruffle his hair and kiss his forehead because he deserves it! I just love him guys! Everything about him is just so endearing even if he was being a coward he's still lovely! I know I'm not making any sense here I just want you to know that I'm head over heels for him. Also I wanted to say that one of the things I really admired about his character is that he's never the fighter, I love how everyone else would be plunging into the battle and he'd just stand there waiting for either a chance to bargain with the enemy or an injury that he must heal. I love how Rick went out of the line this time and chose a god that, tbh, we'd never hear about him on regular basis. Like in pjo we had our protagonist Percy, son of Poseidon who's one of the big three, tkc we have Carter and Sadie channelling the power of Hores and Isis, major gods and Hores is the king or the gods, hoo's heroes are kids of the Olympians and Apollo is like, an Olympian god himself. So it was a nice turn to have Frey a neutral god who's concern is to live in peace, having our protagonist's main power to be healing or like disarming people, nothing big or fancy, yet it fits so much! Like my boy just wants to live a simple quite life (with a transgender genderfluid partner if possible and practically canon gay parents) even when there's an enemy he's like "can't I just go stand there and then a miracle happens and I don't need to fight them anymore?" Gosh I love him.

Magnus and Lester are just so relatable and so average-human-coded that you can't help but love them!

And I liked how most of the characters are also lovable, like the whole floor 19? They're just the best family and I'd be so delighted to spend eternity with them (till Ragnarok at least) I really love their dynamics. And then we have Blitz and Hearth and oh boy how much do I love hearth! I was like that's my soulmate out there pretty much since he was introduced. I'm not joking guys, these people out there have one of the best found families ever.

I also wanted to note that I'm kind of a sucker for villains like especially those who are antihero much. So, confession time, I kinda liked Luke back in pjo, I liked Set in tkc, and like Apollo himself I might simped once or twice for the emprors. The thing I wanted to say is! First book I like liked liked Loki, ngl till the end I found him fancy. Like if he wasn't so much interested in Ragnarok and world ending and whatever I might even put him with my favourite characters. Like, why do villains have to be hot?? If you don't want me to simp then don't make them hot! (What am I doing guys, I must seek help wtf)

Another topic, people would be oohhh percabeth omg omg and I'd be awww big sister Annabeth is the best! Like have you seen those Annabeth and Magnus scenes??? Bro let me tell you I'm fucking dead, like they're the best cousins out there, like that's so cuttee!!

This's a p.s actually but I wanted to say another thing, about the ending of the ship of the dead, yes it was emotional, yes I teared up. But don't you guys feel like there's much more to it? Like I'm sorry but how could we not return to the fact that Magnus can talk to birds now (Disney Princess™)? Or how in the first place can he talk to them, hearth himself doesn't know if his father had the ability. Speaking about fathers, the visions that Magnus saw about Alex's father, are we just going to pass them like they never happened? Guys idk I feel like there are some plot holes that might be left intentionally (hopefully for a next book sometime) and I also feel like there's something wrong with the gods, like the last scenes we had with them, I might be paranoid but I really feel like Frey was hiding something. Anyways yeah, that's what I wanted to add.

So this barely covers anything from the feelings I had reading this series (because I'm a sensitive bitch who visibly tremble and scream while reading fluff) but yeah, I must hurry up a little, so next thing we have is a couple of screenshots I took cuz why not? Some of them might even be out of context but I like it.

So I was going to post them in different posts and tag them here and Tumblr just said NO ") so yeah ig.

Hope you guys enjoyed this review (which is me basically simping as always) I'm like 100 pages into tsats now, hopefully I'll come back to talk about it soon.

Have a nice day/night♡!!